engineered wood floor - float or glue

andrewf75

Hi all, I hope someone can help

Just had our engineered oak floor delivered, which we were planning to glue down so 3 big tubs of expensive glue have also been delivered as ordered.

But unexpectedly also rolls of underlay.

Obviously I will call the company but wanted a second opinion. As I understand it, if we glue the floor down there is no need for underlay? Is that right? And if we float the floor there would be no need for glue? Why would they think we want glue and underlay? I thought one advantage of floating was that there was no need for loads of expensive glue?

Hope this makes sense to someone who knows about this!

cyclonebri1

3 tubs? 1 tube of gap filling polyurethane addy should do the job.

I don't think you need the underlay to lay the Eng Oak, but;

The stuff you have isn't "click fit", it will pull gaps unless either fixed down or to itself, ie,

You can stick all the boards together over the insulation and let the gaps move under the skirting
Or;
Glue it down solid to the existing floor/floorboards

andrewf75

Right so you wouldn't use that glue if you were only glueing the boards together. The 3 tubs is because we're sticking 43sqm of it down direct to the concrete.

I'll send the underlay back.

cyclonebri1

andrewf75 wrote: »

Right so you wouldn't use that glue if you were only glueing the boards together. The 3 tubs is because we're sticking 43sqm of it down direct to the concrete.

I'll send the underlay back.

NO, I'd glue the boards together over the underlay, but not to the floor if it is on concrete. Have they given you too much?, possibly, but that's a bonus not an issue.

A, you need the underlay to absorb movement and

B, it's unlikely that the bonding to dry concrete will overcome the natural expansion of the flooring which is far great than that of concrete. It will end up floating or gapped.

andrewf75

The glue is £50 a tub stuff specifically for glueing to concrete so if I decided to float I would get a refund for that!

The glue is specifically designed to allow expansion isn't it? Are you saying that it doesn't work?

cyclonebri1

andrewf75 wrote: »

The glue is £50 a tub stuff specifically for glueing to concrete so if I decided to float I would get a refund for that!

The glue is specifically designed to allow expansion isn't it? Are you saying that it doesn't work?

Ok, just ensure you get glue into the joints to prevent expansion cracks.

I can't comment further, you keep adding very considered and important info that would change anyone's view's,????????

andrewf75

OK, sorry for not being clear!
Thanks anyway

Just called them and they made a mistake and are refunding the underlay.

nobulljusttruth

Has the underfelt got gaps in it..... normal underlay for solid wood flooring has slots in it if I remember rightly....

andrewf75

nobulljusttruth wrote: »

Has the underfelt got gaps in it..... normal underlay for solid wood flooring has slots in it if I remember rightly....

no idea, the underlay was delivered by mistake, we're getting the floor glued down.

Doozergirl

I think it's personal preference. For me, I'd prefer to lay it floating. Any benefits of gluing it down (of which I can only think if the floor isn't level which it should be in your new space) don't outweigh the cost of glue and additional labour to stick it to the floor.

I'd only attach it to the floor if it was part of a suspended floor.

andrewf75

Doozergirl wrote: »

I think it's personal preference. For me, I'd prefer to lay it floating. Any benefits of gluing it down (of which I can only think if the floor isn't level which it should be in your new space) don't outweigh the cost of glue and additional labour to stick it to the floor.

Yeah the glue is certainly pricey, but not much more than the underlay. Labour costs seemed reasonable at 500 for 43sqm but this price was agreed as part of the extension cost so maybe we're getting a good deal. The builder was quite keen to float it so I guess its a bit more tricky. Floor is level but the floor will go through to the existing house so not sure how level that is.

I just don't like the idea of the hollow feel that you supposedly get with floating floors.

Is your preference for floating as a builder or as a customer?