When people often think about hardwood floor installation, they probably picture someone hammering down nails into a wood floor in backbreaking work. Well, at times it can be backbreaking, but we wanted to get into some differences between nail down flooring, glue down and floating floors.
Choosing which floor installation you want depends on the flooring material being used. It also depends on if it is being installed above or below grade and the subfloor material. Grade is in relation to the level of the house floor that is located. The second floor of a home is above grade, ground floor is on ground and the basement, you guessed it, is below grade.
Certain types of floor installation should be installed at different grades.
Nail Down Flooring
This is the most common type of flooring. It requires a wood subfloor and is very solid and designed for on grade or above grade. Nailing down the hardwood floors is the most common installation method when it comes to solid flooring.
The process involves nailing the flooring directly to wood subfloors. Usually the nail down floor is “blind nailed” through the tongue portion of the floor (tongue & groove flooring). With this method the nails are nearly invisible after installation and you’re left with a beautiful looking floor.
Glue Down Flooring
This flooring is for all grades and usually installed above wood or cement subfloors. The glue down method involves using adhesive glue to hold in place the hardwood floor to the below surface. The adhesive creates a very strong bond that will hold the wood floor together.
If you really want to go above and beyond, try using glue down method with nail down. That floor is not going anywhere.
Floating Floors
Floating floors are one of the most popular types of floors since being introduced in the 1990’s because of the ease of use as many DIY’ers love this type of job. This floor is neither nailed down or glued, it simply floats on a subfloor as the title suggests.
The floor is usually tongue and groove or clipped to itself. This gives the floor some stability without actually fastening the floor to the subfloor.
Which flooring type do you prefer? Write in the comments below and let us know.