How to install vinyl laminate flooring onto an existing Jarrah floor?

Question

Hi, I need some help and direction, I have an older house with Jarrah flooring and will be converting a box room into an ensuite for the main bedroom, I am steering towards Vinyle laminate planks or tiles for their ease of installation and waterproof hardwearing qualities' How do I prepare the existing Jarrah floor and include a floor waste.

I assume a cement sheet applied over the jarrah flooring and then waterproofed? but how do you slope floor waste, or should i be considering another option for the Jarrah subfloor.

Vis-á-vis · Answer

Hi,

The first thing you need to think about is your plumbing and how you will tap into existing lines and waste.

Where do you want a waste? Just in the shower area?

Is this first floor or ground floor? Stumps or concrete slab?

Timber plank flooring is not a great substrate for tiles as timber moves and tiles will crack. Ceramic tile underlay (cement sheet) can alleviate this but it is generally best to start again with a more suitable floor. Cutting the jarrah out and installing a cement sheet floor (19mm Scyon or similar). Cutting out old hardwood will be a hard job but it is possible.

Vinyl laminate flooring. There are products that are waterproof as a material so would meet the Australian standard for a waterproof membrane but would not meet

the standard for Waterproofing Internal Wet Areas as they have seams which are not impervious to water. You would need a membrane underneath. Tiles are generally better in wet areas although there may be newer vinyl products out there that I don't know about.

As far as a screed to create a fall is concerned, if you have a substrate that is likely to move (a timber floor) then you will need an unbonded screed (separated from the floor with slip sheets) and that generally requires a minimum thickness of 40mm and some reinforcement although there are some exceptions. You cant just screed a bonded membrane to a timber floor as it will crack as the timber moves.

Some more information on exactly where you require a waste would be useful. If it is just in a shower then you may be most well-suited to a pre-formed polymarble or acrylic base.

MitchellMc · Answer

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @helpme1. It's fantastic to have you join us and many thanks for your question about ensuite flooring.

Here are a few step-by-step guides which you'll find useful:

* How to install tile underlay

* How to waterproof your bathroom

* How to lay floor tiles

* How to lay vinyl plank flooring

Once you've decided on the position of the floor waste, you'll need to screed back away from it to your walls. Start at the waste with no less than a 15mm thickness and slope the screed upwards to the wall at 1:100.

Have a look through this wonderful guide on How to plan a bathroom renovation and check out our Top 10 most popular bathroom projects for inspiration.

Let me mention one of our resident experts @Vis-á-vis to see if they have anything to add.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell