Laminate and parquet in the new building - screed moisture?

We are currently building a house. We have many questions about laminate and parquet. We have sought advice from various stores (Holzfachhandel, Parkettverleger, and BayWa) and have received a lot of different information. We have underfloor heating in the entire living area.

1. Should the moisture in the screed be measured by drilling into the screed, or is it sufficient to wait at least 6 weeks and properly heat the screed?

2. Which type of wood is very hard for parquet? We are interested in maple or beech. Definitely something light! (However, there is also the opinion that beech should not be laid on underfloor heating)

3. What do you put underneath? Impact sound insulation and foil combined or separately? The specialist dealer says that if the screed is dry (proven by drilling), no foil is needed. Also, the impact sound insulation should reduce some sound and not be too thin...

4. We are interested in laminate and parquet from the company Meister. Does anyone have experience with the quality of these products? Which other brands can be recommended?

We are currently building a house. We have many questions about laminate and parquet. We have consulted various stores (wood specialist trade, parquet installers, and BayWa) and received a lot of different information. We have underfloor heating throughout the living area.

1. Should the moisture in the screed be measured by drilling into the screed, or is it enough to wait at least 6 weeks and properly heat the screed?

2. Which type of wood is very hard for parquet? We are interested in maple or beech. Definitely something light! (However, there is also the opinion that beech should not be laid on underfloor heating.)

3. What do you put underneath? Impact sound insulation and foil combined or separate? The specialist trade says that if the screed is dry (proven by drilling), no foil is needed. Also, the impact sound insulation should reduce some noise and not be too thin...

4. We are interested in laminate and parquet from the company Meister. Does anyone have experience with the quality of these products? Which brand else can you recommend?

Hello,

Regarding 1: Moisture measurement is absolutely necessary when laying parquet.

Regarding 2: Beech and also maple are not recommended for underfloor heating; it is better to use oak, cherry, or walnut.

Regarding 3: For parquet flooring on underfloor heating, only fully glued parquet flooring is an option. Floating parquet is not suitable, because air pockets form between the substrate and the parquet flooring during floating installation. If you use an impact sound mat, two air pockets are created between the substrate and the mat and the mat and the parquet. Air is one of the best insulators, and if you install underfloor heating under floating parquet flooring, the heat must penetrate two air pockets, an impact sound mat, and the parquet itself before warming a room. So much heat is lost that it simply does not pay off or that the performance of a normal underfloor heating system may not even be sufficient.

Regarding 4: I cannot contribute anything.

Hello,

firstly regarding point 4:

Meister laminate is okay, not the best, but absolutely okay in terms of price-performance ratio.

Once again about moisture measurement. As already described, screed moisture measurement is absolutely necessary and also required; the best and most suitable is a CM measurement, which is also the only legally recognized measurement. Additionally, for heated screeds, a heating-up protocol is absolutely necessary.

There are also definitely possibilities to install a floating floor, but it is absolutely important to ensure that it is approved for heated screed. For impact sound insulation, there are various solutions; get advice from a specialist dealer, but it is correct that a glued solution is better and above all more effective, because with impact sound insulation you lose heating power.

Regards Andreas

Very hard for parquet would be, for example, bamboo – that should also work with underfloor heating. But it also always depends a bit on the thickness and the installation method. Otherwise, all hardwoods – hard wood – hard parquet. I would not recommend maple there.

We have impact sound insulation Duo Protect (with moisture protection) and additionally a foil. The costs for the foil are low and therefore I would not do without it.

As laminate, we used Parador and are very satisfied with it. We absolutely cannot confirm the topic of "increased dust formation with laminate." Because of the structure, it feels very good, especially with underfloor heating, even barefoot.