When I bought my house last year, there was a soft spot in the kitchen floor, under a window, where there had been a window air conditioner. the floor was made of particle board which had deteriorated from the water. Unfortunately, the vinyl (linoleum) is very new and in good shape, but no one has any matching material. But, before I tore up the floor, I decided to see if I could remove the vinyl and possibly reuse it. I cut it along a line (it's sort of a tile pattern), so I just cut it on the lines. Much to my surprise, it did lift up, despite the glue. Not easily, but it did come up in one piece without damaging it.
I have replaced the floor with 3/4" plywood, and am ready to glue down the same vinyl. However, the "so called" 3/4" plywood is not really
3/4" anymore. (I suppose they save $0.50 per sheet by cheating people). It's something like 23/32. But it appears to be more like 1/16th inch lower. But there's more, because there was also a layer of old linoleum under the new vinyl. So, it's more like 3/32 inch lower.Anyhow, I want to bring the plywood patch up to the same level. I know they make floor leveler (sort of a plaster kind of stuff), but I doubt I'd get that stuff real level without lumps in such a large area. I replaced a 3 foot by 8 foot piece of the floor. It would make more sense to just glue down something else first, but what????? I thought of buying a small piece of some cheap vinyl, but it may be tricky to get the same thickness.
A retired guy who was once a carpenter told me he recalls seeing flooring guys use some sort of building paper to fill in large areas of a floor. But what would that be?
Any suggestions?