This floor is driving me NUTS.

5844 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by HarryJ, Jul 2, 2011

pilotman

Discussion Starter · Jun 29, 2011

OK Hi new to the forum name is pilotman and my wife and I just bought our first house, a fixer upper. Not a big deal for me as I've done quite a bit of home repair and improvement.

But the floor situation I have is making me pull my hair out.

The kitchen and utility area were covered in what looks like original sheet vinyl. On top of that in the kitchen was another layer of vinyl. I say the first layer was original because it came up almost effortlessly.

So what I have now is a bare 1/2" plywood sub floor. After putting some thought into it the solution that made the most sense time and budget wise was to install self adhesive vinyl tile.

Two things need to happen before I can put anything on the floor. First, the floor needs to be leveld. Second, the previous owners had some "pet problems" that leaked into the subfloor. I need to cut out the particularly bad spots and on the rest I need to appy Kilz or some other sealing primer.

However, I have two concerns. First off, none of the self adhesive tiles seem to like any type of sealant. So should I put the leveling compound on top of the kilz? Which brings me to my next question. 1/4" plywood isn't exactly the sturdiest subfloor. If I do use a cementicious leveling compound, what kind of life expectancy will I get out of it?

I realize the best thing would be to remove the subfloor and replace it with new plywood, or place plywood over the existing however that's not a very viable option for a variety of reasons, including time and current budget (there is a lot of other crap we're taking care of so I don't want to spend it all on a kitchen floor!) Right now I just need a floor in the kitchen/utility room for a few years. After that we can remodel the kitchen and do it "right" with new cabinets/tile etc.

Thanks for reading the wall of text and any advice you may have.

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woodman58

· #2 · Jun 30, 2011

The best solution is to put luan or a sanded plywood over the 1/2" ply.

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JazMan

· #3 · Jun 30, 2011

So what I have now is a bare 1/2" plywood sub floor. After putting some thought into it the solution that made the most sense time and budget wise was to install self adhesive vinyl tile.

Double check that, there is no way a subfloor can be a single 1/2" ply. When was the house built? You can not install vinyl tiles directly on a subfloor.

Two things need to happen before I can put anything on the floor. First, the floor needs to be leveld. Second, the previous owners had some "pet problems" that leaked into the subfloor. I need to cut out the particularly bad spots and on the rest I need to appy Kilz or some other sealing primer.

There are several ways to level a floor. Installing more plywood is not one of them. Plywood will change nothing.

I just need a floor in the kitchen/utility room for a few years.

If you don't care that tiles may crack and show every imperfection, go ahead. Loose-lay sheet vinyl or perimeter glued sheet vinyl may be a better choice.

Get back to this thread about how the subfloor is built.

Jaz

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pilotman

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 30, 2011

JazMan,

the floor is indeed a single layer of 1/2" plywood, stapled down to the floor joists which are 16" on center. I know because I had to cut out a few spots that had been stained with... stuff. I understand it's not ideal but it was 1984 and the house was pretty much "thrown up"

As far as leveling goes, the floor itself is pretty close to being level, it's the joints and small imperfections that bother me. I've been told by the manufacturer of the tile that placing the tile on top of the plywood is paerfectly acceptable.

Now one thing I forgot to mention in my first post is my goal here.

I'd like to have a workable floor in the house that doesn't smell horrible, cost a lot of money to install, and doesn't take a significant amount of time to install. The only thing I would like this floor to do is last a few years until i have the room in the budget to renovate the kitchen with new cabinets, ceramic tile floor, etc. At that point I'll be fine with spending a bunch of money and "doing it right" however at this point vinyl tile allows me to fix up the floor in one day and throw the tile down the next and be done with it.

I understand a lot of folks push the "buy once cry once" philosophy but this house has other issues that I'm addressing right now and doing it right this time around (as in doing a major remodel of the kitchen) is going to cost far more than all other ongoing projects combined.

So if I can throw down some floor leveling compound and slap some tile on top of it and have it last me a few years, let me know. If the floor is going to crap out on me after 6 months, let me know that also. If that's the case I'll obviously have to go a different route.

Until then vinyl tile seems like the easist to install, cheapest, and best looking solution that's neither too permanent or too temporary.

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oh'mike

· #5 · Jun 30, 2011

You will need to add 1/4" underlayment stapled to the subfloor---roll on some bond enhancer(look like watery primer) and stick on the squares.

If leveling compound is used--that goes on top of the underlayment--read the instructions--Mike--

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JazMan

· #6 · Jul 1, 2011

the floor is indeed a single layer of 1/2" plywood

Well, we'll have to go with that then. Wonder how that got passed? Hate to ask again but, the minimum should be 5/8" which actually measures 19/32". 1/2" ply is not 1/2" and so many people are fouled and think 5/8" is 1/2".

OK, so 1/2" needs another sheet of good quality 1/2". If by chance it's 5/8" or thicker, install 1/4" underlayment as Mike said.

I've been told by the manufacturer of the tile that placing the tile on top of the plywood is paerfectly acceptable.

Yes right, no one said it wasn't acceptable. It needs to be an underlayment though. No tile directly on the subfloor. BTW, the "subfloor" is the sheet or planks fastened to the joists. The "underlayment" is the sheet fastened to the subfloor.

For a temporary floor you should consider loose lay or perimeter fastened sheet vinyl. Vinyl tiles are the absolute cheapest way, but the floor need to be decent or it'll crack tomorrow.

Jaz

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Bud Cline

· #7 · Jul 1, 2011

Keep in mind that people that have a product to sell to you will never bring up or expand on any negatives. Everything is wonderful and you can do anything. They are aware that too many steps or negatives will kill a sale.

Salesmen are good at pointing out the positives, overcoming any objections, and assuring the customer they have made a great choice in choosing their product.

"You can cover your refrigerator with this product Mr. Pilotman, you will love it, your wife will love and it, it will showcase the excellent choice you have made by choosing our product". "I can see you are a man of high intelligence with unquestionable good taste."

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HarryJ

· #8 · Jul 2, 2011

Hey Pilotman,

a temporary fix should consider not increasing costs later... floating floor or 'loose lay' is a great temporary (or permanent) suggestion. It's relatively affordable, it will hide a mutitude of DIY sins when applying levelling compound and when it comes time to replace it you can lift it up and put it in the basement bathroom (or a friends basement bath

I need to qualify this by admitting that I believe self-stick tiles and the square wheel belong in the same boat

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