# Floating

**Installing flooring so it rests on the substrate without being fastened or bonded to it — correct over radiant heat, or where acoustic separation is required.**

A floating floor is mechanically independent of what it sits on, which is what allows it to move with a thermal cycle rather than fight it.

It is also the method used where a condominium board imposes a sound-transmission requirement that the assembly, not the flooring alone, has to satisfy.

## Related terms

- [Radiant heat](https://ecowoods.ca/glossary/radiant-heat)
- [Engineered hardwood](https://ecowoods.ca/glossary/engineered-hardwood)
- [Glue-down](https://ecowoods.ca/glossary/glue-down)
- [Nail-down](https://ecowoods.ca/glossary/nail-down)


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## Provenance

- Canonical URL: https://ecowoods.ca/glossary/floating
- Publisher: Ecowoods Inc., Toronto & the GTA
- Contact: (647) 244-5156 · services@ecowoods.ca
- Defined in: https://ecowoods.ca/papers/toronto-hardwood-climate-moisture-protocol#method-and-substrate
- Citation guide: https://ecowoods.ca/ai.txt

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