Vinyl floors without adhesives? - Posted by Kristine-CA

Posted by Nate(DC) on November 13, 2003 at 01:08:03:

Hmm, I suppose if you wanted to spend a few extra bucks you could try Pergo or similar?? That is adhesive free, I believe. In fact, I think someone posted an abbreviated set of instructions on how to install it here recently.

Whatever you do, good luck!
NT

Vinyl floors without adhesives? - Posted by Kristine-CA

Posted by Kristine-CA on November 12, 2003 at 20:00:14:

Quick rehabbing question: have you ever put vinyl on top of hardwood floors without adhesive (in order to save the wood floors for future use)? Would a small area, such as 10 X 10 be ok without adhesive on a relatively flat and square surface? Thanks for any thoughts or experiences. Sincerely, Kristine

Re: Vinyl floors without adhesives? - Posted by TomC (Md)

Posted by TomC (Md) on November 13, 2003 at 09:38:56:

Head on over to Home Depot and get some of the more expensive no-adhesive vinyl floor material. It’s much thicker and more flexible than the glue-down stuff. You put down special (slightly expensive for what it is) double-sided tape around the perimeter of the room and in a few strategic locations (see the directions). The tape won’t pull off the finish on the hardwood…it’s not that sticky. Pull it up a few years later, and away you go!

I’ll never glue down another vinyl floor.

TomC

Re: Vinyl floors without adhesives? - Posted by roger

Posted by roger on November 12, 2003 at 22:55:25:

I grewup in baltimore and all the houses had wood floors, we layed linoleum ove them we layed a cover of paper then 30 wieght roofing felt the the floor this preserved the floors excelently,

Re: Vinyl floors without adhesives? - Posted by Eric - GA

Posted by Eric - GA on November 12, 2003 at 22:07:48:

Lowe’s carries the Armstrong vinyl sheet flooring line “Ashton” which comes in many colors/designs and claims to be adhesive free.

Eric - GA

Re: Vinyl floors without adhesives? - Posted by Nate(DC)

Posted by Nate(DC) on November 12, 2003 at 20:34:38:

Kristine,

Would this be an area where carpet would be totally inappropriate? Assuming it is, what I would do if I had the intention of preserving the hardwoods would be to screw down some thin luaun plywood (the stuff that’s about 1/4" thick) and then lay the vinyl over it. Your hardwoods will be preserved in great shape other than a few screw holes. For a space that size you’ll only need a couple sheet of plywood. And you don’t have to worry about adhesive getting on the hardwood…when you’re done, just pull up the vinyl, unscrew the luaun and you’re back to normal.

NT

Re: Vinyl floors without adhesives? - Posted by Kristine-CA

Posted by Kristine-CA on November 12, 2003 at 22:12:38:

Nate: thanks for your reply. I’ve always wondered how luaun was spelled. Great suggestion. This is for a rental we are getting ready–a small dining room right off a small kitchen. I dislike carpet in general but we’ve decided to mostly carpet because we are not going to refinish the floors at this time.

I think carpets in eating areas are, well, disgusting. I know it’s done all the time, but it seems like a totally wasteful and unsanitary place for carpeting, especially for people with kids. Or spillers like me. The last two places I lived had carpets in the dining room and I ended up ripping it out. I have the same idea about hallways outside of bathrooms. Places that we all know have moisture and tracking…why would we put carpet there.

The luaun is the perfect solution. Thanks, Kristine

Re: Vinyl floors without adhesives? - Posted by Anne_ND

Posted by Anne_ND on November 13, 2003 at 10:16:40:

Kristine,

You’ve gotten good advice. I’m replying because in my house I have hardwood floors throughout, but the dining room and mainfloor bedroom have ‘battleship’ linoleum glued onto the hardwood. It’s called battleship because it’s practically indestructible. It also has asbestos backing which I didn’t want to deal with. It never occurred to me to put vinyl over it; I just grit (gritted?) my teeth and put down nice berber carpet in the dining room which cleans well, but doesn’t go with cats. The occasional cat barf cleans up, but not the coffee that the cats knock over.

Congrats on getting your rental house ready!

Anne