Laminate Over a Concrete Garage Floor

Q: I am remodeling the garage into a family room. The laminate that has the backing on it already, does it still require the moisture barrier first? The concrete floor surface is above ground level.
Danni
A: The backing on laminate floors is not designed to prevent moisture vapor from entering your floor. In short – yes, you must have a vapor barrier when installing over concrete.
The backing boards added to laminate are built for stability and not to suppress moisture. Now if you are referring to a pre-attached underlayment then you will only need the moisture barrier to install. Underlayments which come pre-attached to some laminates are built only to cushion the floor and act as a sound suppressor.
To sum up – any time you are installing a floating floor over concrete (even at ground level) you MUST use a moisture barrier and underlayment or you will void your floor’s warrant and most likely end up needing to replace the floor again within a a few years if not months.