Installing engineered wood flooring is a great project for the diyer who desires the look of a professional wood floor with the strength and longevity offered by its sturdy design.
Glue engineered floating floor.
However other brands are installed as floating floors.
Similar to laminate flooring engineered wood flooring is designed with a decorative surface layer glued over a plywood or mdf core.
The engineered floors family of brands provides the best flooring for homeowners builders and commercial spaces.
Both option is good for different reasons but you need to decide which is more important to you.
When working on a clean concrete subfloor the glue down method is often the go to choice.
Glued down means using a bonding agent adhesive or glue which is put directly onto the subfloor before laying any of your engineered wood flooring.
If professional installation is used to complete the glue down process the total cost of product and installation could far exceed floating vinyl plank flooring.
You need to leave a 5 16 inch gap between the flooring and the baseboard or wall around the perimeter of the room to allow the floor enough space to expand.
After you ve taken the time to consider the different engineered hardwood flooring options it s time to decide whether you want to go with floating wood floors or the glue down variety.
Glue nail staple and float.
If you ve decided to install engineered hardwoods there are four possible installation methods depending on the subfloor.
The floating approach is used in many scenarios where the flooring is being installed over an old adhesive left behind from an earlier flooring product or anything involving residual asbestos.
Floating vs glued down engineered wood flooring.
As an installation method glued down is most suited for either concrete or wood subfloors.
Engineered flooring goes down over a thin foam sheet which provides cushioning and sound dampening.
The glue down method of engineered wood flooring installation is typically the most common and creates a highly stable floor.
The planks glue together to create a floor that floats moves freely as a unit.
Glue down vinyl plank floors are less expensive per square foot than floating options but the cost savings is then offset by the fact that additional installation supplies are needed.
Some engineered wood flooring products are designed for a glue down application when installing flooring over a concrete slab.