When selecting your new wood flooring, it’s easy to get excited about the species you’ve selected and the finish as well. It is important to remember, however, that hardwood is manufactured with a variety of different installation systems. They include…
Tongue-and-groove: In this common system one side and one end of the plank have a groove, while the other side and end have a tongue or protruding wood along an edge’s center. The tongue and groove fit tightly together producing a nonvisible joint that hides the nails. Tongue-and-groove are both glue-down (both engineered and solid), floating (mostly engineered only), or nail-down which is generally solid wood
“Click” systems: Both “unilin” or “fiboloc” A “click” floor is similar to tongue-and-groove, but instead of fitting directly into the groove, the board must be angled or “tapped” in to make the curved or barbed tongue fit into the specific groove. Click floors generally do not require adhesive and this makes board replacement easier and is beneficial for the Do-It-Yourself market.
Floor connection system: For this type of floor the general principle is to have grooves on all four sides of the plank with a separate, unconnected, piece that is inserted into the grooves of two planks to join them. The connection piece can be made of wood, rubber, or plastic. This installation system allows for different materials (i.e. wood and metal) to be installed together if they have the same connection system.
Glue-down method. This is an especially popular method for solid parquet flooring installations on concrete sub-floors. Some engineered wood flooring may use the glue-down method as well. A layer of mastic is placed onto the sub-floor using a trowel. The wood pieces are then laid on top of the glue and hammered into place using a rubber mallet.
So when considering best hardwood flooring options for your home, consider also the installation method recommended for the floor you have chosen. This is particularly important if you plan on installing the floor yourself. For the facts on installing hardwood floors, always ask the pros at Harman.