With the demo and r
epairs done, I can finally start putting the new floor down. First is the underlayment. I used 1/4 inch thick luan which is a pretty standard material for underlayment. I fastened it with crown staples spaced about 2 inche
s around the perimeter and 4 inches inside the perimeter. You will need a lot of crown staples.
Custom cuts had to be made around corners and inside the nooks and crannies around the cabinets. I made sure the first piece of luan laid down was as square as it could be. That made the custom cuts a lot easier to do. Even then, I still had to make little adjustments here and there since the cabinets weren’t very square to the walls.
The luan by itself looks really nice. It is almost a shame I will be covering it up soon.
Before I could finish, I had to figure out how to do the transition between the tile and the carpet. I found a great metal transition at Home depot that looked like it would work well. Since it was designed for conventional tile it had a lip that would warp my vinyl. I decided to put the luan on top of the transition to smooth out the dip that would be created otherwise.
I nailed the transition down, stapled the luan over it and the tile butted up perfectly to the edge. It almost looks like it was supposed to be installed that way.
I read online about a primer you can use with self-stick tiles that helps them adhere better to porous materials such as wood, so I decided to give it a try. The application couldn’t have been easier. I rolled it on with a paint roller and waited for it to dry. The primer dried clear, almost like a varnish on the luan, again making me almost regret covering it up. I’m just a sucker for good looki
ng wood, I guess.
Now that the underlayment is down, the transition is installed, and the surface is primed, I will be ready to lay tile. That is exactly what I will cover in the next installment of this series. See you then!
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