Glue Down Or Floating Hardwood Floor

A glue down floor is usually a better choice in high traffic areas like commercial buildings and industrial spaces because the glue provides extra holding power.

Glue down or floating hardwood floor.

When it comes to engineered hardwood floors two common methods of installation are floating and glue down. Glued down flooring sounds more solid and is less forgiving as you walk. The glue down method of engineered wood flooring installation is typically the most common and creates a highly stable floor. Because of the way it is installed there isn t a hollow sound when walking across the floor or a spongy feel this is something that can be an issue with floating floors if they aren t installed perfectly and with optimal conditions.

As mentioned previously glued down floors are a bit of a more permanent option. Three main installation methods are used with today s hardwood and laminate floors. At first let us begin with explaining what a floating floor actually is and then we ll move on to clarifying what actually the term engineered wood floor means. Floating engineered wood flooring is one of the most common installation methods.

In most cases glue down flooring is covered by a commercial warranty while floating flooring may be limited to only a light commercial and or residential warranty. The most common method is the floating install which requires no glue. No glue down stapling or nailing is required because individual boards attach to each other instead of to a subfloor so the wood floor essentially floats over the subfloor. When working on a clean concrete subfloor the glue down method is often the go to choice.

Around the house the rooms with the most traffic such as the front hallway the kitchen and the recreation room are better served by glue down flooring than floating flooring but if you re considering a whole house. The following is a rundown of all the basics you need to know about these two installation methods. Glue down hardwood flooring often sounds more like real solid hardwood flooring than floating floors do. The feel and sound of glued down flooring is reminiscent of the traditional hardwood floors of generations past.

Floating floor versus glued floor noise. Boards adhere well to the rough surface of the concrete subfloor and therefore lead to less gaps or planks lifting and buckling.