Rant: why I finally stopped fighting glue-down LVP on concrete slabs

For years I was dead set against glue-down LVP over floating click-lock, especially on concrete slabs. I figured why mess with glue when you can just float it and be done faster. Then a guy named Pete at a supply house in Cleveland told me I was losing money on every install because of callbacks. He said floating floors on concrete always telegraph imperfections and the hollow spots make customers complain. I brushed him off until I had a job last summer where the homeowner walked on a new floating floor and hated the echo. I had to rip up 600 square feet and redo it with glue-down. That loss of $1,200 in labor and material finally convinced me. Now I glue every slab job and I haven't had a single callback since. Has anyone else had that moment where you switch methods and realize you were wrong the whole time?

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andrew6934mo ago

Could it really be that big of a deal though? I've floated plenty of slabs and never had a complaint about hollow spots unless the floor was way off.

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stella9044mo ago

Not really, @andrew693. It's a bigger deal than most guys want to admit. Hollow spots mean the mud let go or never bonded right, and that always comes back to bite you later. I've seen tiles crack right over those hollow areas from just normal walking after a few years. A solid slab with good bond is the only way to sleep at night.

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