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I'm planning on building my own chair mat for my office chair. 3/4" particleboard will rest on top of carpet and on top of that will sit TrafficMASTER's vinyl plank flooring.

TrafficMASTER's install instructions state that it is a floating floor and that no adhesive is necessary. That being said, I've seen some online DIY guides for this project stressing the use of adhesive.

As far as I can tell, if the floor will be secure without adhesive...this seems like an unnecessary step and potential future headache. But, that's why I'm asking here. Are there any pros/additional cons to using adhesive for this project (chair mat) on this type of flooring (vinyl plank with 'GripStrip')?

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Floating floors are a thing because the flooring material will expand and contract over time with the environment of the house. The subfloor is also going to move, and chances are they are not going to move in the same direction or rate. Gluing down what is made to be a floating floor can cause joints to open up or buckle. If the floor moves 1/2" over a 20 foot span, something has to give.

Now, for your project, you're talking about a much smaller scale. I haven't seen the full plans of what you're doing, but it probably doesn't matter much if you use adhesive or not. As long as the flooring isn't going to slide off the side of the particle board (rolling a chair around is going to make the floor want to slide), I don't see a reason to use adhesive. Of course if you did use it, I doubt the expansion and contraction over the 5-6 foot area (total guess) that you have is going to drastically affect the joints.

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  • The board is going to be a fat T shape, where the bulk of the board is the top line and the tongue of the T extends under the desk by ~24". Total board is 17sqft. Planned on using trim to create an edge (to not roll off of) and then laying down the floor. Rolling chair w/ 170lb man, 8lb cat, and 15lb toddler on occasion trying to move things around. Does any of this info change your thoughts?
    – Hueco
    Commented Feb 25, 2019 at 20:21
  • @Hueco, That's pretty much how I pictured it. Are you pro adhesive or anti adhesive? If you don't want to use it initially, you could always use it later if the chair starts smooshing that flooring around, but from the examples I've seen, its going to be hard enough to not move around a lot under a 200lb chair.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Feb 25, 2019 at 20:40
  • Floating floors are a thing because they eliminate several steps to updating a floor, meaning laypeople can do it, and sell more flooring as a result. :)
    – isherwood
    Commented Feb 25, 2019 at 20:44
  • @isherwood, there's not really an appropriate place to do this, but wanted to thank you for all the awesome answers and work you put into the site!
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Feb 25, 2019 at 20:46

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