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Question:

Why does tongue and grooved solid wood flooring need to be nailed?

Surely it is subject to the same expansion and contraction associated with laminate and engineered flooring?Also, can an underlay be used with solid tongue and groove flooring if it is nailed? It would help with sound insulation.

Answer:

hardwood has been done a certain way for hundreds of years because thats the system that works engineered and laminate floors are different not only in composition but design and need a different installation technique if you want to add soundproofing there are commercially manufactured materials already on the market but mostly they block impact noise
The engineered flooring locks together at the edges and ends so there is no sideways-forward&back movement due to temperature changes. That's why most of them float. The entire floor will shift a tiny bit. Tongue & groove only locks vertically and can develop gaps between the individual boards if each board isn't nailed to the sub-floor. Yes, underlay can be used but is not necessary and most builders don't do it. P.S. Please take a moment to award a Best Answer to one of those who answers your question. Not necessarily mine, but one of those who took their time to try to help.

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