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Is a subfloor on top of 1" of XPS foam unecessary?

apiersma's picture

Is a subfloor on top of 1" of XPS foam unecessary? (post #205632)

apiersma on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 16:22
in

I'm remodeling a basement that is dry. I propose to glue down 1" of XPS foam, then install a wood laminate floating floor on top. Adding in a plywood subfloor seesm extraneous if you are going to float a floor above it. Has anyone done this?

-A +A

Laminate flooring is not (post #205632, reply #1 of 2)

by DanH in reply to apiersma [original] on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 21:36

Laminate flooring is not rigid -- it will flex at the joints.  When you walk on it or put heavy furniture on it the developed PSI can likely exceed the strength of the foam.


We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Nature's inexhaustible sources of energy -- sun, wind and tide. ... I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that. --Thomas Edison

The foam will break down over time. (post #205632, reply #2 of 2)

by Jigs-n-fixtures in reply to apiersma [original] on Fri, 01/20/2012 - 12:43

You need a subfloor that is stiff enough it won't transfer point loads to the foam. 

Try asking the tech support folks at Dow for their recommendations.