I live in Florida and I'm about to purchase 3/4" Gunstock cherry (3 1/4" wide) for a living/dining room area (about 700 sq ft) The installer (he's been doing this for over 20 years) recommends that we glue it down directly to the concrete with bostik. After reading the specs on the site that you shouldn't do that I have questions now if anyone else, in Flordia, does this as well (glue down to concrete).

I would strongly advise against gluing down a solid to the concrete!!!

Have your installer put it in writing, that he will replace that floor, materials and labor, when it buckles off the concrete, because it eventually will.

Go to www.NOFMA.org and read the specs for gluing hardwood to concrete.

The only reason we have engineered cross-ply wood these days, is because solid over concrete is a formula for disaster.


If you must have ¾", look at Owens Plank

If you glue that 3/4" solid directly to the concrete, it will fail. Period!

I would expect that kind of response from a newbie installer--but 20 years experience? Hey guys, Home Depot has been doing it for quite awhile now. I would expect that Ray Darrah has seen some failures?

My little brother lives down there, does 99% solid unfinished naildown. He told me if the customer doesnt want to pay for installing a plywood subfloor on top the concrete they walk away every time. Too many problems associated with direct glue down of solid wood. The only exception would be shorts, and I wouldnt even do that.