All of these are allowed to be glued down. They all look and feel grate when glued down. The cost will be high for the glue down. Anytime you use a glue over slab, the glue MUST BE a high-end 2-in-1 product (adhesive + full vapour barrier). These adhesives are often $2 - $3/sf just for the material. The install is often another $1-$3/sf for labor when compared to a floating install.

The subfloor prep MUST occur. That is something you cannot get away from. Ever. The prep is the same (material and labor costs) for floating vs. glue down. The glue down does NOT save you money.

Then you add in the HIGH PRICED adhesive. And then the HIGH PRICED install and the high priced vinyl. It is possible the glue down will more than double the price of a floating floor.

Good luck. PLLLLLLLEASE make sure you have an installer who is WELL TRAINED (ahem...expensive) in glue down vinyl over slab. The chance of a glue down vinyl being ruined by a poorly trained installer is MUCH HIGHER than a floating floor install.

Thank you so much for the feedback and head's up on gluedown costs and issues. I'm nervous but our general contractor says they usually recommend gluedown in our area (we're on clay soil that shifts a lot) and they're getting bids from reputable flooring shops. I know subfloor prep is especially important and I've talked to both shops about that.

One shop only wants to glue down traditional glue-down planks like the Karndean Van Gogh, rather than gluing down a floating floor that is allowed to be glued-down. The other shop is happy to do either and they install both floating and glue down on slabs in our area.

I actually like the color/pattern of the Karndean the most, and I understand it's considered a quality plank, but I wanted to go with one of the other floors for the dense core. I also like the idea of cork underlay for cushion. Of the glue-able floating floors on my list, I like COREtec Plus.

Do you think I'm taking too big a risk for install problems if we glue-down COREtec instead of the Karndean Van Gogh?

Thank you!

If shifting soil (and therefore a slab that will move) is an issue, then logic dictates you need a FLEXIBLE floor not a RIGID floor.

If you want a glue down floor with comfort, have a look at a glue down cork floor. A 6mm cork glue down tile can withstand quite a bit of movement below it. It is going to be more expensive than the vinyl floor (material costs and labor costs will be more) but it will give you the comfort.

Rigid planks are rigid. They do NOT like to twist and curl. The thick Coretec products probably will not like the shifting environment. Think about it....which accepts movement better; a wet spaghetti noodle or a pencil? Right. The thin, wet, flexible spaghetti noodle. The pencil will just snap.

This is a simplified concept, but you get the idea. The Van Gogh is thinner and MUCH MORE FLEXIBLE than the coretec. It will handle flexing subfloors much better than a rigid plank.

If you want vinyl AND comfort....you are going to be disappointed. You get rigid and comfortable or you get flexible and hard. That's it. There are no other options.

If comfort comes before anything else, then look at a cork glue down tile - 6mm thick or less.

www.icorkfloor.com

Check the glue down tiles on their website. This would be the next best thing to comfortable vinyl.

Thanks for the reality check, I need honest advice. Comfort isn't the priority so don't need to have the cork (though would be nice :0), but it's important enough that we don't want porcelain tiles. Pet/kid resistance (liquids, scratches, dents) and ease of maintenance are most important.

Some are telling me they can install rigid vinyl on our slab/soil just like they install porcelain tiles. I can deal with occasional cracked planks if they can be replaced. But I imagine how hard it would be to replace a rigid plank, especially if it's glued down and interlocked. So that pushes me to the Karndean.

But, the Karndean has so many bad reviews re the finish looking smudgy, I'm worried about that too. I also wanted more and dent-resistance so had been hoping to use a rigid core vinyl.

Do you think Adura Distinctive would be better? It has the aluminum oxide coating so I think would have better scratch resistance. Still looking for reviews on that line.

And thanks for the icork link. Unfortunately, they are not what I'm looking for aesthetically. Curious though -- does cork hold up well against pets?

Thanks again for all your help!