Ya, I think you've answered your own question. It's going to be messy, but it seems like the right choice.

I can ask a question. Why would replacing the subfloor yield a 1/2 of reduction in the finish floor thickness. Is the subfloor currently very thick, and are you planning on replacing it with 1/2 thinner subfloor? Please help me to understand as we may be facing a similar dilemma.

Carol

Thanks may_flowers and daisychain, you are right! I do want it done properly, but can I live with the dust! If we're doing it anyways i could always attempt removal. (not looking forward to the quote! He takes a skill saw and cuts strips of the subfloor to remove).

Carol, if we do not remove the subfloor, he would tile right on top of the existing vinyl. It is now flush with the hardwood floor, so there would be the height of the tile and the wire mesh. With taking the subfloor up he can make it flush. Sorry if I didn't word that properly!

Sorry for being so thick about this (bad pun), but can you explain more what he will do if he replaces the subfloor? I get that he will remove the vinyl and this will take away a bit of thickness (less than 1/2 inch). However, if he removes the subfloor, he will have to replace it with another subfloor -- so how do you save on thickness?

As for the dust, I think that should not matter that much. Cover everything well, and accept that you will be dusting off for weeks afterwards. We had a large section of our concrete slab jack hammered out to lay in hydronic heating coils. Not much worse than concrete dust (it is very sticky dust).

Carol

BTW: Did you settle on White Dove for the trim?

Without question I would rather take up the vinyl and deal with some dust for a couple of days then to live with something that is not done the way it really needs to be done. And if the transition from one room to another isn't even (IMO) then it's not done the way it should have been done.

Hmm Carol, i think he...actually, I don't know what he'll do! Thinner subfloor? No subfloor but with a different underlay I think is what was done in the foyer. But I could be completely off base here. I thought I asked all my questions. I'll send him a quick email when he sends me the quote.

And yes Carol, I have 4 cans of regal select in pearl in White Dove in my mudroom waiting for the painter- he bailed on me today and will start next week. Thank you for helping me through that crazy decision! Angie

Another without-a-doubt vote to do it right. Why not put up a plastic 'barrier' in the hallway (if the bathroom is off a hall) like an anteroom to help contain some of the mess? Like a haz-mat entrance!

I don't know what they can do with the subfloor so I am curious too. We weren't given the option to level the floor. They added cement Hardiplank over our subfloor, which you need to keep the tile from cracking.

Ok, I just emailed him. He said "Then we would put the orange stuff down that makes the floor flooding and prevents it more from cracking" I think there's a typo in there, but that's his answer.

I think it's this...I just googled orange underlay tile

ORANGE STUFF

Angie,

I don't understand how they can install a ceramic floor without a subfloor underneath (unless it is on a slab). I hope you will provide more info on this topic as the mystery is uncovered. We are using the orange Schluter product too in our shower, but still need a subfloor. If you look around on your link above you will see pictures of them applying thinset type product over a subfloor. If he is thinking of laying a thinner subfloor, ask him how thick it will be. You don't want too thin of a subfloor or it will bounce and crack.

As per your original question -- if it can be done to avoid a big threshold, I would definitely go for it.

Carol

BROCHURE pg 5 and6

Ok, I'm wondering if he would use the Ditra XL, as if the subfloor was removed we still have the one layer of plywood above the joists as per the pictures in the brochure. So the XL is thicker to match up better to the level of the hardwood floor. I think. I do actually trust this guy, he did such a great job on our front foyer, the grout lines are so tiny! Just what we wanted. (we have not had great luck with workers over here, 1.5 years later our kitchen isn't done!)

Ok, he just left me a message and the word is floating, not flooding. So he would put the ditra on the 1st level of the subfloor after taking off the second. It's all clear to me now! Here's the job he did on the front foyer.

That makes sense. I did not imagine that you had two layers of subfloor.

Carol

Yes, Carol, we have 2 layers of plywood. Looking at that brochure almost made me feel like I could build a house :) We have the joists, then plywood, then another level of plywood, then vinyl.

You have two layers of sub floor (most people do), to keep your floor stiffer, and prevent bouncing,etc. With one layer removed, you run a big risk of cracked tile, even with the ditra.

Does it not depend on how thick the plywood is? I believe I have read on these boards that in the US it is not uncommon to use OSB for the subfloor. In Canada, we often see plywood for subfloors. We have 3/4 inch plywood (single layer in our build). I sure hope we don't have cracked tile.

Carol

Just popping in with the situation you have. The previous owner laid ceramic tile right over the original kitchen floor (vinyl, linoleum, whatever flooring they used then). I don't know if they laid a new subfloor, don't think so but could be wrong. The kitchen and service hall are, as you note, half an inch higher than the wood and slate floors of the surrounding rooms. A piece of wood threshold makes the transition. I consider it one of the charms that makes my 1960-ish developer house more like the 1947 country house I really wanted.

Thanks bpathome. I'm trying to make my 1995 house into our own 2015 house:) I have to google OSB, not sure what that stands for.

Surprisingly, the quote was not horrible for removing the layer of subfloor. Or maybe I'm just in reno la-la land that I've lost my mind.