The pros and cons of floating laying vs bonded laying
THE PROS AND CONS OF FLOATING LAYING VS BONDED LAYING
The choice between floating/floating (or interlocking) installation and glued installation of a parquet represents a fundamental step when deciding to install a new wooden floor. Both methods have specific pros and cons; the best choice will depend on the individual needs of the customer and the conditions of the subfloor.
What are the real differences between floating and glued parquet installation? Let’s discover together the pros and cons associated with each pose.
This article aims to explore in depth the meaning and characteristics of each type of pose, offering a clear and detailed guide that can help you make an informed choice. We will explore the peculiarities of the two methods by analyzing their advantages and disadvantages, to provide a complete overview and all the elements necessary for an informed and personalized choice based on your needs.
Below you will find some brief preliminary terminology:
FLOATING LAYING
this means that the parquet is basically leaning on a laying plane; it can be laid dry in the case of self-locking click joint which bind one board to the other, and this is when the parquet can be dismantled and refitted whenever you wish; or it can be done with vinyl glue in the tongue-and-groove joint if the joint of the boards is not a self-locking click, then the boards will have to be tied to each other with adhesive so as not to detach from each other; here the parquet would be removed, although this would not be possible without breaking the adhesive which binds the axles together, therefore resulting in most of the boards being lost. The floating installation of a click-fit parquet is therefore a reversible option, which does not require any use of glue, neither on the ground nor between one board and another.
This solution is ideal for those who in the future want to remove or replace the floor without damaging the subfloor. In the case of environments with a certain degree of rising damp or located on the ground floor, floating installation on a mat is the only practicable one.
BONDED LAYING
unlike floating installation, glued parquet is fixed directly to the substrate using a specific glue. This method offers a feeling of greater stability and solidity, making it the preferred choice for environments where the floor will be subjected to heavy weights.
HARDWOOD PARQUET
flooring which has essentially been extracted from a tree truck, and which is essentially noble for all of its thickness.
MULTILAYER PARQUET
a multilayer parquet is composed of various cores: the lower layers can be plywood, like birch, poplar or HDF, and the upper layer consists of a noble core of any species; please note that the upper layer must often be of at least 2.5 mm for it to be called a parquet.
PREFINISHED PARQUET
wooden flooring, whose surface has already been finished at the factory, meaning it can be walked upon immediately after being laid; this should not be confused with the multilayer parquet, although it is true that almost all supported types do come prefinished, whereas it is not true that all prefinished versions are supported as there are also a number of prefinished hardwoods.
WHAT TYPE OF LAYING SHOULD BE CHOSEN?
No method is better than another. It depends on various factors:
– what type of parquet has been chosen;
– what kind of substrate will we find as a laying plane;
– what preferences the customer has.
Let’s look at one factor at a time:
THE PARQUET CHOSEN
There are countless types of parquet available on the market, various types for composition, coupling, finishing etc. There are a number of exceptions and special cases, however as a general rule, we can say that hardwood parquet should be bonded (or nailed) to the ground because it is slightly less stable than a multilayer parquet, although having said this, a lot depends on the core which has been chosen; however, a click interlocking feature means that the core and the processing phase guarantee that it remains stable to allow a floating assembly (as with our 12 mm strand woven type). On the contrary, the multilayer parquet can be bonded to the screed or can be floated, whether or not it has tongue & groover or click interlocking features.
SUBSTRATE
Given that the substrate needs to be solid, dry, clean and flat,
– if we have a cement screed, then we can both bond it and float it;
– if we have a damp substrate, or we suspect that it may become somewhat damp over a period of time, then it is best to lay it floating (if the core chosen allows this) by using an anti-moisture PVC cloth underneath the mat;
– if the substrate is on the grainy side, there are tiles which jump off of it for one reason or the other, or if its neither smooth nor compact, then a floating floor will be laid once more;
– it cannot be bonded if the substrate is made of wood, because the movements of the two types of wood would “pull” in opposite directions.
CUSTOMER PREFERENCES
This is entire personal both in terms of taste and requirements, etc. What we can do is outline the main pros and cons when it comes to laying, citing both methodologies.
WHO PREFERS GLUED INSTALLATION
– who wants a feeling of greater solidity under the feet;
– those who knows what will retain parquet for decades and believes it will be rebladed after several years; this process is easier with bonded flooring;
– who does not want to see any expansion joints between one setting and another;
– those who have floor heating;
– for laying bamboo on stairs.
WHO PREFERS FLOATING INSTALLATION
– who prefers to have the parquet installed itself (DIY installation);
– who wants to be possible to dismantle the flooring and reuse it in another location (around 80% of the flooring can be reused);
– who wants to preserve underlying flooring which you do not want to ruin, for instance when renting out a home to strangers;
– those who don’t want glue under their feet, not even the most environmentally friendly ones;
– who prefers a “softer” walk that is less traumatic for the legs; every now and then you will hear some creaking typical of a wooden parquet;
– knows that there is rising humidity a little above the norm;
– any defects are rectified by using an air mattress which is always applied during floating whenever the substrate is of an irregular nature;
– he wants a potential tenant on the floor below to hear less noise when we walk.