Laying vinyl flooring-- eg Karndean--on concreate floor

[aspley]

Hi..........best solution please for laying vinyl tiles such as Karndean onto a concrete floor in newly built conservatory. Would it be wise to first lay T & G chipboard and apply the vinyl tiles glued down on top of this?? I'm thinking of doing this for the modest improvement in insulation it would give.
Any thoughts/guidence would be appreciated

 

[mac391]

Don't lay chipboard, it won't insulate your room and will absorb moisture from your new concrete.
2 things:
1, your new concrete will need drying time, approx 1 month for every inch, then a DPM is required. You can lay a fast track DPM (damp proof membrane) if your new concrete has had 2/3 weeks drying time. Once the DPM is applied you need a laytex screed, so your adhesive and karndean stick to it. Or, DPM plastic sheet (visqueen) and ply.
2, If your conservatory is in a sunny position, karndean, amtico etc will need HT adhesive.

i'm a big fan of karndean but it expands and contracts, even more so in a conservatory. Theres only 2 ways, DPM & screed or DPM and ply, the first one being the better one.

Hi..........best solution please for laying vinyl tiles such as Karndean onto a concrete floor in newly built conservatory. Would it be wise to first lay T & G chipboard and apply the vinyl tiles glued down on top of this?? I'm thinking of doing this for the modest improvement in insulation it would give.
Any thoughts/guidence would be appreciated

 

[aspley]

1, your new concrete will need drying time, approx 1 month for every inch, then a DPM is required. You can lay a fast track DPM (damp proof membrane) if your new concrete has had 2/3 weeks drying time. Once the DPM is applied you need a laytex screed, so your adhesive and karndean stick to it. Or, DPM plastic sheet (visqueen) and ply

Thanks for that Mac.........there will be a new poly DPM under the concrete....will that be ok?? Is the DPM that you are suggesting additional to that if so what form does it take.

Thanks for any additional advice you can give

 

[mac391]

Hi Aspley,

Tthe products i use ar all from F.Ball..... www.f-ball.co.uk After a new concrete slab has been laid you need to prime it with P131 (neoprene primer) then lay a 3mm or so screed using Stopgap 900, then apply F75 (2 coat) or F76 (1 coat) liquid DPM. You then lay a final screed then fix your floor using F-ball HT adhesive.

neoprene primer @ £10
stopgap 900 @ £18 per bag, covers approx 5/m2 at 3mm deep
F75 DPM £130 for 10kg (1kg covers 4m/2 approx)

Google these names for other prices as F-bll don't sell direct but loads on the net do.

You could do without the first screed if your concrete is really smooth but run the risk of not having enough DPM which is the expensive part. The smoother the surface the further your DPM will spread.

I know it all sounds a pain but if you don't do it your floor will simply fail.

send me your sizes and i'll work it out for you if your not sure

andy

1, your new concrete will need drying time, approx 1 month for every inch, then a DPM is required. You can lay a fast track DPM (damp proof membrane) if your new concrete has had 2/3 weeks drying time. Once the DPM is applied you need a laytex screed, so your adhesive and karndean stick to it. Or, DPM plastic sheet (visqueen) and ply

Thanks for that Mac.........there will be a new poly DPM under the concrete....will that be ok?? Is the DPM that you are suggesting additional to that if so what form does it take.

Thanks for any additional advice you can give

 

[aspley]

send me your sizes and i'll work it out for you if your not sure

Hi Mac............It's a large one......5m x 4m. If your able to give me a call on ********** ....Cheers

 

[gilly120]

Hi

I have just had a house built and i am going to lay karndean on the floor.The builders have laid a concrete slab then insulation and underfloor heating pipes then a sand and cement screed.

The screed in perfectly flat and level.

Can i lay the karndean directly onto the screed.?

The area to karndean is 112 m2 . As it is level and flat i can not see the need to screed on top of this.

Any advice.?

Regards

Chris

 

[crazydaze]

The screed should be a latex screed, the subfloor needs to be perfectly level AND smooth, there must be no 'grittiness' to the texture, fitting over a sand/cement finish will leave the installation bumpy at best and will lead to premature wear. as well as this you must still consider moisture levels as previously detailed in the posts on this thread.

As mac391 uses F-Ball products, he may have an opinion on their Isolator membrane, I understand that karndean, marmoleum and amtico can be laid directly to this product, however he may well have experienced particular issues which is why he is recommending the correct 'full monty' approach.

 

[gilly120]

Hi

Excuse me for being thick. Are you saying if the sand and cement screed is perfectly level and flat you can prime on top of this and then lay the karndean.

chris

 

[mac391]

Hi chris,
You can't just lay karndean on sand/cement screed, it might look level but i assure you it won't be level enough.

My usual procedure is to allow the screed to dry out naturally below a level of 75% relative humidity. You need a pro to take these measuremnts for you and it's a 24hr test, unless you can hire a hygrometer to take the readings.
There are fast track DPM (damp proof membranes) you can use over new screeds to speed them up but none that i know of that you can use on top of underfloor heating. That's not to say there arn't any in existence, i just don't know of any !!

Once the moisture levels are below 75% and you have removed any laitence from the surface you can then prime (neoprene) your floor then lay your acrylic screed. Once dried, you need Karndean HT (high temperature) adhesive to lay flooring.

Isolateor membrane isn't suitable as it is not adhered to the sub-floor.

The best people for advice though is Karndean 01386 820 200