ᐅ Glue down the hardwood flooring or install it as a floating floor?

Hello everyone,

Who of you has hardwood flooring in a new build? How was it installed in your case?

Did you have it glued down, or did you install click-lock hardwood floating?
What are your experiences with each method? (Impact noise, heating efficiency, etc.)

We are currently considering what to do. We could install click-lock hardwood planks ourselves, but only as a floating floor.
Most flooring specialists recommend gluing it down, though. However, a consultant from a flooring store said that with the right impact sound insulation, floating hardwood on underfloor heating is no longer an issue. So, what is actually correct?

If we decide to glue, we would only be able/willing to install parquet strips ourselves, as the planks would be too expensive. Installing planks ourselves is the only way to make that work.

We glued engineered hardwood flooring with a click system, using short planks designed to resemble country-style boards. I would definitely do it again. It simply sounds better than a floating installation.

Thank you for your information, nordanney! Do you then have both for comparison? So, in the upper floor, parquet installed as a floating floor?

Is there anyone else here with real wood parquet?

We installed floating parquet flooring. The planks were 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) long and were click-lock type parquet. The impact sound insulation was indeed not ideal, but with Hornbach’s lowest price guarantee, it was still quite affordable.

WildThing schrieb:
Hello everyone,

who among you has hardwood flooring in a new build? How was it installed in your case?

Did you have it glued down or installed as floating click-lock flooring?
What are your experiences with each method? (Impact noise, heating efficiency, etc.)

Here—in the 'retreat area' (upper floor)—we glued down 2-layer hardwood flooring. Impact noise is not an issue for us since we only walk around in soft soles (socks, slippers, or similar), so there’s no rattling at all.
In our previous rental, floating click-lock laminate was installed, and it rattled in some places despite soft soles (probably due to poor installation).

Heating efficiency: In theory, glued flooring should be better here, but I don’t have a direct comparison.
However, it’s important to check which adhesive the installer uses. My sister had a job where an adhesive no longer approved was applied, which released quite a few organic compounds. The damage was significant, the installer’s insurance had expired, and the installer eventually declared bankruptcy. My sister was very frustrated.
Here, on the other hand, no problems—the installer did a good job.

Best regards,
I.

I think a professional company will usually recommend gluing the flooring, as they also earn their living from installation, and that is certainly not entirely wrong. This method supposedly allows the top layer to be sanded down easily when it becomes worn. It’s basically the premium option in the parquet flooring area.

At Hornbach, however, I was told that with a good impact sound insulation (e.g., selitflex 1.6mm (0.06 inches)) with a correspondingly low thermal resistance, there should be no significant disadvantages regarding the heat output of underfloor heating. When it comes to impact noise, you might have to accept some minor compromises. But in return, you can later replace the engineered hardwood flooring relatively easily without major problems. This might even be cheaper than gluing and sanding later, and you have the option to choose something new.

I don’t have any experience so far either, but I’m also looking for advice from people who have already made the decision. There will probably be good arguments for both installation methods, which everyone must weigh up for themselves.