In our last post, we discussed the different types of subfloors over which you could install the Staybull® brand of eco-friendly wood flooring.  This time, we will take a look at using Gypcrete, Vinyl, and Radiant Heat as subflooring as well. However, these subfloor options are not recommended for our brand of recycled hardwood flooring.  If you choose to install Staybull® over one of these subfloors, you do so at your own risk.  We cannot honor the warranty for the reasons outlined below.

Gypcrete

Gypcrete is like lightweight concrete, and is relatively weaker than a traditional concrete subfloor. Many people who glued down a wood floor on top of gypsum concrete reported that changing moisture levels caused it to expand and contract.  Some people even reported that the subfloor itself was brittle enough to be torn apart under the pressure.  Because of this, if you’re 100% certain you want to use this product, we recommend other flooring options that are suitable for floating installations.  Because Staybull Flooring® is unsuitable for floating installations, we do not recommend using a gypcrete subfloor.

Vinyl

We do not recommend vinyl subfloors underneath Staybull Flooring®, either.  Vinyl can trap moisture beneath the floor, and further aggravate that problem by preventing the wood from breathing on the bottom side.

Radiant Heat

Heat and moisture can cause countless problems with hardwood flooring.  That is one reason why we do not recommend radiant heat subfloors for Staybull Flooring®.  The rapid heating that occurs over radiant heat subfloors can cause rapid moisture changes, which leads to warping, buckling, and cracking.  Only floating installations are suitable over radiant heat subfloors, and Staybull Flooring® is unsuitable for such installations.  We’ve discussed this with engineers and people who know wood inside and out and they tell us time and again that it’s just not a good idea to install ANY hardwood floor over a radiant heat source. Too many things can go wrong and you can end up throwing a lot of money at the resulting problems.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask using the comment form below.