When it comes to hardwood floors, may people decide to glue them down, and yes, many people decide to do this on their own. However, the most common issue that tends to arise here is choosing the right glue for the job. This is what we are here for today, to help you find the best glue for hardwood floors.
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- Very strong bond
- Water resistant
- Solvent resistant
- Permanent tack
- Extremely strong bond
- Moisture control feature
- Great for general repairs
- Ideal for filling gaps
- Moisture resistant
- Great moisture barrier
- Ideal for all sorts of wood flooring
- Great bond strength
- Indoor and outdoor use
- Floating and glue down applications
- Solid and floating applications
- Easy to spread and not messy
- Low odor and low VOC
- Ideal for bonding wood to various materials
Our Overall #1 Rated Pick
Bostik GreenForce 0 VOC Adhesive
Something you might be wondering is what the best type of glue for hardwood floors is. The answer is that urethane glue is best for hardwood floors.
Urethane adhesives are ideal for this task because they are great structural adhesives, ones that often remain very flexible, thus being suitable for applications that require the glue to move when pressure is applied, such as when one walks around on a floor.
Our overall pick for the best urethan glue for hardwood floors is Bostik GreenForce 0 VOC Adhesive, and there are many reasons for this.
Top Features
- Moisture resistant
- Very strong bond
- Dries flexible
- 0 VOC
When you purchase Bostik GreenForce 0 VOC Adhesive, you get a full 4 gallons of it, which should be enough for quite a large surface.
This particular urethane glue is ideal for bonding all sorts of wood, but is of course best used for hardwood flooring.
Many people like this glue because while it dries and cures at a decent rate, it does not dry so fast that it cannot be worked with easily. In other words, you can still move boards around for a few minutes after the glue has been applied.
Many people also appreciate how this glue contains no volatile organic compounds, it releases no nauseous fumes, and it has no smell either, making it great for indoor applications.
Bostik GreenForce 0 VOC Adhesive also dries quite flexible, which is necessary for flooring where people will be walking on it constantly.
Glue for Hardwood Floors – Buying Guide
Are you short on time or just want a quick answer?
Check out our list below for a summary of our results.
- Bostik GreenForce 0 VOC Adhesive
- Titebond 2104 Tongue and Groove Glue
- ROBERTS 7350-1 Flooring Adhesive
- DriTac Professtional Wood Floor Repair Adhesive
- Cal-Flor GL82114CF Eurobond
- Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue – Best all around hardwood floor glue
- ROBERTS 1407-1 Flooring Adhesive
Here we want to take you on a quick guide on the main things to know and to look out for when buying hardwood floor adhesive.
What is Glue for Hardwood Floors
Quite simply, this is a specially designed type of glue or adhesive that is used to glue hardwood floor boards down to the material underneath, with the aim of bonding the floor together.
On a side note, did you know that you can use wood glue to glue down hardwood floors as well as engineered floors? Yes, that is right, all sorts of wooden flooring can be glued down.
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Types of Glue for Hardwood Floor
There are two main types of glue that can be used to bond hardwood floors to the materials underneath. Both can be used, but one might be better.
Urethane Adhesive
Urethan glue, also known are some of the most important and widely used structural adhesives out there.
The big difference between this type of glue and other adhesives is that urethane adhesive can be designed to dry with great flexibility, thus making them ideal for weight bearing applications where the finished product needs to be able to move to some degree, such as when a person walks over a floor.
Although urethane adhesives can be made in a “quick cure” variety, they do sometimes take up to 10 hours or more to cure, but they do also tend to form very strong bonds, more than strong enough to keep hardwood flooring in place for years to come. Moreover, this type of glue should also be waterproof, which is of course also important for flooring.
Water Based Adhesive
If you have a moisture barrier in place, a very good one, then you may also use a water based adhesive for flooring. However, remember that this is a type of adhesive made with water, and due to this, it is not very resistant to moisture, even when totally cured.
In other words, if this adhesive gets wet, it can lose its strength and the bond may come undone. Yes, they are water resistant when bonded, somewhat, but they are not fully waterproof. Therefore, while water based adhesives can be used for gluing wood, they are definitely not the best choice for hardwood flooring, especially when compared to urethane glue.
How to Glue Hardwood Floors
What needs to be said here is that gluing down hardwood floors is quite the process, enough to write a book on, so it’s more than we could possibly explain here today. This involves preparing the sub-floor, preparing the hardwood, all of the surfaces, and more. However, what we can do is provide you with a video tutorial on gluing hardwood floors.
How Much Glue do I Need for Wood Floors?
How much glue you will need for hardwood floors will depend on one main factor, and this is how well the individual pieces of flooring fit together. In other words, it has to do with how thick the glue line needs to be.
If your sub-floor is very straight and level, and all of the wooden boards are cut to size well, the glue line may be as thin as 1/64th of an inch, or in other words, everything fits together well. If this is the case, a single gallon of wood glue may be enough to cover up to 100 square feet of surface area.
However, if the glue line needs to be thicker, as will be the case if the sub-floor is not perfectly done, or if the individual boards are a bit coarse and don’t fit together 100%, you may need more glue, as your glue line may be as thick as 1/32nd of an inch.
If this is the case, a single gallon of glue may cover as little as 50 square feet. In most cases, you can expect a gallon of wood glue to cover roughly 75 square feet.
Using Wooden Floor Adhesives – Safety Tips
There are a few safety tips that you will definitely want to adhere to when gluing hardwood floors, whether with urethan glue or other types of glue. Let’s keep you safe!
- Always perform this task in a well-ventilated area, which means opening windows and possibly turning on air fans for some airflow. Even if the glue in question is zero VOC, it may still cause headaches and other related symptoms if too many fumes are inhaled.
- Always wear the proper protective gear when working with any such wood glue. Wearing long sleeves and pants to cover skin, gloves to cover your hands, and possibly eye protection to keep glue out of your eyes is recommended.
- If you are working in a small area, one that is not well ventilated, you may need to wear a facial mask or a respirator to protect yourself.
- It is always a good idea to choose wood glue that does not contain any volatile organic compounds. You do not want VOCs in your home.
The Best Glue for Hardwood Floors
Here we want to take a closer look at the 7 best glues for bonding those hardwood floors to the sub-floor underneath.
The top best product [hide]
Bostik GreenForce 0 VOC Adhesive
Another important factor here is that this glue does not smell, release nauseating fumes, and it does not contain any volatile organic compounds other. In other words, this glue is totally safe and can even be used in spaces that are not overly well ventilated.
- Complete with moisture control
- Great for use on concrete
Titebond 2104 Tongue and Groove Glue
- Designed for use with tongue & groove
- Ideal for use with floating floors & laminate
ROBERTS 7350-1 Flooring Adhesive
- Ideal for many floor types
- Very aggressive bond
- Moisture Control
DriTac Professtional Wood Floor Repair Adhesive
- Ideal for filling voids and gaps
Cal-Flor GL82114CF Eurobond
- High moisture resistance
- Best for floating floors
- Meant for click or tongue & groove flooring
Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue – Best all around hardwood floor glue
ROBERTS 1407-1 Flooring Adhesive
The Verdict
To repeat, the number one product we recommend here is Bostik GreenForce 0 VOC Adhesive. It dries strong and flexible, it produces a moisture barrier, it’s easy to work with, and it can bond many types of wooden flooring to various types of subfloors. Remember to read over our buyer’s guide in order to make the best possible choice.
