Floating floor installation over tongue and groove subfloor help

15 years ago

My husband and I are in the midst of a kitchen renovation, and could really use some assistance. We have a 1961 ranch style home with a raised foundation and 1.5x4" tongue and groove subfloor with 48" spans. Because of the span, we decided to go with a resilient floating linoleum (not vinyl) flooring with a cork underlayment instead of tile. We have already layed down 1/4" plywood underlayment.

Unfortunately, I've not been able to find a signifigant amount of information about this style of subfloor, and what kind of preparation it will need before laying out our floor. The subfloor is in good shape, considering it's age. We had thought that we would use self-leveling compound to smooth out any inconsistencies and prepare the surface, however upon researching it, we've discovered that SLC is not recommended for wood subfloors, nor is it particularly user-friendly for the DIY'er.

We were thinking instead of using wood putty to fill in any gaps on the plywood, and then laying the cork directly on top of that. Does anyone have any better ideas or suggestions than that? What should we be doing to prepare the surface and what are any disadvantages to our idea? How do you check a floor for levelness, and to what degree should we be pendantic about it?

Thank you!

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Comments (3)

glennsfc
15 years ago
If you are doing a floating floor, then the floor you are installing over must be flat to within the flooring manufacturer's recommendations.

You use any straight edged material to check for flatness. Professionals have steel ones, but any piece of absolutely straight and stiff material would work. You place the tool on its edge and look for crowns or dips in the floor. Crowns or high spots would need to be sanded flat and any dips or 'bird baths' would need to be filled to bring it flat with the surrounding areas.

Does that help?
delairen
Original Author
15 years ago
Yes, it helps a little bit -

But you said "filled in to bring it flat"

Filled in with what? Would Wood Putty work for that, or is there something thats more appropriate/better?

I would prefer to use a non-toxic and/or green product, if possible.
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glennsfc
15 years ago
A cementious floor filler made for the purpose is what you want to use. These are portland cement based products and are user friendly. They contain binders to help the product adhere to the substrate, so usually no primer is needed to install them. PlaniPatch by Mapei is a good choice and there are others made by Ardex, Laticrete and many more. These are essentially like self leveling underlayments, but they won't flow and level on their own. You need to mix them with water at the prescribed rate (drill with mixing paddle) and then place the product by working it with trowels and a straight edge board to screed the product where you want it to fill in the depressions. You don't have to complete the 'lift' in one application...these products usually stick to themselves very well, so you can build up and screed the product until you get it flat with the surrounding areas. By screeding I mean what you see concrete people do when they place a load of concrete and then work it with straight edges and trowels to get it to the desired level.

The 48" spans worry me a bit, but as long as you don't have a lot of flex and bounce, it should work.

Some floor people fill depressions with almost anything they can get their hands on...roofing felt, sheet flooring, almost any mass you can put in there to get the area flat. I don't do that, but I know others do. And I once filled in depressions in a concrete floor with cleaned and dry play sand, although I would not recommend that for the novice...and most manufacturers would not approve of that method (very difficult to get the sand to stay where you place it).

That's all I have time for right now.

Floating floor installation over tongue and groove subfloor help

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glennsfc

delairen
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Floating floor installation over tongue and groove subfloor help

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glennsfc

delairenOriginal Author

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delairen
Original Author