I am pulling up a glue down vinyl tile floor in my bathroom and replacing it with 12x24 glue down cork tiles (3/16"). There is what appears to be 1/4" luan under the vinyl tile, although it's taking a beating as I scrape up the vinyl tiles. I am hoping to patch this up and glue the cork on it. However, whoever put the luan down left a lot of gaps in between sheets and in some places along the wall and tub. What should I use to fill the gaps, nail holes, and even out the places where I've torn it up while scraping up vinyl? Or, should I just put another layer on top and do what I need to do in order to make the extra 1/4" a non-issue? Thanks for any suggestions.
Question about underlayment for glue down cork tile
- Thread starter swindmill
- Start date
Help Support House Repair Talk:
nealtw
Contractor retired
Pull up the old plywood too.
You will be happier and likely time ahead if you replace the old luan instead of patching it. I am currently removing four layers of vinyl and two layers of hardboard from a room in my house. The old house is going awwww.... Thank you.
The upstairs bathroom flooring was done identically. The luan was glued and nailed to the plywood. After several hours, the luan was up and the subfloor was torn up pretty badly. I tiled up there, so I was able to smooth it out with thinset and lay Durock. I'm afraid that if I pull up the luan in this bathroom, I'll be facing the same thing, and a new layer of luan won't be enough to even it out. The old luan that I'm uncovering is only about 6 years old, so it's not that bad, it just needs some patching. That said, if it's still recommended to pull it up, I will...but I'd love to hear that there's a reasonable alternative. Either way, I'll need to patch seams, and I'm not sure what I use for that purpose.
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If the luan is glued down that does make things nasty. I would probably find a reputable flooring store and see what they suggest for your particular situation. Where did you get your new flooring? See what they have to say. Even if you went to a big box store they usually have a least one person who has actual floor laying experience and can make recomendations. Just have to find the right person.
nealtw
Contractor retired
I believe they used a product like Liquid Nails to put the Luan down, so taking it up is out of the question, and it really doesn't look that bad. If the product nealtw linked to can fill in gaps and cover holes, I think I'm in good shape. Thanks for the info
