AllGoNoShow

Don't do floors on the job but was considering doing my own sheet vinyl install on my house until I read an old post that said something to the extent "the secret to a good job is to hire a floor expert" and frankly I don't want to ruin the whole job with one wrong cut. Now I just want to know what to ask the installer and make sure what to look for to know it is being done right. I already bought some supplies ( 3/8th BC plywood with one sanded face) and just have a few questions-

1. Should the seams where the pieces of underlayment meet (I assume there should be some gap) be covered with floor patch? I've heard conflicting things

2. Its an old house and I have a 1 foot by 2 1/2 foot marble slab that the toilet sits on in the floor....it works out well because it sits about 3/8th of an inch over the subfloor so the plywood will bring the entire floor level if it butts to it. I just want the vinyl to go over this marble slab thing so it looks uniform....there is some small recessed detail in the marble-should I floor patch that to make it smooth? And the big question-should adhesive be rolled on here or considering the small size and the fact the toilet will provide pressure on top of it, should the vinyl be loose-layed over it?

Any help would be appreciated. Local store here is doing a special builders grade Armstrong vinyl for $300 for my 8 by 8 bath installed but I have to do some basic prep-work. I'm not gonna monkey around with trying to cut this stuff.

floorinstall

The plywood should be butted up to each other and all nails or screws slightly recessed the transition to the marble can be floated when the installer floats the rest of the floor. If the sheet goods require a full spread adhesive every little imperfection will telescope through and show in the vinyl floor. If it is a perimeter glue it is more forgiving of imperfection's but still all effort should be made to get the floor ass smooth as possible before installing. I would do the install of the plywood and let the installer do the floating.

PrecisionFloors

Remove base molding. Pull toilet. Lay the 3/8 ply to come level with the marble slab.
Install 1/4" Baltic birch underlayment over all using 7/8" narrow crown staples spaced every 4" on edges and every 6" in field (glue over marble slab area with polyurethane construction adhesive). Sand joints in underlayment with 100 grit on ro or belt sander. Install vinyl according to manufacturers specifications. Reinstall base molding and caulk tub. Re-install toilet, cleanup and install preferred transition molding or metal. Drink beer and admire your own work.

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Precision Flooring
Hampton, VA (757) 256-0848
Tile, Hardwood, Laminate, and Resilients
Installation, Sales & Repair - "We do it right the FIRST time"

Mike Costello

all i heard was bla bla bla drink beer. ok.



seriously though, sound advice

AllGoNoShow

This is going to sound dumb...but what do you mean by "float" when you said the installer "floats" the rest of the floor. I've only heard that term used when talking about floors that are not physically attached to the subfloor and just sit on top.

Good advice too precision floors! So don't worry about any expansion gaps in the underlayment, just butt it together and staple the crap out of it!? I like the idea of adding another layer to get everything perfect.

PrecisionFloors

If you leave about a 1/16" gap (credit card thickness) at all panel joints and sand, it will come out as smooth as the proverbial baby's ass. 95% of the time I never put a drop of patch on the joints using this method, and have no telegraphing issues. "Floating" is a slang term for skim coating a floor with a patching compound.

__________________
Precision Flooring
Hampton, VA (757) 256-0848
Tile, Hardwood, Laminate, and Resilients
Installation, Sales & Repair - "We do it right the FIRST time"