Can click vinyl also be glued?

This is the first time I've heard that click vinyl can't be glued?! But basically, the advantages of click vinyl are the "dry" installation. You could take a look at your screed to see how it "lies" and what build-up height is required. For >10mm build-up height, there are stable vinyl floors with impact sound insulation and reinforced carrier material as a click version. If you have <5mm build-up height, then a "flexible" vinyl with adhesive layer could be used.

However, I am not an expert either, but we installed click vinyl with impact sound insulation as a floating floor. No glue, etc. Unfortunately, I couldn't find out which quality seal our floor has, as it was sold in the wholesale market as a no-name product and only through my own research did I find out that it was made for the Portuguese market (?) or something like that.

First of all, thank you very much for your answers.

: I also think that a lot of it is greenwashing and marketing tricks and that you should be very skeptical about the certificates. I had relied on the ECO Institut seal. But somehow you are still very much in the dark and maybe I am too picky, but with such a large floor area you want to do everything right. I have read a lot that floating installation has many disadvantages, but maybe these disadvantages are not so significant? I once lived in a rental apartment with a laminate floor and did not like the clacking noise at all. But whether that was just because of the floating installation, I just don't know.

: The issue with the build-up height is important because of the doors, right? I am still a beginner in this field... And how do you like the floating floor?

I am now also considering whether natural oiled parquet might be the better solution, but I am a bit skeptical about the hallway, we actually wanted something more robust for that. What do you think?

lived in a rented apartment with a laminate floor and did not like that clicking noise at all

But you can't compare vinyl with laminate. Vinyl has a completely different texture, is much softer or better said more elastic than laminate. That is why vinyl is also quieter.

: I also think that a lot of it is greenwashing and a marketing trick, and you should be very skeptical of the certificates. I had been trusting the ECO Institute seal. But somehow, you are still often in the dark, and maybe I am too picky, but when you have such a large floor area, you want to do everything right. I read a lot that floating installation has many disadvantages, but maybe these disadvantages are not so significant? I once lived in a rental apartment with a laminate floor and really didn’t like the clicking sound at all. But whether that was only because of the floating installation, I just don’t know.

In our first house, we had vinyl in all the living and sleeping rooms. We were basically satisfied with it. Visually, however, I think it doesn’t compare to real wood. But it is of course much easier to maintain. A core aspect for easy-care vinyl, however, is that it is fully glued down (which ours was). That way, you can clean it completely wet, like tiles. We had it everywhere, even in the kitchen.

In the new house, our interior fitter only offered vinyl flooring with a floating installation. That was another disadvantage for us. I didn’t want floating vinyl. That makes it lose its (in my opinion) advantage of being so easy to maintain. Still, depending on the light, it just looks like plastic. You can also feel from the texture that the surface structure is artificial. With children, you end up sitting on the floor quite a bit.

In the new house, we are now getting parquet fully glued down. Of course, it’s not as easy to maintain. I can’t share practical experience on that yet. But visually, it’s a world of difference. It looks much more natural than any laminate or vinyl.

You can't compare vinyl with laminate. Vinyl has a completely different texture, is much softer or rather more elastic than laminate. That’s also why vinyl is quieter.

Ok, interesting. I only know laminate and firmly glued vinyl.

We had vinyl in all living and sleeping rooms in our first house. Basically, we were satisfied with it. Visually, however, I think it doesn’t compare to real wood. But of course, it is much easier to maintain. A core aspect of easy-care vinyl is, however, that it is fully glued down (which ours was). That way, you can even wipe it completely wet, just like tiles. We had it everywhere, even in the kitchen. In the new house, our interior fitter only offered vinyl flooring to be installed floating. That was another disadvantage for us. I didn’t want floating vinyl. That way, it loses its (in my view) advantage of being so easy to care for. Still, depending on the light incidence, it simply looks like plastic. You can also feel from the haptics that the surface texture is artificial. With children, you do sit quite a lot on the floor. In the new house, we are now getting parquet flooring fully glued down. Of course, that is not so easy to maintain. I can’t yet offer practical experience with it. But visually, it is a world of difference. It looks noticeably more natural than any laminate or vinyl.

I would have thought that you can also wipe floating vinyl floors wet—shouldn’t you avoid that because moisture could penetrate the edges? I’ve heard that vinyl sometimes already looks deceptively like wood; in the photos online it always looks great. But once it’s laid, you probably still notice it.

We currently still live in a rented apartment with click vinyl flooring (from Poco back then €27/m2) in the kitchen and hallway, "design flooring" with Blue Angel (Egger Home Comfort Classic €23/m2) in the bedrooms, and a cheap laminate about €11/m2 in the living room. The least susceptible floor for us is the laminate floor. It is low-maintenance, not noisy, and currently has no scratches, dents, missing pieces, or lifted edges. The wear layer of the design flooring is so soft that heavier pieces of furniture leave dents, and you also quickly get deep scratches. The vinyl floor is already the second floor within 3 years (completely replaced under warranty) and is now completely worn out again (missing pieces, it bulges, it lifts at tongue and groove). Therefore, if I were you, I would definitely go for a high-quality brand with the thickest possible structure (cork carrier layer, etc.). Before, in rented apartments, I always had laminate (often installed myself, so the cheap €7-9 ones ;-) ) or very old plank flooring and had no problems with those floors. In summary: I would choose a product that has been on the market for a longer time and therefore also has long-term reviews. I would also pay attention to a good carrier structure (cork layer, wood carrier) for "artificial flooring." Personally, I even find parquet with its usual signs of aging quite charming, so parquet is always my first choice (unfortunately it was not allowed for this apartment, despite price parity). Otherwise, tiles are of course also very low-maintenance.