Best Way To Prepare The Subfloor For Vinyl Flooring
The vinyl flooring is regarded as one of the durable floorings for the floor. But before installing it the subfloor should be in good condition because in case of any irregularities the vinyl flooring can possibly tear. The Vinyl Flooring can be installed on a number of subfloors, the steps to prepare the Subfloor are mentioned below:
Concrete Subfloor
- Moisture: The first step is to check the subfloor for the moisture. The best way to check the moisture is to tap a small piece of the scrap Vinyl with the Concrete, seal all the four sides tightly and leave it for 72 hours. After that pull the Vinyl piece. If in case tape releases very easily, then the floor is too damp for vinyl.
- Clean: Use the dry vacuum cleaner to remove all the dust and debris.
- Levelness: The next step is to check the level of the floor to Pass a carpenter’s level across the surface of the concrete and then mark the low as well as high spots.
- Floor Patching Compound: Now mix the floor patching compound but that should be ready to use and stir well. After that with the help of the putty knife fill the low spots.
- Dry: Allow the patch to dry completely, after that sand away any rough edges with the medium-grit sandpaper.
- High Spots: For the high spots fix the medium-grit sandpaper to a belt sander and sand off the high spots on the floor. Once the sanding is finished than vacuum the floor.
Wood Subfloor
In the case of the wooden subfloor use the following directions:
- Plywood: The first step is to measure and cut the 1/4-inch or even thicker plywood to fit the entire floor of the room cut with the help of the circular saw. The reason for this is to have a wooden subfloor having the 2 layers at least 1 inch thick.
- Arrange: The next step is to arrange the plywood on the floor in a way that the joints of the layer do not align with subfloor joints below. For the expansion allow the gap of about 1/4 inches from the walls as well as from the joints.
- Secure: Now secure the plywood to the subfloor at about 6-inch intervals, one of the important tips is to set the screw heads slightly below the surface.
- Floor Patching Compound: Now the step is to apply the floor patching compound on the screw heads and joints as well as allow it to dry. Once it is dried than sand the rough edges with the medium grit sandpaper.
- Clean: The last step before installing the Vinyl Flooring is to vacuum the floor to remove any dust and debris.