Waterproof temporary floor covering

Oct 02, 2004 5 Replies

Hello one and all. I am about to lay 3mm hardboard in our bathroom, which has old floorboards exposed now for about a year (I like to take my time on such jobs). This covering is in preparation for laying vinyl floor tiles on top. The problem is that my wife and I are very indecisive and so it may take several months more before we see any floor tiles we like. In the meantime I want to cover the old floorboards with hardboard. My only concern is what will happen to this covering if it gets wets - I've been looking for waterproof sealant type stuff to paint on the wood but with no success. I also don't want to make it harder or impossible to then fix the vinyl floor tiles (probably self adhesive ones...)



Any suggestions or advice very appreciated. Many thanks, Rupertb


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Use 4mm WBP(Water and Boil Proof) ply instead of hardboard - it will put up with quite a bit of water without damage, at least in the short term, unlike hardboard which just falls apart. It will also cope much better with any water that may penetrate between tiles or during a plumbing emergency a few years down the line. It`s more expensive natch but a bathrooms are rarely huge enough for that to be a significant issue.

I don't know if you can still get it, but there used to be such a thing as oiled hardboard, which didn't seem susceptible to water damage. Coated with

3 coats of polyurethane varnish, it should be water tight.

Jim

There are different grades of hardboard. Ask a timber merchant for a suitable product.

It's called oil tempered hardboard. Doesn't seem very easy to find these days. About the same price as boilproof ply.

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