How to Glue Down Engineered Flooring
Engineered flooring is a composite product that looks like hardwood but costs just a fraction of the price. It is made from a plywood base topped with thin layers of real wood veneer. Because it uses real veneer, it is difficult to distinguish from hardwood, even up close. While many engineered flooring products are designed to be installed without glue or fasteners, some installers prefer to glue these floors to the subfloor. Using adhesives on engineered flooring create a more stable and solid installation and helps to eliminate the hollow sound associated with floating floor systems. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Hammer
- Engineered wood
- Flooring adhesive
- Notched trowel
- Solvents
- Clean rags
- Circular saw
- Pry bar
Instructions
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1
Measure the room to determine how much material you will need. Purchase about 5 percent more than you think you will need to accommodate natural color and grain variations in the wood. Place the flooring in your home for 48 hours so that it can acclimate to temperature and humidity levels before installation.
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2
Choose your flooring adhesive carefully based on the manufacturer's recommendations for your engineered floor. Urethane-based adhesives will almost always produce longer-lasting results, but they tend to be highly toxic. Water-based adhesives are less toxic and less combustible, but they tend to hold up less securely over time.
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3
Prepare your subfloor. Use leveling compound to smooth out uneven or rough surfaces. Grind away concrete bumps with a grinder. Engineered flooring can safely be installed over any existing floor as long as it is adhered to the subfloor. Sweep or vacuum the floor before proceeding to remove dirt and debris.
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4
Install your first floor board along the longest wall in the room. Use spacers to create a 1/4-inch expansion gap along the wall, which will allow the material to expand and contract over time. This first row of flooring should be nailed in place, with flooring nails placed through the tongue of the board rather than the face.
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5
Spread a thin layer of flooring adhesive on the floor using a notched trowel. Only apply enough adhesive to cover a 3-foot wide area of the floor at one time.
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Connect the planks together using their integral tongue-and-groove connectors. Press them firmly to the floor to ensure the adhesive will bond. Stagger the joints along each row as you work to improve the stability and final appearance of the floor.
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Use solvent to clean away excess adhesive carefully from the floor boards as you work. By removing the glue before it has time to dry, you are minimizing the risk of damage or stains on your floor.
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Cover the expansion joints with trim or molding to complete the project.
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Tips & Warnings
When applying engineered flooring in moisture-prone areas like basements or kitchens, add a small amount of glue along the tongue of each board. This glue should be installed along each board as you work and should be used in additional to regular flooring adhesive to help increase the life of your floor.
