I am preparing to lay some industrial non slip vinyl on our bathroom floor.
I have just found out that the boards are not as flat as I remembered them.
What would be the best thing to go under the vinyl without having to go for plywood? If there is no other option but ply, can I lay it in sections and tape up the joints?
Dave
You can use 3mm hardboard instead of ply if you have a problem with the thickness of the plywood, or are retro-fitting etc. Not quite so good as ply, but does a good job for a few years. Note: put the hardboard web side up, and the vinyl clings quite well to it and nails (ring shank) or small screws sink into it. BUT: the shiny side down *will* squeak against the floorboards (don't I know it !), however many nails/screws you put in, since it has some give. To get round this, sandwich a thin layer of something flexible between the floor and hardboard (e.g. an old sheet, or a thin bit of rubber pond-liner etc). Sounds complicated, but this is material science ! Simon.
You can buy paper underlay or use newspaper. Or you can put some PVA between them. But you have to lay the hardboard wet as it shrinks tight on the tacks like that.
Neglect that step and the hardboard will swell, buckle and curve at the edges.
Could I get away with putting it down in two/three pieces? The reason I ask, is that both the toilet bowl and was hand basin pedestal would be very tricky to cut out from a full sheet. If I could put a joint a few inches in front of them, fitting would be that much easier. I have the skills to cut it out in one piece, but I doubt that I could twist the board around the two. I do not want to put anything under them.
What would the consequences be of using 2 or 3 or even 4 panels. Would it be best to screw down along the joint that our feet could stand on, or am I going over the top here?
First panel goes from wall to center line of toilet, second panel goes from that CL to the CL of wash hand basin and the last piece would go from CL to bath edge.
Just to note, the floor boards go the same as the length of the bath and the toilet and wash hand basin are at 90 degrees to that
Dave
The best solution would be not to use vinyl at all, but if you are going to then joining it and cutting it around basin pedestals and toilet pans is not going to look good at all; added to which it's an invitation for water to find its way through the gaps.
For any bathroom floor application, it's far better to remove the sanitary ware and fit it back on top afterwards.
Could I use some cotton sheet that I purchased for painting etc. It is clean.
Too permanent for my liking. There are cables down there, as well as a cable joint box.
That means that I will have to cut it out that way, unless you can tell me what the shrink ratio is. Or, I will revert to ply.
This job is far bigger that I thought. I wish that I had put the floor down before we had the bathroom done last year, even just the paneling would have been enough. Then I could still cut around the toilet and pedestal. But it is only recently that I have realised just how dangerous that floor will get as we both get older. I am 61, wife is 60 next month, so I am looking to the time we will need all the help we can get, to get in or out of the bath/shower.
Many thanks.
Dave
I don't have a problem with the vinyl, I can cut that from one piece. I have the skills to do this to one mm, it's just the cutting of the board that will go under it.
Thanks
Dave
OK.
So why not just remove the sanitary ware and put down one piece in each case?
It would be very much easier and produce a better result.
I could do that with the loo, but the wash hand basin has been screwed to the wall and the pedestal put under after :-(
By the time the base and vinyl has been laid, the wash hand basin will need re-plumbing :-(
I'll put a spirit level on it tomorrow and see if it is with change specs of what you suggest. After all, it will be the easiest option. I'll probably be dead when it needs changing again :-(
That's why I said that I wished I had put the board down before the bathroom was done. It was done by a local plumber, by the way.
This was all done before I realised that, as we are both getting older, the requirement for a good quality non slip floor was mandatory.
When the bathroom was fitted 12 months ago, I was tied up in a part time job that didn't let me think about what was happening in our house. For instance, out bath used to face the front of the house. Taps against the front wall, shower head behind you, so that when you had a shower in it, you got a supply of clean water under your feet. The plumber persuaded my wife to reverse the bath, now she has to use a rubber mat to stop her slipping.
I'll take it all on board and make a decision next week.
Many thanks
Dave
Right. Yes you can do that in pieces but try and join them over a board, and tack it down really well..I did as bathroom like that in Marley tiles - self stick vinyl thingies - and they were not that brilliant - there was signs of wear over slight bumps when I demolished the lot a few years later.
But spongy vinyl sheet is better in that respect. I must say most places I can get vinyl charge a 'fitted' price and frankly the boys do a better job than I can..so..
You can fit the vinyl round pedestals and bogs..slit and cut, and use double sided tape on the far side..and if you are worried about splashes use clear silicone round the edges.
It's not perfect, but its workmanlike enough, and it sounds like you have more issues than aesthetic ones.
I will do that.
Sounds like our kitchen when I did it over asphalt flooring. The later addition of single sheet vinyl fared no better. Both showed signs if the substrate, hence my question on this ng about the bathroom floor boards.
Yes :-)
Many thanks for that. I was trained as an engineering fitter from the age of 15, so the vinyl is simple fitting for me. It was the substrate that I was worried about.
Many thanks to all who have replied, I am going to put the job off for a few weeks :-)
Dave
Well, the weather is a bit warm and the sun does get into the bathroom quite early in the morning and stay there until about 1500 hrs. I'll con the wife into thinking that it is too hot for the silicone stuff. By that time, I will have perfected my method to get this floor down :-) You never know, I might be able to put this off until October. ;-)
If you are careful, it should be possible to remove the pedestal by sliding it forward, put the material into place and put the pedestal back. Check how well it's fitted to the wall though.
If you are only adding the thickness of 3mm of ply or hardboard and some vinyl, then you should not be running into problems with the plumbing.
Nothing better than hindsight.
Understood. You might want to do some more research on what there is. Non slip industrial vinyl does spring to mind and seems to be what is used (for example) in special needs applications. I wonder whether tiles with a somewhat rough surface would achieve the same effect for example.
It's often these attention-to-detail things that make a difference. It's not always possible to work out all of the gotchas beforehand, but best to take time.
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