Q: I am interested in purchasing some engineered flooring. I have installed engineered flooring before that could be glued or stapled down. I chose to staple the flooring down. I see on the website some of the engineered floors must be glued down and cannot be stapled. What is the reason for this?
Thanks,
Jon
A: A majority of engineered floors can be both stapled and glued down, but in some cases manufacturers will not approve a floor for stapling and its only suitable installation method is to glue. The primary reason tends to be floor thickness. You'll notice most flooring which is only suited for glue-down installation is 5/16" and this tends to be a risky floor for staples as they are too likely to blow through the tongue.
This also tends to be the case with parquet floors, where they are only approved for a glue down installation. If you would prefer to staple-down your engineered floor, look for one that is a bit thicker. You can also look into some of the click-together floating engineered hardwood floors out there rather than looking into a glue down floor.