Pergo Floor on Concrete

[Fred]

Question about installing a Pergo flooring. When installing Pergo on a concrete floor is there anything you have to do differently than installing one on a floor with a sub floor made of wood? If the concrete isn't perfectly level, is there a problem where a sub floor made out of wood might compensate for it not being level? No give. The concept of it being a floating floor with that sponge, does this cause any problems with bunching if the floor isn't level? Any thoughts or experience would be helpfully. Thanks.

[Mike Lewis]

Is this concrete in the basement ... if so ... not sure if a laminate floor is suitable for that environment because of moisture issues.

[m Ransley]

There are several Pergos the regular one is not intended for damp locations, Slab on grade brings up moisture even if not visable. Unlevel is ok, bumps are not. Any moisture trapped will eventualy lead to mold and smells. It all depends on your house.

[William W. Plummer]

I put down Pergo on a slab. According to the directions, you must do a moisture check and the floor must be level to their spec. I seem to remember 1/4" in 10' (use a long 2x3 to measure). The moisture check consisted of taping a 1' square piece of polyethylene to the slab for 24 hrs. Moisture will collect on it if there is a problem. This maps into putting down a moisture barrier, which I did even though I didn't seem to have a problem. You must seal around the edges of the Pergo so that spills don't run under the floor, causing it to crumble and bulge. Check their web site and the directions on the boxes. We've been very happy with the product. BTW: after you add up the glue, the WhisperWalk, the shoe moulding, the threshold and step edge, the cleaner, the tool rental and purchase of the tools that were missing, the spacers, .... I estimated the final price was double the planks alone.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Can be done. I put Mannington engineered wood on slab with good results. You need a barrier. Check their web page for instructions. I don't know about Pergo, but Mannington has the installation instructions on their web site.

[edee em]

I have laminate in my basement. As far as moisture goes, I was able to buy an underlayment that is a combination pad and moisture barrier (pink versus blue). Ask for it. I taped the seams with that red tape they use to seal exterior tyvek, etc.