Can You Glue Real Hardwood Floors
What is the advantage of using solid hardwood flooring over the other types such as an engineered hardwood flooring floating wood floors or glue down engineered flooring.
Can you glue real hardwood floors. Solid hardwood floors must be fixed into position by either gluing or nailing down to the subfloor. You are not saying we can glue 3 4 solid wood over concrete are you well the answer is yes and no. Such flooring like unfinished 2 1 4 strip that requires mechanical fastener to hold it down and pull it together tight can. The underlayment beneath floating floors can make the floors feel a little softer under your feet which can be nice.
So at least you have to glue it down and once you ve done that nailing it will not make any real difference. To determine the best method you need to look at the home and your geographic area and see which is right for the floor. If installing glue down hardwood flooring in a new house completely close the building in with all outside doors and windows in place. In part 3 we will examine the pros and cons of choosing the glue down method of installation.
I ve seen a lot of hardwood floors that have been glued down usually to concrete and they serve just fine for dozens of years under reasonable humidity. Glue down hardwood flooring often sounds more like real solid hardwood flooring than floating floors do. Engineered hardwood floors can be glued or nailed into position but they also have the option of being floated over an underlay. As you have read in part 1 part 2 there are multiple methods of installing hardwood flooring both engineered and solid.
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. When we say 3 4 wood flooring we are not speaking about your average wood that is bowed and bent. If you choose to fix your hardwood floor into position you then have the choice of either gluing your floor to the subfloor using flexible flooring adhesive to. The feel and sound of glued down flooring is reminiscent of the traditional hardwood floors of generations past.
Gluing a floor down with either the glue assist method or full trowel glue method will not stop a floor from cupping or crowning only well maintained moisture control above and below will do that. 3 4 solid hardwood flooring has a thick 5 16 top wear layer that can be sanded and refinished new again up to 7 times and can last well over 100 years. Before the installation begins it is important to perform a thorough job site inspection. And the final reason is that engineered flooring can be floated very easily by a do it yourselfer or by a professional.