Laying vinyl on uneven floorboards?

Question

I am currently doing up my bathroom and need to put down a new floor. The floorboards aren't terrible but there are small gaps and they are a bit uneven which would show up if I had vinyl laid down without anything underneath. After looking into it on the net the main suggestion seems to be to put down hardboard/plywood and then lay the vinyl. However, I'm wondering if I could use heavy duty underlay instead? I've never worked with hardboard before and although I'd be willing to have a go, if I could use underlay or some other alternative I could get the vinyl fitter to put that down for me as well. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

You will want to put a layer of 1/4" underlayment grade plywood over the existing subfloor.  Do NOT use a layer of polystyrene under the plywood.  That will cause squeaks.  Nail or staple the underlayment every 2" along the seams and every 6" in the center of the sheet.  To make this easy you can rent a stapler and compressor from a rental yard.  After the sheets are nailed down, cover the seams and nail holes with a latex floor leveler, available in the flooring department of a home center.  After this dries, you can lay the vinyl floor.  Be sure to caulk along the edges to keep water from getting under the floor.  Hope this helps.

Answer 2

You could pour a liquid floor leveler if that idea works better for you... ply/board underlayment would be my first choice on anything bigger than small...

Answer 3

You might try filling in the gaps with wood filler. If it will work where they are uneven, use it there too. Smooth it out good before laying the vinyl. Otherwise cover the floor with underlayment (luan) with small nails. Check it out with someone at the hardware store for the supplies needed.

Answer 4

cover the floor with the silver backed polystyrene that's used for laminate floors 1st then 1/4 ply first screwed down well but be carefull of under floor cables n pipework,

Answer 5

Sheet 6mm ply over the boards - not harboard which will mould itself to the ridges. Use waterproof or exterior ply in a bathroom and s***w down at about 150mm centres. This will give you the ideal surface to tile on (prime the board first - check the adhesive manufacturer's instructions).

Answer 6

you should check out laminate flooring. which is the simple click together flooring. since you probably dont want the wood look in your bathroom, you can get tile laminate which looks quite good and holds up quite well.  if you still are bent on laminate, yes there is no underlay out there that will do justice. i would reccrmend 7/16 osb because tounge and grove shouldn't be necessary on your floor and is quite cheap at under 10$ a sheet.  

hope this helps