3/4 in. Brazillian Cherry Question

[JTurner]

I've been doing a lot of research on this topic and I've seen a couple different answers to this question based on the circumstances so I am now looking for advice for my specific circumstances. I am putting 3/4 solid brazillian cherry at grade level. I am in the desert so there is not much humidity. The contractor I have right now told me I could glue this flooring down but he has never installed any solid plank flooring. He wants to put a liquid moisture barrier down and then use a glue down. Most of the articles I have read have recommended using a 3/4 sub floor and then nailing it down which seems like the much better option to me. However, this guy is currently charging 4US / sq ft for installation which I believe is a good deal (I suppose you get what you pay for). Should I tell him there is no way I should glue this floor down and go with someone else ? Or should I make him give me a warranty and if I should what type of warranty should I ask for ? The manafacture (Bellawood) recommends a nail down application for this flooring but does not specifically say not to glue down. I was also unable to find the specific disadvantages of glue down application on

3/4 in, I assume it has to do with the moisture.

One more question, what is a reasonable price to pay to install a sub flooring and then to nail down the wood floors? I feel a bit shafted since I have already recieved the wood after this contractor told me he could glue it down and had checked with the manafacturer. I do intend to sell this home in the near futue, would glued down solid plank be a draw back for a buyer ?

Thanks for your help, I am supposdly getting this floor installed in less then 48 hours and now I am scared of how this might come out.

-Jason Turner

[Rob Mitchell]

Dear Jason

8 years ago, I installed 3/4" tongue and groove solid strip cherry hardwood on the ground floor of my house (about 1500 sq ft) We nailed it to 3/4" ply. As it was my first floor, I thought I'd REALLY make it stable, and so I put glue on the tongues before I put it down. During the first winter, every once in a while you could hear a loud 'crack' (like ice on a frozen lake) as the wood shrunk and the glue joints failed.

If I hadn't glued it, the wood would have been able to move evenly. By gluing it, the wood still moved, but some joints held and others moved more than I would have liked leaving some gaps. (At least I know they are there)

I would not glue it down. It has too move. If you already have 3/4" plywood sub-floors, you are set to go, just rent a pneumatic nailer, a mitre saw (cheap is ok) and some friends. $4USD/foot seems expensive just for labour, but I'm cheap.

Good Luck

Rob

[m Ransley]

Hiring a guy that never put down one is a mistake , you are his schooling-guinipig. Is he allowing floor to acclimatise, is he testing it with a moisture meter so he knows. If the manufacturer Bella says nail then who are we who you don't know to question them. A liquid moisture barrier? To me that means oil paint , which needs to cure. Even then it rains there for a period so humidity will increase and so will the wood expand. I had someone glue down a floor improperly , in summer it bowed up 2 inches off the floor. He sounds like an out of work hack. Get a real pro.

[trader4]

" Hiring a guy that never put down one is a mistake , you are his schooling-guinipig. Is he allowing floor to acclimatise, is he testing it with a moisture meter so he knows. If the manufacturer Bella says nail then who are we who you don't know to question them. A liquid moisture barrier? To me that means oil paint , which needs to cure. Even then it rains there for a period so humidity will increase and so will the wood expand. I had someone glue down a floor improperly , in summer it bowed up 2 inches off the floor. He sounds like an out of work hack. Get a real pro. "

That about says it all! This is an expensive job and not one that is easily fixed if it's screwed up. Plus, a guarantee is only as good as the guy who gives it to you, and that assumes you can even find him later.

[John F.]

Absolutely do NOT glue it down.

[Tim Killian]

Don't glue it! A GC out here thought he'd save money by using liquid nails to "install" hardwood directly on slabs. Every one of his houses had problems with planks curling and popping loose, and he ended up bankrupt after the lawsuits started rolling in. No reputable floor installer will suggest gluing real wood, and only a fool wood dare put it down on a concrete slab, no matter how dry it seems at the moment.

[nospambob]

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

If you're talking 3/4", I'd agree with you. If you're also including the

3/8" and 1/2" varieties, then I beg to differ. There are many installs with the thinner planks where they've been glued to slabs with no issues. Not many recommend gluing 3/4" however and I have to agree with them. The thinner stuff however has had a pretty good record. Cheers, cc