Had to pick between a full glue down or a floating floor for a big basement job

The client in Greenville wanted luxury vinyl plank in their 800 square foot basement, which had a concrete slab with a few small cracks. I was worried about moisture and the slight slope, so the choice was a full spread adhesive or a floating install with a heavy underlayment. I went with the glue down method, using a moisture barrier primer first and a trowel-on adhesive. It took an extra day to set up and dry, but the floor feels rock solid now with no hollow spots. Anyone else lean towards glue down on questionable slabs, or do you trust a good underlayment more?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sage2d ago

Buckling in a year" seems like a stretch, lewis.charlie.

beth_baker6929d agoTop Commenter

Man, that sounds like a ton of extra work lol. I get being careful, but is a floating floor really that risky on a slab? A good underlayment with a vapor barrier is made for this stuff. My buddy just did his whole basement with a click lock floor and it's fine, no glue mess or waiting days to walk on it. Sometimes I think we overthink these things.

lewis.charlie29d ago

Wait, your buddy put a floating floor directly on a basement slab? That's a huge gamble with moisture. Concrete wicks water up like a sponge, no matter what underlayment you use. I've seen too many of those jobs buckle and cup within a year.