Varnishing Laminated Flooring

[Steve Walker]

Greetings -

For various sordid reasons of economy & pragmatism, we're resorting to laying a particular batch of 'plastic planks' through a large part of our home. One proposed location is the tiny downstairs bog. Located near to the garden & garage, this is going to get some hard wear from muddy boots, buckets of dirty water, kids running in and out etc.

The layout of the WC & other fittings means that flooring is going to be very tricky (unless all the fittings are removed, which I don't much fancy). So we'll have a load of small laminate pieces, exacerbating the known vulnerability of laminate to water damage.

So I'm wondering about overcoating the whole thing with a few layers of yacht varnish right from the start, and also silicon-sealing the edges. I'm sure this will dull the surface finish, especially with a lightly-keyed base, but hopefully it will still look pretty presentable (arguably improved).

What do the panel think? Will yacht varnish (or another resilient external grade) accommodate the tiny movement which might be expected from short pieces of laminate? If not, are there other sealants which might improve water resistance and durability?

Thanks in advance for any advice, excepting comments about alternatives to the laminate. I've had that argument and lost it, so I'm now reconciled to making the best of circumstances.... :o(

Cheers - Steve

[Harry Bloomfield]

Steve Walker has brought this to us :

It will not look very good unless you do remove them and it would probably be easier to remove them anyway.

I doubt the varnish would stay stuck anyway, it needs to soak into the surface to be able to adhere properly. How are you going to key it, you can't abrade the surface of the laminate the finish is only skin deep.

Quarry tiles would be much more suitable and robust a job for that location, but I guess someone already made that suggestion.

[The Medway Handyman]

Sorry to urinate on your french fries, but -

Fitting laminate in a bog is a bloody nightmare. Trust me, don't even attempt it. It's actually much easier to remove all the fittings than it is to try cutting round them - and then if you ever get a leak it will destroy the floor.

Doubt very much if varnish will stick to laminate at all. Something else I wouldn't even attempt.

[Tim S]

I agree. You'll never get it waterproof and varnish won't stick reliably.

Get a bit of vinyl - much more satisfactory and still cheap.

Cheers

Tim

[Stuart Noble]

The 2 pack floor varnish from Rustins is probably the best bet. The solvent element might just attack the laminate finish sufficiently to give it a bite. It's also water clear, so shouldn't affect the colour.

I'd also suggest lifting the wc if humanly possible but, failing that, careful use of paper templates should make a neat job. Easier than ceramic tiles anyway.