What underlayment should I use for 3/8" engineered flooring stapled to plywood subfloor?
Flooring – What underlayment should I use for stapled engineered floor
engineered-flooring
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There is no reason to glue down engineered hardwood floor to an underlayment. This is just for initial aesthetics. The glue will NEVER last (in a residential setting). The only thing the glue will do is give you fits and make your install seem tighter. Within weeks or months the glue will come loose and you will have a floating floor.
Nothing wrong with a floating floor. But the fact is you should be gluing the pieces together, not under them. The big boxes sell the generic engineered wood flooring glue. Buy that and glue your pieces together, not under them. The only time I have seen gluing to the floor to be an option is thin flooring onto concrete for commercial purposes. The only thing I would glue down in someone home is vinyl sheets/squares.
For what it's worth, what I wound up doing is using the Floor Muffler underlayment, which is its own moisture barrier. As per the directions, I applied it over the subfloor and about 2" up the walls.
It's hard to see, but I have indeed left an appropriate half inch expansion gap between the wood and the drywall. And this is engineered hardwood so I don't expect it to move all that much.
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Best Answer
For nail down, no underlay is needed. But for install and to help reduce noise from the wood floor rubbing against the subfloor (when someone walks on it), use red rosin paper.