I have what I’m sure is a stubborn sheet floor in the house I just bought, and I would like to replace it with tile. Can I set it directly to the vinyl assuming it is well-adhered? The subfloor thickness is 2″, so deflection is not a worry, I just don’t want to tear this hideous vinyl off if I don’t have to. Thanks for any replies.
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It's done, and I've heard it
It's done, and I've heard it said that it's a "good idea" since the vinyl serves as an isolation membrane.
No personal experience, though.
You'll want to degloss it
You'll want to degloss it first.
It's often hard to see areas
It's often hard to see areas under the sheet flooring that aren't well attached and move with foot pressure so if you try it make sure things are solid.
Some good tile guys say they've done it will no problems, but don't recommend it. If it's your own floor then all you are out is your own labor and materials, but if you are doing this for a client I'd rent a floor stripping machine to make sure it's done right.
Of course, it's likely the
Of course, it's likely the existing vinyl contains asbestos, so stripping the floor may turn the place into a Superfund site.
>>it's likely the existing
>>it's likely the existing vinyl contains asbestos,
It'd have to be pretty old sheet vinyl to have asbestos....
Pre '72, and even then, it isn't a certainty.
I'm told out to the late 70s.
I'm told out to the late 70s. And keep in mind that Joe's Flooring may have had that roll of vinyl in stock for ten years.
>>'m told out to the late
>>'m told out to the late 70s. And keep in mind that Joe's Flooring may have had that roll of vinyl in stock for ten years.
'72 was the year the EPA(?) rules went into effect.
10 years in stock?
If Joe had stock lasting that long, he went out of business long before he could sell it.
It is possible, but darned unlikely - IIRC, the post raising the A-word said it was 'likely'....
Thanks for all the replies. I would much rather start at the 3/4 ply substrate for this install, but I have stripped back vinyl flooring a couple of times and I'd rather take a beating. I think I'll check as well as possible for bubbled areas, and if it checks out, sand it (good idea)& set the tile. Is a decoupling membrane suggested?
On the other hand, maybe a heat gun, scraper, and a 12-pack and I can strip it back.
Thanks for the tip about asbestos-- I'll wear a mask.
Chris, in these situations I will find the bottom most layer of suitable underlayment-with your thickness, I'd probably go down to the orig. subfloor. To get there I'd set the saw depth with a demo blade in a circ. saw. Cut through everything down to the subfloor in managable pcs-2x2 or so. Then pull sections up, take care of staples/nails and then apply cement board or more ply-whichever you think will do the job.
Way easier than trying to pull up vinyl.
Use appropriate breathing and eye protection.
You can do it, but you don't
You can do it, but you don't want to.
I'll explain why when I;m back from BT vacation....
On edit: most sheet vinyl is much too compressible to be a good substrate under tile, especially if it padded for softness.
Tile over that is a prescription for problematic grout and possibly even cracking tiles.
And then image the work needed!
If you decided to take the vinyl out, you can go to your local rental place and rent a reciprocating knife tool that makes the removal a lot easier.
I just stripped a floor in a 3x3 closet with vinyl. It took hours and I'm still not completely done. You might could try the adhesive removers, I certainly wish that I had.
I've had fairly decent luck
I've had fairly decent luck using both paint removers and hot air.
But a bit of a warning: If you use hot air disable the smoke detectors.