Wood Floor - Subfloor question

[jmyszka]

I am planning on installing 5/8'' bamboo flooring in my three story townhouse. I just ripped up the carpet and pad on the second floor and discovered the subfloor material is not wood, but rather something that resembles cement board used for tiling. When I pulled the nails from the carpet tack strips out, some small pieces flaked off.

Does anyone have an idea of what material this subfloor might be? Is my guess of cement board correct? I would take a piece of it to home depot to compare, but just haven't had the time. If it is cement board, am I correct in assuming that my nail-down job just became a glue down job?

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[roger61611]

[Joe]

Get rid of the crumble board. It would be huge mistake not to install bamboo or any nice wood on a proper subfloor. By all means call customer service at the flooring manufacturer for recommendations. They will have the best advice you can get. You might get lucky and find a nice solid plywood subfloor, and that is likely what the flooring people would advise you to use. Good luck.

Joe

[krw]

Could it be homasote and someone thought this would make the floor quieter? Maybe there is plywood underneath? In any case, I think it's got to go.

No, I think you now have a "rip up" job first. Bummer, eh?

[jmyszka]

I just spoke with the builder, and they tell me that it is 2-3'' of lightweight concrete for noise/fire prevention purposes (the garage is on the first floor). My guess is that this means I now have a glue-down job?

The concrete is fairly clean, I have swept and vaccumed. Do I need to use concrete cleaner before I can glue?

Thanks,

Joe

krw wrote:

[JimL]

I would vacuum and then damp mop to get rid of all the dirt and dust. Patch any bad spots with polypatch material or any concrete patch.

Then follow slab instructions that comes with your floor product EXACTLY. Let that be your ONLY source of advice.