Glueing Hardwood floor?

tricky99

We are covering a large area in a heavy engineered floor board - advice is to glue it to the concrete which is extra costs. Is this needed vs floating the floor and how does glue withstand underfloor heating?

olestoepoke

use an oil based polyurethane glue should be fine

lgk

You could use a product such as Elastilion Supposed to work well with underfloor heating and allows for expansion/contraction which will be important for a large span.

tenbob1

I fail to see the reasoning behind ever having to glue down a decent engineered floor in a house. Ask the retailer for the reasons behind his recommendation, and decide if its because they want to see you the extra product. Its a given that it can sound better when walked on, but these days there are excellent sound reduction underlays available to counter that.

bee06

I've been told by my underfloor heating supplier that gluing the floor is the best option to ensure the UFH works most efficiently. Using normal underlay isn't a good option because it traps the heat underneath it and prevents it heating the timber floor. You can get specific underlay but it's still going to be an extra barrier.

tenbob1

Very true, an underlay will be an extra barrier. However you need to weigh out the pros and cons of each job. Gluing the floor means that the floor is fixed permanently, there is no triming, there is no access to the sub-floor or your underfloor system. Should the floor swell, or should you have a major leak in the house, the floor will still come up, subfloor still attached, an engineered floor that gets wet is stronger in many cases than internal walls.

There is an underlay product called acoustica good with a low tog rating (0.22) that costs approx €5m2 (depending on retailer obv) that could work for you. It is the way that I would fit it in my own house.