Does anyone have experience with using loose lay vinyl on concrete?
We are trying to decide what type of flooring to put into an 11×16 guest bedroom in our basement. With the exception of occasional guests, the room would not be used much, other than having access to a 6’high book shelf. (No kids or dogs)
We are considering loose lay sheet vinyl.
Some specs:
-Winter: the entire basement is minimally heated, but never freezes. Average temp is probably 50 degrees, (except when we have guests – then the basement is heated to a comfortable temperature).
We are in northern MN, the basement walls are insulated, we did put down a layer of building insulating foam when the concrete floor was poured. However, The basement floor is always quite cool, not comfortable for bare feet.
We do not have water leakage problems. In the high humidity months of summer, other parts of the basement floor will become damp from the temp difference – then we run a dehumdifier or heat it some. The bedroom floor itself seems dry, or drier than other parts of the basement, even in higher humidity situations.
If possible, we are considering putting down some type of thin insulating material between whatever flooring we choose and the concrete floor.
Questions:
Would looselay sheet vinyl work in this application?
Would some type thin insulating material/buffer/ barrier work also…? (Even some type of heavy paper, or tar paper? Other ideas?….)
Or, better just the vinyl laid directly on top of the concrete held down with some type of tape? If that is the case, does the concrete need to be sealed for any reasons?
Do any of you have experience with the durability of HD Armstrong vinyl sheet flooring?
okay – I think that should do it – thanks in advance! Mary
Replies
Mary
I don't know if others have the same reason for not answering-
but.
I've never heard of loose lay vinyl.
My familiarity is with perimeter glue down and full spread.
Is this a new product that will lay flat by itself?
thanks.
"loose lay" vinyl - definition...
Oh - okay....thank you for posting.
Loose-lay sheet vinyl does not require adhesive. Once you cut it to size and put it in place, it's installed.
Loose-lay vinyl has a heavy fiberglass backing that allows the sheet to lay flat on the floor without glue.(Standard sheet vinyl is not heavy enough to be installed in this fashion -- it will slip and curl over time).
Apparently, to prevent loose-lay vinyl from curling up in high traffic areas, the material is secured with double-sided tape at the doorways....maybe even the perimeter, possibly an "x" in the middle.
thanks
I've no experience with it.
I might trust the floor covering supplier I deal with..............well, I would trust my supplier-they don't b.s. me. If a product is iffy, he'll point me in another direction.
But this will raise your post and put it in view.
I would look at the moisture in warm/humid weather as more of moisture in the air condensing on the cool concrete. But, I would try this b/4 assuming anything. Take a 3x3ft pc of visqueen and tape it all around to the floor to seal it down to the concrete. I'd pick a spot in that room, near an outside wall. If a downspout is located outside in the vicinity, I'd lean in that direction for the place to put it.
Leave for a week, then peel the visqueen up-if moisture on the other side of the visqueen, then the slab is bringing up moisture from the ground below. It might also leave a dark square on the concrete where it laid.
Acid etched concrete with an area rug or two might be a nicer option to look at.
Best of luck.
Seems like there was something like this about 30 years ago, but it disappeared pretty quick. Was pitched as DIY install.