Parquet: glued, floating or nailed? Coating Solutions

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03/12/2022
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Batirama.com 07/03/20081

Whether nailed, glued or floating, laying solid or engineered parquet requires above all good preparation of the support, the only guarantee for a long-lasting structure.

"In what is described as a sluggish economic climate, the parquet market is doing well" declares Louis Borg, President of UFFEP*. "In France, sales increased by 1% between 2003 and 2004, representing 9.5 million m²." Laminates represent 3/4 of the market while solid woods, which are still very popular, represent the remaining quarter. "We have noted, for 4 years, an increase in parquet floors to be fully glued" adds Louis Borg. In terms of trends, wide planks are highly appreciated for their aesthetics. "We are seeing more and more enthusiasm for brushed and aged parquet floors, says Louis Borg. Demand is turning to colors and finishes highlighting the grain of the wood. We are returning to the authenticity of the waxed parquet floors of yesteryear. "worn wood" look is very much in vogue." Regarding species, oak remains unbeatable; it represents 70% of the market. Exotic woods are attracting more and more consumers thanks to their red and dark hues, demand is constantly rising.

Prepared substrate, permanent parquet

The preparation of the site is just as important as the installation itself. Proper preparation determines the life of the parquet. Before laying, the wood of the parquet should normally have a moisture content of less than 20%. The surface must be flat, smooth, regular. Its humidity must always be measured and not exceed 3ù. If the installation is carried out glued, the ground must imperatively be clean and degreased. With regard to the underlays, their installation makes it possible to protect the parquet from possible rising damp and to improve walking comfort by reducing noise. The use of an underlay, such as a polyane film, is strongly recommended in the case of a floating installation or even mandatory for acoustic reasons in certain cases. For glued installations, cork underlays can be used. In all cases, the underlays must cover the entire support on which they are laid, preferably perpendicular to the slats, floating, edge to edge and without overlapping or possibly fixed together by adhesive strips. For the direction of the pose, it is dictated more by experience than by any technical constraint. Regarding the slats, it is customary to lay the slats perpendicular to the lit facade; concerning the poses in point of Hungary or herringbone, it is the bays which will be perpendicular to the lit facade. The peripheral joint must not be neglected. Under penalty of seeing the floor lift, you must leave an expansion joint of 5 to 8 mm along the masonry and other fixed obstacles.

Source: batirama.com / Darie Chaloyard

*French Union of Parquet Manufacturers and Contractors

Glued installation applies to solid and engineered floors of all thicknesses, unless otherwise specified by the manufacturer. This laying technique can be used on almost all supports allowing the adhesion of the glue.

Parquet: glued, floating or nailed ? Coating Solutions

For carpets, shaved or not, they must be laid down and the screed cleaned before laying. On tiling, it is necessary to make a smoothing coating, a leveling or use a mastic glue with the bead. Glued installation requires, as a priority, the combination of an adhesive and an underlay to comply with acoustic regulations. Indeed, parquet glued directly to the support only benefits from the acoustic damping of the glue. To optimize acoustic damping, the use of "flexible" adhesives is preferred (single-component polyurethanes, two-component epoxies and MS polymers). The use of "rigid" adhesives is also possible when it comes to vinyl or alcohol resin (for an absorbent support) or two-component polyurethane (for a non-absorbent support). Note that the undercoat must be compatible with the glue. The implementation of the parquet is carried out thanks to two systems:

• full gluing with a spatula (preferably choose a notched spatula which guarantees the weight of the glue)

• bead gluing allows parquet to be glued to very slightly uneven surfaces or tiles. The parquet is glued to the support with beads of polyurethane mastic glue perpendicular to the direction of the boards.

TO REMEMBER:

Advantages: good sound insulation, low opening height (at least 2 cm), compatible with underfloor heating, suitable for all decors (herringbone, English style, point from Hungary, the friezes...)

Limits: longer implementation time, hence a time for the glue to dry before being put back into service

Speed and simplicity characterize this technique (the most used) which offers very good sound comfort in each of the living rooms. It applies to engineered wood floors from 10 to 23 mm thick.

It is suitable for all types of surfaces provided that they are stable and flat. The boards are glued together by grooves and tongues with white glue. There are also self-locking slat systems by interlocking or clipping that no longer require glue and thus make it possible to dismantle the parquet. The blades are then assembled together, each being held by the previous one. The floating installation excludes the use of panels or mosaics. The laying of a floating floor requires the use of a suitable underlay, both to avoid possible rising damp and to soundproof the floor and provide greater walking comfort. installation of a resilient underlay provides a separation function to which sometimes additional actions such as improved acoustic performance against impact noise, walking comfort are added... Acoustic insulation underlays cover the entire support on which they are placed, preferably perpendicular to the slats, floating, edge to edge without overlapping, possibly fixed together by adhesive strips. A floating floor can be implemented on the underlay, itself being placed on the support. The parquet/underlay combination guarantees the sustainability of acoustic performance over the long term. The option of a system made up of an underlay associated with an adhesive also gives the assembly excellent acoustic qualities.

TO REMEMBER:

Interests: arises quickly and on any medium

Limitations: straight lay only

This traditional installation is only intended for solid parquet 18 mm thick and possibly for engineered parquet 23 mm.

The parquet can be poured on a screed or on joists using joists (better acoustic comfort). It is also possible to leave the joists floating on the support by wedging them with sand: this technique ensures better sound and humidity insulation of the parquet by acting as an underlay. The reservation height for a nailed parquet floor is therefore important. The nails must be planted at an angle in the groove or the tongue depending on the direction of the installation, then a nail punch comes to drown the heads. The next plank then fits into the first and thus hides the nails, the operation is repeated until the last plank which will be put in place with a crowbar and nailed in full or wedged.

TO REMEMBER:

Advantages: the traditional laying method allows you to put insulation, in a new construction, avoids making a thin screed

Limit: noisy

Laminates represent three-quarters of the market. What are their main characteristics?

While solid parquet is 100% made of a single type of wood, engineered parquet is distinguished by its three layers of thickness. The first is the wear layer of at least 2.5 mm, in the type of wood chosen. This is the visible layer. Below, instead of having the same category of wood, extends a layer of high-density chipboard. Finally, the last layer, the backing, is made of unrolled wood, which stabilizes the whole.

What are its strengths?

Laminated parquet makes it possible to create original and very aesthetic designs: "Hungarian point", "herringbone", or even the most classic "English style with stone cut". Technically, engineered parquet adapts to different laying methods. It can be nailed to joists, glued or floating, these last two hypotheses being the most widespread. Another advantage of engineered parquet: it generally does not need finishing. Indeed, the blades are often treated, oiled or vitrified in the factory. So all that's left is to put them down.

*President of UFFEP

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Manufacturer sites

PARQUETS MARTY - www.parquets-marty.com

BURGUNDY PARQUETERIE - www.parquet.fr

BERRICHONNE PARQUETERIE - www.parqueterieberrichonne.com

FINNFOREST - www.finnforest.com

EASTERN OAK - www.chenedelest.com

JUNCKERS - www.junckers-france.fr

DESIGN PARQUET - www.designparquet.fr

PANAGET - www.panaget.fr

MORIN PARQUET - www.morinparquet.com

Standards

To order DTUs: www.cstb.fr

• NF P 63-201-1 (February 2004) Reference DTU 51.1 Installation of parquet floors to be nailed

• NF P 63-202-1 (August 1995) Reference DTU 51.2 Glued parquet

• NF P 63-204-1 (December 1997) Reference DTU 51.11 Floating installation of parquet and engineered floor coverings with wood facing

EACH FLOOR... ITS OWN PARQUET
SOIL TYPE	FLOATING	GLUE	NAILS
CONCRETE SCREED	Yes (underlay)	Yes	No
TILES, STONE, MARBLE	Yes (underlay)	Yes	No
SHOVED CARPET	Yes (underlay)	No	No
THICK CARPET	Yes	no	No
PVC, LINOLEUM	No	No	No
OLD PARQUET	No	No	Yes
PARTICLEBOARD	Yes (underlay)	Yes	Yes