Engineered hardwood flooring has a cross popularity with customers, builders and contractors. Not all floor installers like to see this type of floor when they are asked to install it using the glue down technique.
Installing an engineered hardwood floor nail down is only possible when you have a wooden subfloor. The Glue down technique is suitable for any type of hardwood and subfloors, but it’s easier and faster to install the engineered hardwood floor by using this technique.
So what is the problem for the floor installers in using this technique? If you are a newbie, and you also are interested in this question, for starters, I recommend that you try to install any kind of wood to the glue.
Frankly, when I did it for the first time, the glue was smeared everywhere on the subfloor- my hands, pants, t-shirt, upon the newly installed floor, and even in my hair! But the worst thing is; I smeared many wooden boards that were not set, with glue from my dirty hands. I needed to use a special solvent that removes glue from the floor, but it didn’t improve the situation much.
First, working with a solvent, I spent a lot of time fixing my own mistakes, and secondly, because the glue, which I used for the installation, dries up very quickly, it was getting harder and harder to remove. This means that part of the installed boards looked, frankly, just awful.
By the time I installed the prefinished and unfinished hardwood, it was expertly nailed down. So why did I accept a job about which I knew little and had no experience with? Since I was an immigrant speaking poor English, and with the need to feed my family, and create good living conditions for them, I had to settle for any job. By installing engineered hardwood floor glue down often enough, I obtained good experience, and eventually became an excellent floor installer.
Quality engineered hardwood floor Installation or any other type of floor with glue down technique – is “aerobatics”. To learn this technique, you will need to develop a few qualities that you already have. These qualities are mindfulness, discipline, and neatness. For the last of these qualities I would give special attention.
As a floor installer, you have to install unfinished and prefinished hardwood. As a rule, installers are not very concerned about how much glue they leave on the surface when they install unfinished hardwood. They know that it will be subject to floor cleaning machines, which will remove any excess stain, otherwise, their errors.
The situation is quite another thing when the floor installer is working with prefinished hardwood. All his attention should be focused on not making unnecessary blots on the floor, as in the long run, he will have to spend a lot of precious time cleaning.
I recommend installing prefinished and unfinished engineered hardwood floors with the same accuracy. Over time, this will allow you to develop the great habit to work cleanly.