what can I do to old sheet vinyl kitchen floor?

Sherry · July 22, 2011, 03:07:00 PM

I have a sheet vinyl kitchen floor which was installed in the early 1960's. Although the vinyl is still soundly attached, all the shine has worn off from use and it's had to keep it looking clean and nice. It has t and g wood flooring underneath the vinyl (the house was built around 1900). I have given up on the idea of stripping off the vinyl to refinish the t and g wood flooring because of the fear of releasing any asbestos fibers that might be in the vinyl and its glues, and also b/c I was told that it would be such a hard time-consuming job getting all the adhesives off the wood, that it would not be worth it in the end.

And then I considered the "forever floor" (rolled roofing painted flooring) contained in several posts on this site. But as I re-read the original article about how to install it, it made me think that it needs to be installed over something more rigid than vinyl.

Does anyone have opinions/experience about this? And if the consensus is that the "forever floor" can't be installed over vinyl, does anyone have good ideas about any way to put anything over the vinyl that would look good? I thought about paint or polyurethane on the vinyl, but experts at the paint stores and tech depts. I contacted told me it wouldn't work because it would be too brittle and would crack as people walked on it. I'm thinking that even if I wanted to spend more $ and get ceramic tile installed over it, the vinyl would still be too resilient underneath the tile. I could sure use some good suggestions as the floor has outlived its useful life after nearly 50 years!

MountainDon · July 22, 2011, 03:46:00 PM

I am not the floor expert but two things come to my mind.

1. Cover the existing flooring with sheets of screwed down 1/4 or 5/16" smooth face plywood. Install new vinyl, wood, or whatever over that. If wanting ceramic or porcelain tile go to number 2.

2. Cover the existing floor with sheets of Hardie Backerboard (or similar product). This should be okay for ceramic/porcelain tile. Hardie is screwed down every 8 inches in a grid pattern all over the face. Hardie advises to glue their product as well I believe, however I have done a retrofit in this manner.

If I was doing either I'd also give thought to the base cabinets. Is there a chance they might be replaced at some time? If so it might make a better job of it to pull them and cover the entire floor with the plywood or cement fiber board and new flooring.

July 22, 2011, 03:55:03 PM

If you can tolerate an increase in floor height (door clearance, kick plates, etc.) the 1/4 inch plywood underlayment or cement backer board if you want to lay down tile both work fine; however, tile floor in the kitchen is tough on the feet and legs.

MountainDon · July 22, 2011, 04:11:04 PM

Quote from: Danfish on July 22, 2011, 03:55:03 PM
however, tile floor in the kitchen is tough on the feet and legs.

I don't know about that.

Might be true for some folks but I believe a blanket statement like that is incorrect.

We have lived on a concrete slab floor since 1985. Originally there was vinyl over the concrete or wood parquet flooring. For about the past 15 years the kitchen, family room, bathrooms, one bedroom and office have been ceramic tile. A few years ago the remaining wood was replaced with tile. I'm 65. Neither of us have had any issues with our feet, back or legs. YMMV.

Native_NM · July 22, 2011, 04:54:30 PM

I've had tile for years and it never bothered me. We liked the durability and ease of cleaning.

July 22, 2011, 08:46:26 PM

If the old vinyl is firmly attached you can cover it with virtually any product you desire. Thicker flooring may require you to trim a little off your doors for clearance as Mtn Don describes. You can install new vinyl over the old also. If you want ceramic tile or stone then any excessive bounciness of the floor structure can sometimes make the tile crack, usually in the grout lines. Underlayment described above can often add enough stiffness to overcome that though.

firefox · July 23, 2011, 12:53:22 AM

Mind you this was a long time ago, but when laying vynel tiles
we would first nail down 1/4" tempered masonite shiny side down.
This provided a very flat surface but the glue had a textured surface to grab onto. The masonite holds up to moisture pretty well
if you end up with small cracks. Not sure if this is still used, but it
seemed to work well and hold up.
Bruce

Sherry · July 23, 2011, 11:09:36 AM

So since nobody has said anything about the "forever floor", do I take it that this means most of you think it wouldn't work to put that over the existing sheet vinyl?

Native_NM · July 23, 2011, 11:17:23 AM

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/lee92.html

Since new vinyl can go over old vinyl, the Forever Floor should be fine. Just fill the holes larger than .30 caliber first.

July 23, 2011, 11:26:12 AM

I did some price shopping. I bet between the roofing, cement, and paint you will spend close to a $1 a square foot. I've seen 3/4 T&G oak for close to that unfinished. I've seen laminate for $0.99 at the big boxes. Find one of those 15% coupons and you can get it for the same price as tar paper. I've floated laminate over 1960's vinyl at my mom's house. No glue, fumes, or sticky mess.

Native_NM · July 24, 2011, 11:48:25 PM

HD is advertising laminate flooring for $0.68 a foot.