Gluing Hardwood Floor To Concrete

Gluing solid parquet flooring directly to a concrete slab.

Gluing hardwood floor to concrete.

Solid parquet should not be installed below grade. When gluing over a concrete slab it is important to take proper moisture readings. However advancements in engineered flooring have made above grade wood to concrete adhesion possible if certain conditions are met. Some engineered wood flooring products are designed for a glue down application when installing flooring over a concrete slab.

I have seen some glue down 3 4 solid hardwood floors directly to concrete and many installers use straps or clamps in an effort to force board rows tighter together during installation. There is no valid reason to glue a solid floor to concrete there are plenty of good engineered floors on the market the rh in the home must be maintained or it will cup. Be advised that over strapping can adversely affect the floor and may result in glue bond failure seam peaking twisted boards or out of square floor board alignment. While it s possible to glue hardwood flooring to concrete it s a messy and risky procedure and it s prone to failure.

All adhesives are not made the same. The national wood flooring association recommends two alternative installation methods. Solid parquet hardwood flooring can be glued directly to a concrete slab on grade or above grade with the use of a manufacturer recommended vapor retarder. In most instances hardwood flooring is never glued directly to concrete.

Other products are better suited for a nail down installation where they are secured to a wood subfloor with nails or staples. Installing plywood over the subfloor or using sleepers which are two by fours laid flat across the floor and used as nailers. Once your subfloor preparation is complete and your floor is level it is time to choose an adhesive. Glue down hardwood floors on concrete the installation of hardwood floors by the glue down method is used predominately on concrete slabs.

The concrete slab needs the proper moisture vapor protection underneath and proper drainage away from the building. Check with the manufacturer of your engineered wood to ensure that it s viable with the process. And for do it yourselfers the preferred method is the floating floor installation which uses no glue or nails.