Kitchen Floor Vinyl Questions!

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Opie

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The vinyl on our kitchen floor has some dings so we think it is time to redo it. I think there is currenly only one vinyl layer in there - it may be the original with the house in 1987 (not sure). We have gotten some estimates for it from the national chains everyone knows. I think we are looking at about 20 square yards. It is a square kitchen: no islands. Also the floor slopes up in the kitchen to the sink/countertop side. We intended to just lay a new layer of vinyl over this one, and ignore the slope.

Question: Are we going about this wrong? Would removing everything, including plywood, before installing allow us to figure out a way to fix the slope, even if it is due to settling?

I hope that isn't a dumb question: the engineer who inspected our home at purchase didn't seem to think it would be worth trying to fix. I don't think we noticed the slope until after we bought it.
 
How much slope are you talking about? 1 inch in 12 feet is noticeable, but may not be worth ripping up the floor. If it really bothers you, consider the cost. This is a big job for a homeowner to do himself. If it is getting worse though, this is the time to fix it. Is the drywall cracking in the room? Cabinets pulling away from the wall? If not, it's probably stable.

Usually, a slow slope up to an exterior wall is a pier that needs to be shimmed. Put a heavy jack under the girder beam, lift the girder and slide steel shims between the girder and the pier. The shims need to be 3"x4" minimum to support the weight without crushing into the girder. Wood shims will not hold up forever. Steel is the way to go. Steel shims are available at Lowe's here, or you can have them cut wherever they sell steel in your area. This can make a dramatic improvement in how level the floors are in a house.

A home built in 1987 shouldn't be settling around the foundation walls. If it is, you may have a major problem.
 
Thanks for the response Square Eye. I'd say an inch sounds about right. Basically, this is square kitchen with the eat-in portion against the exterior wall. The part that slopes upwards is towards the middle of the house, where the sink and dishwasher reside. I don't think you notice it by looking at it: only by walking on it. So a third of the floor in the kitchen closest to the middle of the house slopes up. The fridge sits on the right side, and so we need to use a board under the right side of it in order to keep it standing straight due to the slope.

Does it really bother us? I would say no, we've gotten used to it. But we do want to resell this house in the next two years. It wasn't enough to scare us (and other bidders) away, so maybe we should leave well enough alone.

We do not have drywall or cabinet problems that I am aware of. But it is a slope up, going away from the exterior wall after about 6-8 feet into the room. We only notice this in the kitchen (middle floor of a three level townhome).
 
Opie said:
I'd say an inch sounds about right.

(middle floor of a three level townhome).

Just let it go,,

That's what your therapist would say about that nightmare.

I agree.
 
Ok. Given that, should I install new vinyl on top of it, or should I pull out the old stuff first?
 
If the existing floor is smooth, lay right over it.

If it's in really bad shape, square stick-on tiles coming loose or long rips. Rip it out. While you have the floor covering removed, put some screws in to stop any squeaks.

If it just has a few tears or dents in it, fill the dents and fill the holes. Make the surface as smooth as possible. Floor leveler comes in powder form and sets quickly. Mix small amounts and recoat the spots it if it shrinks too much. Sand down any ridges or lumps.
 
I have no advice on whether you should shim the floor or not. I'm not there. If it were my house I would probably do it if it is noticable but also if it isn't too much. Raising the house too much will cause other damage.

As for the removal of the old vinyl flooring, I think you should definitely remove the old along with the 1/4" underalyment under it. Installing new over old is never a good idea. Most vinyls are textured and are pretty soft too. The new will dent real bad if you go directly over it. In some cases the old pattern will eventually show through to the new flooring too. At minimum they will install a new underlayment over your old floor and then the new one.

Before you buy from those nice people wearing those colorfull vests, you should talk to a floor covering store in your area. Most will be able to a MUCH better job at about the same cost or maybe less? But in any case you will be dealing with local merchants that usually know what they are talking about.

Jaz
 
Jaz said:
Before you buy from those nice people wearing those colorfull vests, you should talk to a floor covering store in your area. Most will be able to a MUCH better job at about the same cost or maybe less? But in any case you will be dealing with local merchants that usually know what they are talking about.

Jaz

Yep, good advice.
 

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