Showerthought: Glue-down is way better than stretch-in for basements

I was at a supply house in Akron last week and heard a guy ranting that stretch-in is the only way to do a basement. I have to disagree. I did a 900 square foot basement in Medina with glue-down and a 1/4 inch padding, and it held up way better through two flood events than any stretch job I've seen. No ripples, no mold issues under the pad. Has anyone else had better luck with glue-down in damp spaces?

2 comments

2 Comments

adamgreen29d ago

Yeah, I drove past that same supply house a few weeks ago lol. It's funny how guys get locked into one method and act like anything else is crazy. I've seen the same thing with tile work in basements too - people swear by mud beds but they fail just as bad if the slab moves. The truth is every basement is different. If you've got high humidity, glue-down makes more sense because there's less air gap for moisture to sit. Stretch-in is fine for dry basements, but it's like people forget they chose carpet for a reason.

gavinlopez29d ago

Glue-down saved my basement and my marriage after that last flood. Guess I'm locked in now too.