Any reasons not to run vinyl flooring under walls?

[Ray D]

 I don't want to get into the prove it stuff, sorry, just let the buyer beware and also get a quote from a local professional supplier that has lots of years of experience.  I find the price is actually better most of the time and you get better advice, service and you support your'e local community better.  I am not trying to belittle these massive selling machines, I still use them as necessary, everyone just assumes they are looking out for "us".

Ray D

[zubzub]

my 2 cents.
roll flooring is a PITA to install in small spaces.  Cleanliness is hard to maintain, one little bit of grit will show on the surface, I have almost always noticed little bits of this and that even with "proffesionally?" installed roll  flooring.  I will probably lay vinyl composite tiles in the the main field on my bus, cleans easily, damaged pieces can be pulled one at a time, and the installation is very simple. 

[belfert]

my 2 cents.
roll flooring is a PITA to install in small spaces.  Cleanliness is hard to maintain, one little bit of grit will show on the surface, I have almost always noticed little bits of this and that even with "proffesionally?" installed roll  flooring.  I will probably lay vinyl composite tiles in the the main field on my bus, cleans easily, damaged pieces can be pulled one at a time, and the installation is very simple. 

Are you talking the commerical type vinyl tiles like in retail stores or the type of vinyl tiles that are basically vinyl flooring in squares?  They sell the commerical type at Home Depot for pretty inexpensive, but I worry about the upkeep.  Don't the tiles have to be waxed and then burnished/buffed and rewaxed from time to time? 

I remember the retail store I worked at 15 years ago had a crew burnish the floor with a big machine once a week and then wax the floor.  That retail floor did take a beating with the traffic, especially in the winter when they used sand.  My bus would never see the same level of traffic.

[belfert]

I think I'm going to go with vinyl composition tile because it is cheap and I won't be trying to wrestle a 40 foot piece of sheet vinyl.

I found two different people on craigslist selling VCT cheap.  One is only charging $5 a case for white tile.  I would rather have tan, but don't want to pay five times more either.  White hard vinyl tile is kinda institutional, but I'm not living in this bus or using it much.

I saw some light commercial vinyl at Home Depot and was $3 a square foot. 

[Blacksheep]

Vct or vinyl composition tile WILLindeed need to be waxed and buffed IF you desire a wet look shine! It doesn't need to be but can be! It is 1/8 inch versus 1/16. Wears good but again, breaks easy before its down! There are 45 pieces or feet to a case whereas soft vinyl tile there usually 25 or 27. Check the sq feet per box to compare!
As others stated, you can repair either type easier one piece here or there over a sheet vinyl and yes either sqaure or sheet the floor must be baby butt smooth or whatever is under them will magnify and show. A small grain of sand under the commercial tile will starburst and eventually break thru the tile.
Remember, the end result depends on what you pay for. Cheap now is ok but you might find yourself replacing it which brings you back to paying what you would have paid initially for good stuff!

[cody]

Just as a thought, belfert, do you have any companies in your area that make hardwood flooring?  Last winter I bought a house for my daughter and I went to Hoerner Flooring in our area and got almost a full pickup load of shorts for 25 bucks, I got enough from that to do her living room floor (16x16), her dining room floor (16x14) and her hallway upstairs, they were the full 3/4x3 inch strips averaging 18 to 24 inches long.  I had to run a sander over the floor after I layed the flooring and varnish it but the cost was certainly low, drawback is that in 20 or 30 years I'll have to refinish the hard maple.  The flooring plant closed down in our area a few months ago but if there is one in your area, it might be a thought for a durable floor thats pretty forgiving.

[belfert]

Remember, the end result depends on what you pay for. Cheap now is ok but you might find yourself replacing it which brings you back to paying what you would have paid initially for good stuff!

The two people I found selling VCT cheap on Craigslist are both selling Armstrong Excelon VCT.  I assume this is pretty decent stuff, but I could be wrong.

I am going to put underlayment over the original floor to get things nice and smooth.  Home Depot sells some underlayment that is perfectly smooth on one side and has been coated for moisture resistance.

I laid vinyl in the bathroom of the bus and did have problems with dirt underneath it.  We had cut the vinyl down to approimate size and then set it on a dirty floor outside the bathroom.  The bathroom is being torn out completely along with the vinyl and the original underlayment.  I want to make bathroom smaller plus the shower walls cracked due to shower head not secured properly.

[zubzub]

not sure what you mean by underlayment...but the armstrong vct is a good mid range product, not made for heavy industrial but plenty good enough for a daycare (bus?) and I believe I cut it last time using a ceramic tile cutter (score and snap)
Also the tile needs to be glued to the subfloor, so any underlay has to be well glued to whatever is under it.
If you have a solid plywood subfloor, you can skim coat the imperfections using thinset, and thinset and mesh tape over cracks, run a small non orcit hand sander over the entire area, and install with no underlayment.  If you have tile floor already, just fill the imperfections, abrade the surface and install another layer (but witht the layout offset from the previous)
there are very good forums with tons of experience in all this...breaktime at finehomebuilding.com etc...

[belfert]

By underlayment  I mean the plywood they sell specificially to go under sheet vinyl and the like.  Even in a new house they still use this stuff even though the regular plywood floor is new.  A lot of it is under 1/4" thick and 5 feet, but I have been using some that is 1/4" thick and has one side with knots filled and coated to be moisture resistant.  The thickness helps bridge the gap where the seat rail was plus the 4x8 size is a perfect fit in the bus with no cutting.

[zubzub]

know I know what you mean,  yeah we use that.  I glue and nail it down using an air nailer.  the  final sub surface is the same as the primer surface in a paint job, any imperfections will show up through the vcp, so I still use the sander.  when I can't allow for another lift of 1/4" for adjoining surfaces, I smooth out the plywood sub floor as mentioned previously.