Gluing of hardwood
floors represents a sizeable part of the
hardwood flooring business with most of it
installed on concrete in homes that are
generally on grade (no basement).
Not For The Timid
DIY
These types of
installations are more prone to failure over
all others. Some of
the more common reasons
include; improper or no floor preparation,
wrong adhesives or incorrect amounts applied
resulting in de-bonding of the material from
the subfloor. This is why any glue down
installation should be performed by someone
that has the experience and know how. Adding
to the difficulty is the mess involved.
How Are They
Installed?
Gluedowns are
installed by trowel spreading of adhesive on
the subfloor in a pre determined area (shown
above). Usually professionals will measure
out three feet or enough for twelve rows to
cover, using a three inch wide board as an
example. Each and every individual board is
placed one at a time into the adhesive until
the glued area is covered. Once completed,
another area is marked and laid.
Not All Types Of
Hardwood Should Be Glued
Contrary to what you
may hear, not all products can be glued
easily. Put another way, gluing solid 3/4"
hardwood has always been risky business, but
some premium urethane glue manufacturers
will warrant their use. The difficulty
encountered with solid hardwood is the lack
of flexibility compared to more common
products that are glued; engineered
flooring.
Common types used for
gluing down are engineered hardwoods.
Thickness vary from
1/4 inch up to 5/8" depending on the
manufacturer. During manufacturing the
bottom sides of many products are milled
with relief cuts. This insures the flooring
can bend to minor irregularities in the
contour of the subfloor it is being
installed, while increasing the bonding
contact with adhesive at the same time. This
is definitely not an excuse to skip floor
preparation; stressed heavily on this site.
Pros and Cons Of
Gluing
Most consumers prefer
the solid feeling of hardwood floors
underfoot. Floating floors for the most part
do not offer this benefit unless a premium
underlayment is used and a very flat
subfloor is maintained prior to
installation. After the addition some still
complain of the hollow effect floating
floors exhibit. A properly glued hardwood
floor will feel and sound very much like a
traditional solid floor.
Adhesives
Adhesives used for
these types of installations do not come by
cheaply. More preferred types recommended by
many manufacturers can cost upwards of
eighty cents a square foot depending on
where it is purchased. With any glue down
installation, do not take the suggestion of
ill informed persons that any old glue will
work while saving you bunches in the same
breath. Skimping on costs in this department
may very well lead you to our message board
forum titled, "Yikes I Have Problems."
How Long Does It
Take To Install? Are Adhesives Toxic?
Assuming you have a
400 square foot, square room with furniture
moved and everything is ready to go, one
experienced installer can complete a 3 inch
wide glue down installation in 10 -12 hours.
Adhesives used today are predominantly three
types. Water based, urethane based, or
acrylic, with the majority of manufacturers
leaning towards the urethane.
Older more toxic
adhesives are long gone, with newer more
environmentally friendly varieties. If you
are chemically sensitive it may be wise to
vacate the premises when work is being done.
With glue downs, curing time is typically
one day or an overnight period before
furniture can be moved back into place. |
