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Laying subflooring on concrete for vinyl tiles Adam Preble 03-12-2008
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Posted by Adam Preble on March 12, 2008, 10:30 pm
I wanted to replace the carpet in my bathroom with vinyl tiles. It is on
the ground floor, and underneath is concrete--no wonder the carpet seemed
to crappy. I have a sheet of plywood that is finished on one side that I
can cut to fit the floor, but I would have to subdivide it to cover the
dimensions. I have some questions:

1. How should I secure this to the concrete? That is, should I use both
an adhesive and screws? Use nothing?
2. Should the edges of the cut boards be perfectly snug? Should they be
perfectly snug with the walls?

If you're curious about the size of the boards I'd use, it's a 4'x8'
sheet to cover a 5'x6' area. I was going to split it into 4 pieces; 3
would be 2x3 and one would be 2x4. I should be able to cover all the
area with it. Would these smaller pieces be more trouble?

Posted by Big_Jake on March 13, 2008, 8:15 am
wrote:
> I wanted to replace the carpet in my bathroom with vinyl tiles. It is on
> the ground floor, and underneath is concrete--no wonder the carpet seemed
> to crappy. I have a sheet of plywood that is finished on one side that I
> can cut to fit the floor, but I would have to subdivide it to cover the
> dimensions. I have some questions:
>
> 1. How should I secure this to the concrete? That is, should I use both
> an adhesive and screws? Use nothing?
> 2. Should the edges of the cut boards be perfectly snug? Should they be
> perfectly snug with the walls?
>
> If you're curious about the size of the boards I'd use, it's a 4'x8'
> sheet to cover a 5'x6' area. I was going to split it into 4 pieces; 3
> would be 2x3 and one would be 2x4. I should be able to cover all the
> area with it. Would these smaller pieces be more trouble?

Why do you want to put a subfloor over concrete? Unless the concrete
is in bad shape, it should be a great surface to glue the tile to.

JK

Posted by on March 13, 2008, 1:19 pm

> Why do you want to put a subfloor over concrete? Unless the concrete
> is in bad shape, it should be a great surface to glue the tile to.

The short answer is that the tile instructions explicitly stated to
use a plywood subfloor, and *not* to use concrete. The side
contacting the tiles has to be smooth too.

The longer answer from what I read is that concrete is too porous for
the adhesive, and the tiles will start to separate within a few
weeks. That and plywood gives a slightly softer contact then
concrete.

Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on March 13, 2008, 4:07 pm

>
> The short answer is that the tile instructions explicitly stated to
> use a plywood subfloor, and *not* to use concrete. The side
> contacting the tiles has to be smooth too.
>
> The longer answer from what I read is that concrete is too porous for
> the adhesive, and the tiles will start to separate within a few
> weeks. That and plywood gives a slightly softer contact then
> concrete.

Instructions aside, if you have moisture problems at or below grade, you
will have serious problems with the plywood over time. I'm assuming you've
checked out to eliminate any potential problems there.

It is also possible there is a better material for flooring over concrete.
I've not done any tiling for years so I don't have any recommendations with
today's materials.



Posted by Joe on March 13, 2008, 2:53 pm
wrote:
> I wanted to replace the carpet in my bathroom with vinyl tiles. =A0It is o=
n
> the ground floor, and underneath is concrete--no wonder the carpet seemed
> to crappy. =A0I have a sheet of plywood that is finished on one side that =
I
> can cut to fit the floor, but I would have to subdivide it to cover the
> dimensions. =A0I have some questions:
>
> 1. How should I secure this to the concrete? =A0That is, should I use both=

> an adhesive and screws? =A0Use nothing?
> 2. Should the edges of the cut boards be perfectly snug? =A0Should they be=

> perfectly snug with the walls?
>
> If you're curious about the size of the boards I'd use, it's a 4'x8'
> sheet to cover a 5'x6' area. =A0I was going to split it into 4 pieces; 3
> would be 2x3 and one would be 2x4. =A0I should be able to cover all the
> area with it. =A0Would these smaller pieces be more trouble?

Go ahead and put down whatever piece size is handiest. Make sure the
edges are treated (cheap poly). Use a good construction adhesive. Once
everything is in place get all the edges level with a random orbit
sander, then fill any gaps, low spots with good old Bondo. After it
sets up, finish the substrate nice and level and you should be good to
go. Doesn't seem logical to go tight to the wall. Wood in a bathroom
is likely to expand a bit. You might ask you tile supplier whether
bare plywood or sealed is preferred. Ina bath, the latter might work
out better. HTH

Joe

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