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mpwdmom

Glue-down or Floating??

mpwdmom
12 years ago

I've chosen a floor...Shaw Vintage Charm which is an engineered floor (Epic Legends Collection) in hickory. The floor guy says they usually do it w/ glue down installation. I went to a friends home this evening and her bedroom has a pre-finished wood floor (from Home Depot) that is floating and it seems good. It's a year old and feels solid, looks fine. She says the install was fast...one day.

Should we choose floating install for ours instead of glue?

Thank you!

Comments (5)

  • hald
    12 years ago

    Only my personal opinion as a diy. I've removed and replaced both types of floors. The floating system is the best, imho. The amount of work involved in removing a glue down floor is tiring just to think about. You're probably gonna want a new floor in about 10 to 20 years, even if everything you do goes perfectly. Removal of the floating floors is so much easier...

  • bsspewer
    12 years ago

    I echo what hald said. Floating is easier to remove/replace or fix. Floating also allows for settling of the house without cracking or warping the floor.

  • floorguy
    12 years ago

    Floating has it's plus and minus.

    It is faster once you have all the floor prep done.

    It can be installed over other hard surface flooring.

    The floor prep is very important! The surface of the substrate must be flat! Movement and moisture are a floating wood floors enemy. Movement causes noises and it can fracture the tongue & groove joint, increasing the foot traffic noise. 1/8" dip, or crown in 6' is all that is allowable. This is the most overlooked aspect of any wood floor... substrate flatness.

    Transitions: Every doorway 4 feet or less, must have a Tee transition, to allow the two areas to move and float independently.(small closets can slide by that rule in some cases)
    Transitions at runs grater than 30-35 feet are also required, splitting the expansion.( undercutting sheetrock and thicker wall base trim molding, can overcome this in most cases)

    The hollow sound. It is there with hard sole shoes. Tennis shoes or rubber sole shoes it isn't as noticeable.


    With a gluedown, it is a solid feel.

  • mpwdmom
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks so much! Interesting to read about the prep. I have no clue if our slab is flat...we're the original owners of the house, been here 30 years. But I assume the installers will check level, along with moisture testing. Noting

    Floorguy - I'm noting your advice about the Tee-transition. I'm not worried much about hollow sound. I just want a properly done install and then hope the Shaw floor is a decent one. This is our first wood floor.

    Thanks again.

  • don92
    12 years ago

    If this is engineered hardwood you are putting down I would spend a little more money on labor/material to have a glue down floor. Floating floors no matter how well laid in my opinion have a diy look and feel to them. Thats a good floor you bought and it should have a solid, permanent feel when installed.

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