Glue Down Engineered Wood Flooring

Glue-down or floating?

Glue-down: the most solid, quiet feel; best heat transfer over underfloor heating; no expansion breaks needed across large areas in many cases; ideal for wide boards and parquet. Needs a well-prepared subfloor and more skill and time. Floating: click boards over an underlay; quicker, cleaner and DIY-friendly; can sound slightly hollower and may need expansion breaks in large rooms.

Why choose glue-down?

• Solid feel: no movement or hollow sound underfoot.
• Underfloor heating: adhesive passes heat better than an underlay.
• Large spaces: bonded boards can run through open-plan areas without breaks, where the maker allows.
• Wide boards and parquet: held flat and tight.
• Quieter for neighbours: less drumming sound than a floating floor.

Preparing the subfloor

1. Moisture: test concrete and screed; new screed often takes many weeks to dry. Use a moisture barrier system if needed.
2. Flatness: level dips and grind high spots to the maker’s tolerance.
3. Soundness: remove loose material, old adhesive and dust.
4. Primer: apply if the adhesive maker requires it.

Choosing the adhesive

Use an elastic, solvent-free MS polymer, silane or polyurethane wood floor adhesive suited to engineered wood and to your subfloor. Some adhesives also act as a moisture barrier within stated limits. Over underfloor heating, choose one approved for heated floors.

How glue-down is done

1. Acclimatise the boards in the room.
2. Spread adhesive with the trowel notch the maker specifies, only over an area you can cover within the open time.
3. Press each board into the adhesive for full contact; weight boards that do not lie flat.
4. Clean any adhesive off the face of the boards immediately.
5. Leave an expansion gap at the walls.
6. Keep traffic off until the adhesive has cured.

Our installation guides explain the method in more detail.

Glue-down engineered wood room by room

Open-plan kitchens and living spaces: one continuous, solid floor. Rooms with underfloor heating: the best heat transfer. Flats: quieter, but check acoustic requirements; some leases need an acoustic layer under bonded floors. Herringbone hallways: held tight and flat. Bathrooms: never real wood.

Choosing a board for glue-down

Most tongue and groove engineered boards are designed to be glued, and many click boards can be glued too; check the product’s installation instructions. Wide boards and parquet benefit most from gluing, because the bond keeps them flat. Over underfloor heating, choose a board approved for heating and keep within the maker’s temperature limit, usually 27°C, bringing the heating up slowly after fitting.

How much adhesive?

Coverage depends on the trowel notch and subfloor; check the adhesive’s data sheet and allow a little extra for wider boards and parquet.

Comparing samples at home

Order free samples of two or three options and put them on the floor of the room where they will be laid. Look at them in daylight and in the evening under your own lamps, next to the walls, skirting, units and furniture they will sit with. Colours and textures look different in every room and on every screen, so a few minutes with real samples is the best way to avoid a costly mistake. Stand back as well as looking close up: a floor is mostly seen from standing height and from the doorway.

Common mistakes

• Gluing to a screed that is not dry.
• The wrong trowel notch, leaving hollow spots.
• Adhesive left to dry on the face of the boards.
• Walking on the floor before the adhesive has cured.

Lifting a glued floor later is much harder than lifting a floating one, so choose the board carefully and order samples first.