Laminate glue down on concrete slab.

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dthornton

inspector gadget
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I need some "professional" advice ... not just another "I think" opinion. Our house is 40 years old; concrete slab. In one room, I pulled up the carpet, and then scraped up the vinyl/linoleum tile squares. The floor is smooth, with some old glue residue left on the slab (won't scrape off). We got a really nice laminate that we like. I don't remember the brand, but it is a top brand sold at Lowe's and has a 100 year guarantee. What I really want to do is to glue it directly down to the slab. I've asked at Lowe's, Home Depot, Lumber Liquidators, and searched online. Here's my issue ... all agree that you never put hardwood directly on slab, but that engineered may be okay, and all agree that laminate can be installed directly on slab. That's where the agreement ends. LL said that it's fine to glue the laminate to the slab ... the glue becomes a moisture barrier. Others say to glue down an underlayment first, then glue the laminate down to that. My wife was at Lowe's the other day to see which trowel they recommend for the glue, and a "professional" floor installer was in there at the time and said that in 25 years of working floors, he would "NEVER" glue laminate down to slab. He said to put down underlayment, :hide: and then install the floor "floating" - which I really didn't want to do because of the noise - every one I've walked on makes this hollow "clack, clack, clack" noise when you walk on it. I've been following the House Repair site for several years now, and trust you guys. So, please tell me the right way to put this down. Can I glue it down, or not? :confused: Thank you in advance, and God bless!
 
Call the flooring MFG and talk to their teck support, they will know more about their product and how it performs than any guestimate we can offer. Just my :2cents: I've learned over the years that reading directions makes my life a lot easier.
 
I installed about 900 sqft over an underlayment on a slab with hydronic radiant heat in it and never had an issue with any noise. While my laminate was rated for use over radiant heat, I was still concerned with some expansion creating some slapping. Never happened and I was very happy with it floating.
I think any noise is more likely because of a poor install or a slab that's not perfectly flat and or a cheap underlayment.
 
If you glue laminate, you will have a lot of problems. It is floated because it expands and contracts so much. If glued, it WILL buckle. Can you afford to replace it in a few months WHEN it fails, not IF?
 
If you glue laminate, you will have a lot of problems. It is floated because it expands and contracts so much. If glued, it WILL buckle. Can you afford to replace it in a few months WHEN it fails, not IF?

There is plenty of laminate flooring that's rated for glue down. You just need to be sure you use the correct product and the sub-floor is acceptable.
 
I’m with Sam never glue. Many of them now have the padding as a backer on the piece of flooring and those that don’t have a pad between them and the base floor. I have never had any sound come from any of mine when walked on.
 
Engineered can be glued down, not laminate.
 
Thanks, guys. Olddog, you are correct ... "read the directions." Pergo gives a 100 year warranty, if, of course, it is installed according to directions. I put down the Pergo Gold underlayment. Hiring out the install ... it "locks" on both the sides and ends (or is supposed to) and my frustration level went up about a hundred points when it wouldn't lock together as supposed to. I even watched Pergo's "Install" videos (they make it look SOOOOO easy!). But, I'm doing floating, not glue. Thank you all for the advice (and just as I said initially, there are conflicting opinions). Flooring guy .... you are absolutely right .... I do NOT have the money to do the floor all over again when it decides to buckle. Blessings to each of you. :beer:
 

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