ᐅ Is it possible to glue down a floating parquet floor afterwards?
Created on: 12 Aug 2021 15:13
X
X_SH5_X
Hello everyone,
we remodeled a house last year (and are still partly working on it). With a project like this, you learn a lot and realize you would do some things differently.
One of those things for me is the floating parquet floor. We installed plank flooring measuring 2200x180x12mm (87x7x0.5 inches) floating on a layer of impact sound insulation. We had an issue where the screed was slightly higher in one room, so we leveled it out a bit by adding more sound insulation to match the height. That’s not really what bothers me. What bothers me is that the floor, especially in the hallway where there is heavy foot traffic, squeaks. The noise is most noticeable at the joints between the floorboards. Probably the subfloor wasn’t even enough—I thought the sound insulation would help compensate for that.
Now I’m wondering if it makes sense and is possible to take up the parquet and glue it down afterward. Would I need to apply a leveling compound on the screed beforehand to get a perfectly flat, even surface? Or is it enough to just glue the boards down as they are, since the boards would then be fixed firmly in place?
In the area where we previously tapered the impact sound insulation, I would probably have a friendly tile installer fill that area with some sloped leveling compound.
What else should I keep in mind? The baseboards on the walls are glued down, but hopefully they can be removed and reused. The doors have not yet been sealed at the bottom with silicone, so that should not be a problem. The transitions between rooms are covered with thresholds, so those shouldn’t be an issue either.
The question is whether this is actually worth the effort or if I might just make things worse afterward 😉
I’m considering starting with a small room (13m² / 140ft²) to test this out. What are your opinions?
Oh, and please, no advice like “just glue it down from the start” or “it’s best to have a professional do it right away”... thanks!
we remodeled a house last year (and are still partly working on it). With a project like this, you learn a lot and realize you would do some things differently.
One of those things for me is the floating parquet floor. We installed plank flooring measuring 2200x180x12mm (87x7x0.5 inches) floating on a layer of impact sound insulation. We had an issue where the screed was slightly higher in one room, so we leveled it out a bit by adding more sound insulation to match the height. That’s not really what bothers me. What bothers me is that the floor, especially in the hallway where there is heavy foot traffic, squeaks. The noise is most noticeable at the joints between the floorboards. Probably the subfloor wasn’t even enough—I thought the sound insulation would help compensate for that.
Now I’m wondering if it makes sense and is possible to take up the parquet and glue it down afterward. Would I need to apply a leveling compound on the screed beforehand to get a perfectly flat, even surface? Or is it enough to just glue the boards down as they are, since the boards would then be fixed firmly in place?
In the area where we previously tapered the impact sound insulation, I would probably have a friendly tile installer fill that area with some sloped leveling compound.
What else should I keep in mind? The baseboards on the walls are glued down, but hopefully they can be removed and reused. The doors have not yet been sealed at the bottom with silicone, so that should not be a problem. The transitions between rooms are covered with thresholds, so those shouldn’t be an issue either.
The question is whether this is actually worth the effort or if I might just make things worse afterward 😉
I’m considering starting with a small room (13m² / 140ft²) to test this out. What are your opinions?
Oh, and please, no advice like “just glue it down from the start” or “it’s best to have a professional do it right away”... thanks!
KlaRa schrieb:
Parquet installers learn their craft through a training period of about 3.5 years, followed by time as a journeyman.
They learn what constitutes a proper subfloor, what is required to securely bond mineral-based leveling compounds to the subfloor, and, when working with long planks, they measure the wood moisture before gluing, because this material can expand significantly due to swelling pressure.
For the glue application, they also learn the correct angle to hold the notched trowel, and to change the notched edge when it wears down, to apply the correct amount of adhesive necessary to secure the parquet boards.
All of this cannot be casually learned from DIY literature!
Therefore, my well-intentioned advice: leave such trades to professional companies that can recognize the many potential pitfalls—unlike amateurs.
Spending more money in the right place can actually be the more affordable way.
At this point, I will just mention (from my own experience) the case where a homeowner glued parquet in his living room by himself but left no expansion gap for aesthetic reasons.
The parquet responded to the room’s climatic conditions (during one summer) and, due to swelling pressure, pushed the exterior wall of the house about 5cm (2 inches) outward.
As a result, a structural engineer had to be involved. Although the floor was cut free, structural support measures had to be implemented.
In the end, the homeowner could have traveled to the Maldives with his wife for the amount they had to pay in court—money that would have covered the cost for a professional parquet installer to do the job right from the start.
Not every trade belongs in the hands of amateurs!
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Good advice: KlaRa Thank you for your explanation. But if you look at it that way, you wouldn’t be allowed to do anything yourself at home. There are tradespeople who have learned everything for each task.
I understand what you are trying to tell me. That’s why I want to start with a small room first.
KlaRa schrieb:
That’s why my well-intentioned advice is to leave such trades to the specialists who can recognize the many potential pitfalls—unlike a DIYer.The question for you @KlaRa … for the original poster:X_SH5_X schrieb:
Do I need to apply leveling compound to the screed beforehand to achieve a completely flat, even floor? Or is it sufficient to just glue the boards down tightly since they are firmly bonded?
@ypg:
Long planks are very sensitive to excessive unevenness. The larger the size (this also applies to ceramic tiles), the higher the required flatness of the subfloor must be.
Compensation through impact sound insulation underlays is neither sufficient nor technically correct, as their function is not height leveling.
However, the assessment of whether adequate flatness has been achieved or still needs to be created must be carried out professionally. It is not enough to proceed subjectively and without understanding the criteria that must be evaluated. This is part of what I meant by the training required for parquet installers.
The scope of factors to consider is very extensive.
Every installer, whether a professional tradesperson or a do-it-yourselfer, is responsible for familiarizing themselves with all relevant technical standards.
To answer the last question correctly:
Old leveling compounds can (and in most cases do) lose their properties over years of use.
This includes not only loss of adhesion (meaning it becomes loose) but also the loss of necessary strength.
Technical guidelines state that all old leveling compounds must be completely removed down to the screed surface before a new installation.
This aspect is especially important for hardwood flooring, as the wood planks generate significant forces on the subfloor due to climatic conditions, effectively “pulling” on it.
If the old leveling compound can no longer perform its function, but new planks are still installed, this can lead to total failure of the glued floor.
This is not just a theoretical statement but—unfortunately—a practical experience I sometimes have to assess for courts.
Therefore, my advice is to leave such tasks to professional specialists to ensure warranty safety.
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Best regards: KlaRa
Long planks are very sensitive to excessive unevenness. The larger the size (this also applies to ceramic tiles), the higher the required flatness of the subfloor must be.
Compensation through impact sound insulation underlays is neither sufficient nor technically correct, as their function is not height leveling.
However, the assessment of whether adequate flatness has been achieved or still needs to be created must be carried out professionally. It is not enough to proceed subjectively and without understanding the criteria that must be evaluated. This is part of what I meant by the training required for parquet installers.
The scope of factors to consider is very extensive.
Every installer, whether a professional tradesperson or a do-it-yourselfer, is responsible for familiarizing themselves with all relevant technical standards.
To answer the last question correctly:
Old leveling compounds can (and in most cases do) lose their properties over years of use.
This includes not only loss of adhesion (meaning it becomes loose) but also the loss of necessary strength.
Technical guidelines state that all old leveling compounds must be completely removed down to the screed surface before a new installation.
This aspect is especially important for hardwood flooring, as the wood planks generate significant forces on the subfloor due to climatic conditions, effectively “pulling” on it.
If the old leveling compound can no longer perform its function, but new planks are still installed, this can lead to total failure of the glued floor.
This is not just a theoretical statement but—unfortunately—a practical experience I sometimes have to assess for courts.
Therefore, my advice is to leave such tasks to professional specialists to ensure warranty safety.
-----------------------
Best regards: KlaRa
KlaRa schrieb:
@ypg:
Long planks are very sensitive to surface irregularities that exceed acceptable limits. The larger the format (this also applies to ceramic tiles), the higher the required flatness of the subfloor surface must be.
Compensating with impact sound insulation material is neither sufficient nor technically correct, because the purpose of impact sound insulation does not include leveling height differences.
However, the assessment of whether the surface flatness is adequate or still needs to be achieved must be done professionally. It is not enough to proceed subjectively and without understanding the basis of what needs to be evaluated. This is part of what I meant, among other things, regarding training as a parquet installer.
There are many factors to consider in this area.
Every installer, whether a professional tradesperson or a do-it-yourselfer, is obligated to inform themselves about all relevant technical rules.
To answer the last question correctly:
Old leveling compounds usually lose their properties over time due to use.
This not only includes a loss of adhesion (meaning it is loose), but also a loss of the necessary strength.
Technical guidelines require that all old leveling compounds must be completely removed down to the screed surface when a new floor is installed.
This is especially important for parquet flooring because the wooden planks generate significant stresses on the subfloor due to climatic conditions, which can cause pulling forces.
If the old leveling compound can no longer perform its function but the new planks are still installed, this can lead to total failure of the (glued) floor.
This is not just a theoretical statement but, unfortunately, a reality I have had to evaluate in court cases from time to time.
Therefore, my advice is to leave such work to professional specialists, as this ensures warranty security.
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Regards, KlaRa Hello KlaRa,
I would like to briefly add something. I’m not sure whether this is a general recommendation from you or if it specifically relates to my case. We do not have old leveling compound under the parquet, nor was there any attempt to conceal irregularities with impact sound insulation material (except for a small adjustment at the transition to even out the height).
Previously, most rooms had carpet, which was removed and the floors were sanded. There were no major uneven areas, but I suspect that even minor irregularities can cause problems. It’s not like the floor creaks everywhere, only in some areas.
Maybe I will just leave it as it is for now — you get used to a lot after all… 😉
B
BBaumeister20 Aug 2021 09:14Small irregularities should not be a problem. Raised spots (these can also include thick drops of wall paint) should be removed, though. Minimal height differences are not an issue. However, if the height differences are too large, you should use leveling compound. A very long spirit level can help with this. Your floorboards are very thick, so they hardly adjust to height differences and can easily produce hollow spots. With very thin floorboards, this problem does not usually occur. Otherwise, everything should work as you described. A potential issue could arise if you cannot separate individual boards completely without damage, which might cause small visible defects at the joints.
H
hampshire20 Aug 2021 15:28KlaRa schrieb:
You can’t learn all of this just by casually reading DIY manuals! X_SH5_X schrieb:
Thanks for your explanation. But looking at it this way, you shouldn’t do any work alone at home at all. These two points don’t contradict each other. If you do the work yourself, you have to be willing, if necessary, to accept some learning costs or compromises in quality. You’re doing that without complaining, so all is well. Respect for the skills of experts is definitely justified. Such experts can be found among professional tradespeople as well as experienced DIYers.
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