Hardwood Flooring Installation methods

• Stability: very stable even on the lesser flat surfaces, as the adhesive once cured will hold down the floor, not allowing vertical movements.
• Subfloor type: screed, plywood, OSB, chipboard. Virtually on any flat, continuous and and sound subfloor without loose areas. There are some exceptions when the new wooden floor will be installed on wooden battens, sprung floor, or the subfloor is already covered with electric underfloor heating matts.
• Installation time: it a straight forward installation method, but requires care and attention so the adhesive will not end up on the new wooden floor. It can ruin the oil or lacquer finish if used by inexperienced and untidy fitter...
• Curing time: depending on the adhesive type it can take between one and three days for the adhesive to reach it's maximum strength for coping with high levels of traffic. Basically it can take very light traffic right after installation.
• Wooden floor types: all widths of boards, herringbone parquet, chevron parquet, Versailles panels, end grain parquet, industrial edge parquet, all as engineered wood or solid wood.
• Costs: on itself it can be expensive when compared with the other methods, if a quality adhesive is used. But on the other hand it can help lowering the overall budget by being suitable to most of the subfloors.
• Removal: Glued down wooden floors are hard to remove and the subfloor can be damaged during this process. By using this method the wooden floor will be totally fixed to the subfloor which is great of course but not when you intend to replace the wooden floor with each change of the fashion.

• Stability: has a tendency to be a bouncy floor. When stepping over the floor the foot pressure will cause the floor to be compressed down. There will be also a laminate like sound when stepping with harder shoes or dropping various objects over the wooden floor. The bounciness is more visible on surfaces that are not perfectly flat and even more if a cheap underlay is used.
• Subfloor type: screed, plywood, OSB, chipboard. Virtually on any flat, continuous subfloor. Can be a much better alternative on brittle screeds that are too weak to provide a good grip for adhesive. Not suitable when the new wooden floor will be installed on wooden battens, sprung floor but the best solution when the subfloor is already covered with electric underfloor heating matts.
• Installation time: it a straight forward installation method, much preferred and loved by multiskilled, handymens, builders and many fitters.
• Curing time: depending on the adhesive type it can take between one and three days for the adhesive to reach its maximum strength for coping with high levels of traffic. Very light traffic right after 12 hours from installation.
• Wooden floor types: Only engineered wooden boards but NOT herringbone parquet, chevron parquet, Versailles panels, end grain parquet, industrial edge parquet, solid boards.
• Costs: If a quality underlay that helps stabilising the floor is used it can get close to the cost of the glued down installation method but if a very cheap underlay is used which it can be the cheapest possible installation method but also the worst solution.
• Removal: very easy to remove and leaves the subfloor intact

Caution: we advise always to consider the glued down installation rather than floating and if floating is chosen then it should be for good reasons, not because is cheap or the inexperienced builder insists.

• Stability - a stable wooden floor but not as stable as a glued down floor since the adhesive used has to be flexible but as the quantity is smaller it cannot stabilise the wooden floor enough. The laminate like sound will still be present when stepping with harder shoes or dropping various objects over the wooden floor. If the floor will be subjected to high traffic the reduced amount of adhesive will not provide enough grip so the wooden floor will decuple and become very bouncy.
• Subfloor type: screed, plywood, OSB, chipboard. Virtually on any flat, continuous and and sound subfloor without loose areas. There are some exceptions when the new wooden floor will be installed on wooden battens, sprung floor, or the subfloor is already covered with electric underfloor heating matts.
• Installation time: quite demanding since first the undelay has to be spread and then the slots to be filled with adhesive. The installation process can become pretty messy at times because of the adhesive that has to be applied as high long ridges and when the wood elements are joined the adhesive can be pushed into the grooves or over the tongues.
• Curing time: Faster than the glued down installation method. The PVA glue reaches it’s maximum hardness in 18 to 24 hours but it will set in approx 30min. This means that the hardwood floor can take very light traffic right after installation.
• Wooden floor types: all widths of boards, herringbone parquet, chevron parquet, Versailles panels, all as engineered wood or solid wood but NOT end grain parquet and industrial edge parquet.
• Costs: because of the adhesive used în conjunction with the underlay the undelay can be less costly thus the final cost can be reduced but it may cause a workmanship cost increase as it requires more care and time than any other installation method.
• Removal: medium difficulty and the subfloor can be damaged during this procedure.

Caution: again we advise always to consider the glued down installation rather than a hybrid between floating and glued down since beside a possible small cost reduction does not bring any extra benefits but the contrary.

• Stability - very stable on flat surfaces but since the nail has a limited length it will not get a grip in the lower sections of the subfloor thus a possibility of vertical movement and squeaks.
• Subfloor type: flat plywood, OSB, joists. Not suitable on screeded subfloors and underfloor heating systems.
• Installation time: it is simply the fastest.
• Curing time: since it is a mechanical fixing there is no curing time.
• Wooden floor types: only wooden boards engineered wood or solid and the narrower the better. The wider the board the higher the risk of movements especially for solid wood but even for engineered if on high traffic areas.
• Costs: it is the cheapest possible since the cost of the nails cannot be beaten even by the cheapest underlay.
• Removal: Secret nailed hardwood floors are hard to remove but not as hard as the glued down ones. The subfloor can be slightly damaged during this procedure

Caution: If the quality and density of the subfloor is low then squeakes cause by moving nails will appear. Also the cheaper non serrated nails will cause squeaks even on the best wooden subfloor.

• Stability - very stable on flat and even on not so flat surfaces as the thread of the screw will provide a great grip into the subfloor.
• Subfloor type: flat plywood, OSB, joists. Not suitable on screeded subfloors and underfloor heating systems.
• Installation time: it is less faster than secret nailing but still faster than the other methods.
• Curing time: since it is a mechanical fixing there is no curing time.
• Wooden floor types: only wooden boards engineered wood or solid and the narrower the better. The wider the board the higher the risk of movements especially for solid wood but even for engineered if on high traffic areas.
• Costs: it is cheap but still a bit more expensive than using the secret nailing installation method due to the cost of the special screws
• Removal: The hardwood floors installed this way are hard to remove but not as hard as the glued down ones. The subfloor can be damaged during this procedure as the screws might pull up the weaker areas of the subfloor

Caution: During the installation process there is a high risk of damaging the boards surface by accidentally missing the screw head with the drill bit.

• Stability - very stable even on uneven surfaces since the screws length can be chosen as needed so the wood will be securely fixed.
• Subfloor type: flat plywood, OSB, joists. Not suitable on screeded subfloors and underfloor heating systems.
• Installation time: one of the slowest considering the extra work that is required for each screw and making the dowels.
• Curing time: since it is a mechanical fixing there is no curing time.
• Wooden floor types: only wooden boards or parquet blocks engineered wood or solid of any width.
• Costs: although the screws are not a major cost due to the extra labour involved it can become expensive depending on the size of the parquet blocks or boards.
• Removal: Easy to remove and with minimum damage to the subfloor if removed carefully by unscrewing each screw.

Caution: This hardwood floor installation method can be used only on unfinished floors which will have to be sanded and treated after installation. The multitude of “dots” on the floor where the dowels are will create a rustic look.

• Stability - intentionally the stability of these floors is precisely decreased to allow the right level of flexibility.
• Subfloor type: screed, plywood, OSB, chipboard. Virtually on any flat, continuous and and sound subfloor without loose areas. There are some exceptions when the new wooden floor will be installed on wooden battens, sprung floor, or the subfloor is already covered with electric underfloor heating matts.
• Installation time: depends on the specific requirements given by the future use of the wooden floor.
• Curing time: since it is a mechanical fixing there is no curing time
• Wooden floor types: wooden boards engineered wood or solid of narrow width.
• Costs: depends on the specific requirements given by the future use of the wooden floor.
• Removal: difficult to remove