If you want to glue wooden flooring over concrete, here is what you will need to know. You can fit both engineered wood and solid wood flooring over a concrete subfloor. A solid wooden floor needs to be glued down to the concrete. An engineered wooden floor can either be glued down or laid over an underlay.
Before you start installing any type of wooden floor, you need to make sure the subfloor is flat, level and dry.
Things to do before fitting the wooden floor
The main check you need to do with a concrete subfloor is to ensure that it is flat, level and dry. If it is not, then you need to prepare your subfloor fully, otherwise your wooden floor may become damaged in the future. Here are the main things to do:
• Check that the concrete is flat and level – use a straight edge or spirit level to test this. If it is not level, then you need to use a levelling compound to smooth out the surface.
• Ensure the concrete is dry – you will need to use a concrete moisture meter to check the moisture content of the floor. If your concrete subfloor is not fully dry you will need to allow it to dry before fitting your floor.
For more details about preparing your subfloor, please refer to the floor fitting instructions.
Which glue should I use?
When gluing a solid or engineered wood floor down to concrete, you should use a flexible flooring adhesive. This allows your flooring to expand and contract naturally without causing any damage to the planks. We would recommend using Sika MS Flexible Wood Flooring Adhesive Tub with a trowel, or Sika 52 Wood Flooring Adhesive Sausage with a barrel gun. These are both suitable for all engineered wood flooring and solid wood flooring under 150mm in width. If you have a solid wood floor over 150mm in width, you should use Sika T54 Flexible Wood Flooring Adhesive, as it is a stronger glue.
How do I glue my wooden floor to the concrete?
You should always use a full surface bond between the glue and the subfloor. Simply apply the adhesive to the subfloor and spread evenly across 1m² areas at a time. Now place the planks of flooring on top of the adhesive and push the together. Continue with this process until the room is complete. Remember to leave an expansion gap around the perimeter of the room.
For further details of installing your wooden floor, please look at our Installation Guide. Each box of our wooden floors will have detailed instructions. Please make sure you read these thoroughly before starting your installation. If you still have any questions, please contact one of our technically trained staff.
