Methods
Floating Floor
- Is not attached to the slab or subfloor but “floats” on top
- Most can be installed over existing ceramic tile or vinyl and can be installed where there is higher moisture content with the use of a moisture or vapor barrier.
Glue Down Flooring
- Is glued directly to concrete slab
- A layer of mastic is placed onto the sub-floor using a trowel.
- The wood pieces are laid on top of the glue and hammered into place using a rubber mallet.
Nail Down Flooring
- Installed on screeds (1X4 or 2X4 short length pine) and mastic (tar) over concrete subfloor or on wooden subfloor.
- Mastic acts as a moisture barrier
- Nails allow for the most natural expansion and contraction of the hardwood floorboards.
Stapled Flooring
- Installed on screeds and mastic or wooden subfloor.
- Not recommended for exotics.
- Will give a stronger, less-forgiving hold than nailed down because of its two-pronged construction.
Systems
Tongue and Groove
- One side and one end of the plank have a groove, the other side and end have a tongue (protruding wood along an edge’s center).
- The tongue and groove fit snugly together, thus joining or aligning the planks, and are not visible once joined.
- Depending on flooring type, tongue-and-groove flooring can be installed by:
- Nail-Down
- Staple
- Glue-Down
- Floating
Floating Floor (2 systems available)
- Click Lock | Snap Lock | VersaLock™ System
- Patented click lock system – no glue or nails required
- A “click” floor is similar to tongue-and-groove, but instead of fitting directly into the groove, the board must be angled or “tapped” in to make the curved or barbed tongue fit into the modified groove.
- Pros:
- Clean installation – avoid the mess of using glue
- Repairs are easier, since you can remove the damaged planks without worrying about destroying the locking “tongues.”
- VersaFit™ System
- Shaw patented LVT technology – allows for 3 different installation methods
- Loose-lay (float)
- Perimeter glue (hybrid float and glue)
- Full-spread (glue-down)
