Vinyl Plank Flooring: Floating vs Glue Down | This or That DIY

If you want to put in waterproof vinyl plank (LVP) flooring, one of the first questions you need to answer is whether to use glue down or floating (click together) flooring. You're in luck because I've installed floating waterproof LVP and had glue down luxury vinyl plank floors, and in this video I go through the pros and cons of each!

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[daleyadventures]

My house is 126 years old. When you said that you couldn't get your old house level no matter what you did, I felt that in my soul.

[caitlanhatch]

We just bought 600 sq ft of glue down lvp for the main body of our new home. This video made me soo much more confident in the choice and now I feel better about the extra $1/sq ft I just spent

[LoXodonte]

I had glue down LVP installed by Nebraska Furniture Mart. It looks great in my bedroom and office and I was sold on the "waterproof" aspects of the flooring given the LVP would also be installed in my bath and laundry. In the first year post install my washing machine leaked all over the floor. I immediately cleaned but for the past 2 years I have observed sticky adhesive sections in a couple seems in the laundry room. The seams are tacky and have attracted dirt to the point that the LVP is beginning to look damaged. In the bathroom I have observed the same issue to a lesser degree...small adhesive coming up through the seams & attracting funk. Bit of googling and this appears to be a fairly common problem with adhesive based LVP, when water seaps into the seams. If a large selling point of LVP is the extent in which it is "waterproof", any future home owner may wish to research the worst case scenarios of water damage between adhesive LVP, and the locking LVP. You might also consider what is more likely to damage your floor, water, or something else. In my case, I think water related issues are far more likely, so I can't help but wonder if locking LVP would be better. Anyone ever do a hybrid? Locking in moist areas, adhesive elsewhere?

[MyLdriver]

Thank you, i will be choosing the glue down for my rental because of the repair ease.

[michaelsylvester]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts ideas on floors.
I believe if was up to me I believe I would choose the glue down.

[helenmarsh-sjkn]

Great, articulate video! I'm leaning towards the glue down option for the same reason you did -- the ease with which individual planks can be repaired/ replaced. Thanks for confirming the direction I'm considering.

[weekendhomeprojects]

Awesome, thanks for sharing. My aunt is trying to decide between floating and glue down. She's on a concrete slab and the guy that quoted her said he'd do the glue down for slightly cheaper. So I think she'll end up going with glue down.

[fishon]

To replace glue down flooring, heat the plank that is coming out with an iron or heat gun taking care not to damage adjacent pieces. The glue will soften and allow you to pull up the flooring. We glued our kitchen floor. 100 year old house with a new adjoining kitchen addition. Level floors start with construction, so attention to detail is important. Then on top of the 3/4" new plywood, we installed 1/4" high density underlayment. Then floor leveler where needed, and then use a long straight edge to check your work. First row is snapped with a chalk line to get started. Using a heavy roller is important too. Ours is three years old and looks new. Only one small gap that was there when I put it in. Nothing has moved.

[peterwinkler]

Thank you for this video. We have had a problem with our vinyl plank flooring. It is buckling in many places. Our home is a condo. We had the floors professionally installed. I am in the process of finding out if it was poor installation or defective planks. You information about the glue-down panels has caught my attention. We live on Maui across the street from the ocean, so we will have to research whether the glue-down style is good with the humidity here. Thanks again for the information.

[tomcrotty]

One thing you might consider especially in old houses is a threshold in doorways. I’ve done plenty of these by using 3/4 or 5/4 oak. Simple to make and easy to fit. I usually do a round over by just doing a 45 degree bevel then sanding or using a 3/4 round over router bit. My reason for doing this is because you sometimes might have a need to change/replace flooring in only one room either for color or type. Make sense? Always hater it when carpet in my California homes went from one room to another. One room bad others good but had to replace all. In my hundred year old house in Pennsylvania, I used thresholds. One room at a time.

[katscotty]

Thank you so useful, I was veering towards glue down and now I will definitely go with that! ❤

[robertmccarty]

very nice video well played out and the honesty of your sharing. The way i look at it, depends upon your situation, our church is all glue down and very durable, very high traffic they drag chairs, tables, and you name it, spills, drops and the floor is completely undamaged 2 years now being installed still holding up. I am a contractor i take care of the church I've installed both styles. but here is the bottom line. preparation is key to having a job done right in order for it to last whether its glue down or float. we now are going to be doing the daycare we will be doing glue down, why because of the kids, water, and high traffic all over the place. happy repairs and remodels enjoy amen.

[jjf]

Excellent video thank you so much based on your reviews I'm going to go with glue down

[dfghdh]

I agree with what you said about glue down being superior if you have to replace one and if you have an older home with uneven floors. I have rentals that are all old and glue down is the only way to go.

[h.collier]

Another awesome video, thanks! You are without a doubt one of the best communicators on YouTube!

[ShaneZettelmier]

It just makes sense. And even if I seem splits and a little water gets down in there the glue is it gonna let it go very far and your damage is going to be minimal. Kind of like old glue down linoleum, water could get in around the edges but it wouldn’t travel under the whole floor and destroyed all of the wood

[Rubyred-rbfe]

Great video...you have convinced me, I am going with glue down.

[jansiemerlin]

You made me decide on Glue down thank you 🙏🏾💕

[suzannebakie]

This video was so helpful. Thank you so much. We wanted the interlocking vinyl plank on our kitchen floor but we were told it wasn't level that we could use glue down. I was really concerned about the glue down. I wasn't sure what it was..was it durable??, but that's what we're going with now. The video was really helpful. Thanks.

[chrislagarde]

Your video helped me make up my mind and choose glue down vinyl plank flooring (single story on slab) for both sides of my duplex. It's incredible how much vendor pushback I found after I after made this choice for my residential property. Now that it's done, I love how the quiet and solid feel as I walk on the floor. Down the road I will get some floor rugs. With a floor rug I can take it outside for a more thorough cleaning, or get rid of it and get another floor rug. No carpet pad that smells over time. Also I don't find the floor excessively cold like some suggest but I am in the south.