sullijos

I am in the process of ripping up the old vinyl tile floor in my half bath so that I can install porcelain tile. I have removed all of the vinyl tiles but I am having a lot of difficulty removing the layer between that and the plywood subfloor. There is a middle layer that I can't identify (I am a DIY beginner). It is about as thin as the vinyl tile but is bonded to the subfloor with thin-set. As I try to pull this layer up it keeps ripping.

Any ideas what this layer is, and what might be the best way to remove it along with the thin-set? A picture of my floor is included through a link.

I thank you in advance for any advice you can provide.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/AroJ7sKL8kFLznP_6FGXtQ?feat=directlink

inspectorD

I got a "page not found " error on the pics.
The layer could be glue or self leveler compound.
I would just remove the plywood layer and start fresh.

__________________
Just My
Made in the

samfloor

That should not be thin-set. Thin-set is for ceramic tiles. Do you mean clear set vinyl tile adhesive?

__________________
[url]http://www.flooringforum.com/forum/[/url]

sullijos

Thin-set was the wrong word then. As you can no doubt tell, I am a beginner in all things DIY. I just bought my first house so I am learning as I go. Originally I thought there might be a 1/4" plywood underlayment for the vinyl tile, or I should say whatever the layer between the vinyl and plywood is. However, I can't seem to tell if the there is the 1/4" plywood underlayment or just subfloor (3/4"?). Any ideas?

gsmurray24

Impossible to tell what is the subfloor. But from the picture, you basically have a vinyl roll goods floor installed with black emulsion ashesive over the wood subfloor. The pattern is actually a very thin layer of vinyl, the white in the picture is the backing to the flooring, and the black is the adhesive.

The white backing is not going to come up very easily. It will tear into pieces, no matter what you do. There are floor tile chippers you can rent, but what I would have done is leave the floor intact, and install a new 1/4" subfloor right over the top. That is assuming the existing floor is in good condition and solidly adhered to the floor. Nail it down every 4" on the perimeter of the sheet, and every 8" throughout the field of the sheet, use a subfloor crack filler between sheets and over the nail holes, and presto, you're ready for the new flooring, whether it be roll goods, vinyl tile, or laminate. If you want to do ceramic, use 3/4" plywood rather than 1/4", and you'll need to use a mrble saddle or similar at the doorway.

samfloor

The vinyl and the adhesive probably both contain asbestos.

__________________
[url]http://www.flooringforum.com/forum/[/url]

sullijos

What I think I may do is use thin-set mortar over the existing floor, and then install 1/4" hardibacker. Do you see any issues with this? My plan is to install porcelain tile.

samfloor

It will most likely fail.

__________________
[url]http://www.flooringforum.com/forum/[/url]

nealtw

You won't know if the thin set will stick until it is to late, and then you will be doing it again. There is no easy way to get all the crap up but that is what needs to be done.

samfloor

And then you must know exactly what you have for a subfloor.

__________________
[url]http://www.flooringforum.com/forum/[/url]