Best Glue For Vinyl Flooring in 2022 (Tile, Sheet, And Plank Flooring)

Vinyl flooring is becoming more and more popular as it is inexpensive, looks authentic, and is durable.

Because of the rise in popularity, many people want to install the vinyl flooring themselves, making this a fun DIY project.

For a fun, and more importantly successful installation, you need to use the best adhesive for vinyl flooring. But with so many different recommendations and models, which one to choose?

We will help you make that choice as we compiled a list of the 4 best adhesives for vinyl planks, tiles, and sheets.

We’ve also included a recommended tool for spreading the glue, as well as a guide that will help you better understand vinyl flooring and the adhesives.

Our Pick
Henry 356 MultiPro Premium Multipurpose High Strength Paste Carpet & Sheet Vinyl Adhesive, 1 quart
Runner Up
Dap 00141 Multi-Purpose Floor Adhesive, 1-Quart
Best For Vinyl Sheets
Roberts 2001-0 1 Quart Felt-Backed Sheet Vinyl Flooring Adhesive
Henry Vinyl Flooring Adhesive
Dap Floor Adhesive
Roberts Sheet Vinyl Adhesive
Best performing adhesive for any type of vinyl flooring

Isn't toxic and is safe to use indoors

Excellent water resistance properties
Great versatility: works with all types of subflooring

Extreme strength of the bonds on vinyl

Excellent environmental resistance
By far the best adhesive for vinyl sheets

Long open work time preferable for vinyl sheets

Superb water and moisture resistance
Our Pick
Henry 356 MultiPro Premium Multipurpose High Strength Paste Carpet & Sheet Vinyl Adhesive, 1 quart
Henry Vinyl Flooring Adhesive
Best performing adhesive for any type of vinyl flooring

Isn't toxic and is safe to use indoors

Excellent water resistance properties
Runner Up
Dap 00141 Multi-Purpose Floor Adhesive, 1-Quart
Dap Floor Adhesive
Great versatility: works with all types of subflooring

Extreme strength of the bonds on vinyl

Excellent environmental resistance
Best For Vinyl Sheets
Roberts 2001-0 1 Quart Felt-Backed Sheet Vinyl Flooring Adhesive
Roberts Sheet Vinyl Adhesive
By far the best adhesive for vinyl sheets

Long open work time preferable for vinyl sheets

Superb water and moisture resistance

Last update on 2024-03-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

We’ve started our research with over 30 different adhesives that were advertised as good for vinyl flooring. Only 4 made it to our final list, and those 4 are by far the best adhesives for vinyl flooring you can find. They work on a wide variety of subfloors and will bond the vinyl great!


Best Glue For Vinyl Flooring – Reviews


Our Pick

Henry Premium Vinyl Flooring Adhesive


Henry 356 MultiPro Premium Multipurpose High Strength Paste Carpet & Sheet Vinyl Adhesive, 1 quart

The Henry Flooring adhesive is our number 1 choice for bonding vinyl planks, tiles, and sheets. It’s the best adhesive for vinyl flooring for the money.

This glue is extremely versatile and bonds a lot of different materials. You will have no problem gluing the vinyl flooring to just about any subflooring with this glue.

The strength of the bond is superb and will hold the vinyl flooring great. It creates a cross-linking bond between the composite surfaces and makes stronger and more durable bonds than most adhesives.

If you’re using self-adhesive vinyl tiles or planks, we recommend using this glue to reinforce the bond. The adhesive on those types of vinyl tiles isn’t as nearly resistant and as strong as this one. Using this glue on those tiles will make your flooring last a lifetime!

This US-made adhesive isn’t toxic and doesn’t produce dangerous fumes. It’s low VOC and won’t give you a headache or make you nauseated like most of the other construction adhesives like the PVC glue.

The Henry Vinyl flooring has an excellent open working time that allows you to position your flooring properly. This is especially useful for vinyl sheets, as they often need more time for repositioning due to the wrinkles and the size of the sheets.

The water and moisture resistance of this glue is outstanding. It will waterproof your vinyl flooring and make it even more resistant than before. It also has excellent temperature resistance properties and can set in freezing temperatures of down to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

The glue is super easy to apply to the surface since it has an ideal medium viscosity. This gel-like consistency makes it simple and effortless to spread but not too thick to make it difficult. Note that you will need to get an applicator for spreading the glue. We recommend using the one we reviewed below here.

The thing that makes this glue the best for vinyl flooring is its affordability. It’s one of the cheapest yet the best performing adhesive on vinyl. If you want to do the job right, go for this glue, and you won’t be sorry!

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Dap 00141 Multi-Purpose Floor Adhesive


Dap 00141 Multi-Purpose Floor Adhesive, 1-Quart

The Dap construction flooring adhesive is one of our favorite flooring adhesives that we’ve had a lot of success with. It works great on many different flooring such as laminate, tiles, carpet, but most importantly, vinyl sheets, tiles, and planks.

This latex-based versatile adhesive has phenomenal bonding strength. Its structural strength allows it to hold the vinyl flooring tight and resist all types of pressure. You can be sure that your flooring will last for a long, long time when using this adhesive.

The environmental resistance of the Dap flooring glue is excellent. It probably has the best water-resisting properties of all construction adhesives we tried. It will tolerate extreme moisture and is a great way to make your vinyl flooring more water-resistant.

This glue is not toxic and can be safely used without protective equipment. It’s low VOC which means that it doesn’t produce harmful vapors. It doesn’t irritate your lungs and doesn’t have a strong smell that is frequently present in most adhesives.

One thing that makes people away from using this glue is its stickiness. The tacky consistency of the adhesive is there to provide the necessary strength to hold the parts inseparable. It’s a byproduct of the massive strength of this glue and can sometimes make the application a bit difficult.

Still, you can apply this glue mess-free if you do a few test runs first to get the hang of it. Once you get used to working with it, you should have no problem applying it cleanly and precisely.

Because it is sometimes difficult to apply, we rated this glue just below our first choice, which is the Henry flooring adhesive. This Dap adhesive is perhaps slightly stronger but is more expensive and harder to work with.

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Roberts Sheet Vinyl Flooring Adhesive


Roberts 2001-0 1 Quart Felt-Backed Sheet Vinyl Flooring Adhesive

This Roberts Flooring Adhesive is specifically designed for gluing vinyl flooring sheets to a wide variety of different sub-flooring. Its distinct properties make it an ideal choice for vinyl sheets.

The first thing that we like about this glue is that it has a great open working time but doesn’t take forever to cure. A long open working time gives you the opportunity to rearrange and position the vinyl sheaths properly.

Vinyl flooring sheaths require much more time for installment than other flooring types, so this is always a good property in an adhesive for that application.

As we previously mentioned, the adhesive doesn’t need more than 24 hours to fully cure which happens to be the problem with many flooring adhesives. Always factor in the environmental factors since they can often prolong or shorten the curing time drastically.

The strength of this adhesive is exceptional, and since it is designed for vinyl sheaths, it bonds them superbly. You can expect the super-strong bond made with this adhesive to last as long as the material itself!

The excellent water resistance of this glue will make sure that your vinyl sheats and tiles stay intact when exposed to moisture. Apart from being waterproof, it is also non-flammable, which is an added protection for your home.

Another reason to go for this glue if you want to install a vinyl flooring sheet is that it’s specially formulated to not stain the sheets and ruin the looks. You’d be surprised how often this happens when using regular flooring adhesives. With this glue, your flooring will be preserved for a long time!

This adhesive is also easy to clean since it’s water-soluble, which makes the clean-up simple and effortless. No need to use the solvents like with other construction adhesives.

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Gorilla Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive


Gorilla Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive, 9 Ounce Cartridge, White, (Pack of 1)

The Gorilla construction adhesive is one of the most powerful and versatile adhesives on the market. It can bond vinyl flooring to just about any type of sub-flooring and holds its bond excellently.

The ease of use and fast drying time that this Gorilla construction adhesive gives makes it a great choice for gluing vinyl sheets and tiles. With a caulk gun, you can apply this stuff extremely easily and in very controlled amounts. It doesn’t require spreading like the other models we reviewed.

The aforementioned fast drying time is another great reason to go for this adhesive when bonding vinyl flooring. This glue sets in only 30 seconds making your results much faster than with any other vinyl adhesive.

The only drawback of this lighting-fast drying time is the lack of open working time for repositioning. That’s why we recommend going for this glue if you’re installing vinyl planks and tiles that are more straightforward. If you, however, want to install vinyl sheet flooring, you will have a hard time with this glue.

This glue is known for its extreme environmental resistance. It can be used both indoors and outdoors, which tells you a lot about what it can withstand. Your vinyl planks and tiles will be waterproofed with this amazing adhesive.

The strength of the bonds made with this glue is on par with the strong Roberts, Dap, and Henry flooring adhesives we reviewed. It will hold the bond, and you can expect it to resist all types of pressures for decades. It has industrial structural strength that is sufficient even for the areas with a lot of foot traffic.

A usual drawback with these construction adhesives is the strong smell and fumes, but not with this Gorilla glue. It is low VOC, meaning it doesn’t produce harmful vapors and is safe to inhale. Because of that, we found it to be a lot easier to work with than, for example, gorilla super glue or original gorilla glue.

All in all, this is a highly recommended glue for bonding vinyl planks and tiles, but not so much for vinyl sheets. It will provide you with a highly resistant and long-lasting bond!

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Homax Adhesive Spreader


Homax Adhesive Spreader, 8', 3/16' Tooth, Hardwood Flooring Spreader,Orange

Since all of the adhesives except the gorilla construction glue we recommended don’t come with a spreader or an applicator, we wanted to include a quality tool that will help you get the job done quickly and efficiently.

This Homax adhesive spreader is 8-inch wide and is large enough to reach the bottom of the large buckets of adhesive. Since it has optimal width, it’s great for quick and easy application but won’t get in your way when working with it.

The most important feature of this spreader that will help you apply the glue for vinyl planks is that it’s serrated. The 3/32-inch notches make it ideal for getting the right texture of the glue for the vinyl flooring to properly stick.

It makes the spreading the glue much more controlled and makes you apply just the right amount of adhesive you need.

The plastic that this tool is made of is surprisingly sturdy for the price. It does have a slight bend, but nothing too much that will make the application difficult.

The spreader is very easy to clean with just water and is solvent-proof. If you get some stubborn dried glue residue left on the tool, you can safely remove it with solvents, and they won’t damage the material.

This handy spreader is very affordable, and considering its high-quality build, it should last you a long time and through many different projects. If you need a reliable adhesive spreader for vinyl flooring, you can’t go wrong with this one.

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How To Remove Excess Dried Vinyl Glue


Goo Gone Adhesive Remover - 8 Ounce - Surface Safe Adhesive Remover Safely Removes Stickers Labels Decals Residue Tape Chewing Gum Grease Tar

One of the most frequently asked questions about gluing vinyl flooring is how to remove the strong, stubborn dried glue from my skin, clothing, or tools.

Flooring construction adhesives have massive strength and need to be hard to remove and resist water and extreme temperatures. Because of that, they are one of the hardest adhesives to remove.

But worry not, there is a solution for this headache. It’s called GooGone, and it is your best friend when it comes to dried vinyl flooring glue removal.

This adhesive removes all types of glue, even the industrial-strength ones like construction adhesives and epoxies.

You need to soak the dried glue in this solution and let it dry for about 10 minutes. After that, you will witness the dried glue magically dissolving. It will be as easy to remove as when it’s fresh.

We recommend using this product for the removal of all flooring adhesives, but especially for the removal of the Dap adhesive that seems to be the most sticky and stubborn of them all.

This life-saver is available to purchase on Amazon, and you can check it out through the link below.

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What To Look For When Choosing Glue For Vinyl Flooring


In this section of the article, we will go through the most important things to look for when you choosing your next glue for vinyl flooring.

Type Of Vinyl Flooring

bottle of glue

The first thing to do is to look for the adhesive for your type of vinyl flooring. There are 3 main types of vinyl flooring which are:

  • Sheet Vinyl flooring
  • Plank Vinyl flooring
  • Tiled Vinyl flooring

The planks and the tiles differ only in shape and design, while sheet flooring has some distinctive differences from these two.

Most flooring adhesives will work for vinyl tiles and planks, but not all are suitable for sheets. For tiles and planks, you can use standard multipurpose flooring glue and even general construction adhesive and have great results.

The sheet flooring vinyl almost always requires a long open working time adhesive to make a proper adhesion. This is because sheets require a lot of repositioning since they are large and can have a lot of imperfections when first laid on the adhesive.

Even experienced vinyl floor installers use adhesives with long open working times, and that’s why you should use it as well if you plan to install the flooring yourself.

Viscosity

glue spilled

The viscosity is a measure of a liquid’s resistance to flow. A glue with too high viscosity will feel like peanut butter, while a low viscosity glue will feel thin like water.

For installing vinyl flooring, we recommend going for medium viscosity adhesives that have a syrup-like consistency. They have a consistency of a super glue gel.

These are the easiest to apply and won’t run but won’t drag you down either.

Versatility

It’s important getting a glue that can bond to a wide variety of sub-flooring. If you don’t get a highly versatile flooring adhesive, you can end up with a weak bond that can make your flooring dislocate and start coming apart from the composite surface.

Make sure that the adhesive you are using is compatible with the four most common types of sub-flooring, which are:

  • Plywood
  • Concrete Slab
  • High-Performance Panels
  • OSB

You will most likely have one of these types of subflooring, and if you see an adhesive that is compatible with all of these, you are good to go.


Conclusion


That about covers it for everything you need to know about the best glue for vinyl flooring.

Always make sure to get the right glue for your type of vinyl flooring, and never go for a non-versatile and low-viscosity glue.

All of our recommended models are excellent choices and will make gluing vinyl flooring a breeze. You can’t go wrong with any of them!