anyone know much about hardwood flooring installation?

[Oregano123]

Originally Posted by InS0mNiAc

Hah, I have personal experience with just this type of issue.

My family has (in the past year) had 2 sets of hardwood floors put in. The first set was done by a discount flooring place that made the same claim your place made. It's cheaper to install on top of the existing floor and we wont have any problems......well that was bullshit!

In the end the original floor creaked, moved, and needed to be replaced because it was installed poorly and on top of the original floor tiles. The second company that came in was extremely professional and took the time to not only explain but show us why we needed to rip up the entire floor and reinstall properly. They removed all the old tile (which only took them an hour) and all materials until there was just cement, they then poured a floor leveling liquid product onto the floor and let it run where ever it wanted to ensure the floor was then level. The liquid took about a day to dry.

The next day they installed some type of fabric between the wood and cement and then installed the wood flooring on top of that. The difference between the two installs is night and day. The floor around my house no longer creaks, moans, or moves around when shifting your weight.

My opinion...there's only a few material things in life that you don't half ass....your car, your bed, and the floor you're standing on