OK, stupid question I know, but....
Am going to lay vinyl flooring in bathroom, which has pretty grotty wooden floor boards. I am going to cover these with hardboard sheet first to get a decent surface.
But which way up for the hardboard? Smooth or rough side against vinyl? Or doesn't it matter? I was thinking rough side, to prevent movement of vinyl layer due to walking on it.
Also, should hardboard be fixed down left 'floating'?
TIA,
David
I wouldn't use hardboard [again] I'd use ply.
TK
I'd personally lay a sheet of plywood which will be more solid for a longer time than hardboard will. Plywood will also cover the lumps and bumps better than water logged hardboard.
Hardboard is just, literally, compressed cardboard, and it draws water like a sponge, whereas, plywood stays more resilient in this type of environment.
On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 13:15:57 +0100, "David Kerr" strung together this:
Hardboard should be left on the shelf at B&Q, it's a bit flimsy to put underneath a vinyl floor. It'll probably just wear away in a short space of time, go for ply instead. It's a bit more rigid and can be laid either way up. I would also fix it down to the existing floor.
Right, plywood it is then!
I was told by the shop supplying the vinyl that the trade uses hardboard as a liner. I can see what you mean about wear and water take-up though.
I guess that I'll go for 4mm or 6mm ply, possibly with a coating of sealant just in case.
Thanks for the tip.
David
Fix the ply down with ring flanged nails as well to hold it perfectly. And a coating of PVA glue and water mixture on top to seal the surface. Allow it dry off for a full day then lay your vinyl. It'll last a lot of years when properly.
Agree with all others who've said use ply. In more detail: I suggest 6mm WPB ply screwed down at 20cm centres with 4x20mm countersunk screws (or nailed if you want but I like doing things the hard way...) then sealed with two coats of diluted PVA.
What's a ring flanged nail? Would it be better to screw the board down?
I have successfully used hardboard under carpet tiles (not vinyl flooring, I admit) in both my bathroom and en-suite. I laid it shiny side up, on the basis that the rough side - being more compressible - would better take up the undulations of the floorboards. I used a staple gun to staple the hardboard round the edges, at joins, and at a few places in the middle, to keep it flat.
If you anticipate throwing lots of water around, which will get under the vinyl and make the hardboard soggy, then plywood would be better, as advocated in several other replies. Otherwise, hardboard is fine. Hardboard is cheaper, and far easier to work with - particularly when cutting intricate shapes to fit round toilets and pedestals etc.
They are normally called Ring Shank Nails, so my wording is a bit off. I called Ring Flanged. Like these:
Where did "the better" part come from ? :-)) I'm getting to old for this.
So a bang is just as good as a screw!
Don't give up just yet, I've always got loads of questions to ask.
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