Hello everyone! Extremely new DIY'er here!

We purchased our home in Dec 2014, and this was my first DIY I decided to tackle - a tiny mudroom that did not see much love in its life.

After 2 layers of nasty carpet, and a layer of old peel and stick, I am left with this subfloor. As you can (hopefully) see, the room is very slanted/unlevel. I am hoping this will not be a concern, the entire house is pretty wonky. (House built in 1887, however, I am positive the mudroom is an addition - unsure of year built)

Here are some photos of the room. I have since removed the wood trim along the bottom.







My main question is what is my next step in order to properly prepare this floor for vinyl tile? I purchased groutable peel and stick vinyl tile from Lowe's, and I do plan on grouting. My first thought was adding a thin sheet of plywood ontop of the existing subfloor, is this necessary? If so, how would I go about doing this with such an unlevel floor? I would prefer not to level the floor if at all possible, as the entire room is slanted and I feel this would cause the room to look worse than it already does. Is anything needed at all? Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

You need flat, not necessarily level. You will add 1/4" underlayment grade plywood (not luan) and skim the seams in advance of the tiles. Screw down the existing plywood now while it is open to eliminate squeaks.

 

Perfect, thank you! What do you mean exactly when you say to skim the seams? Thanks again.

 

Nail holes and seams between plywood gets filled with a cement patching compound and smoothed out with a putty knife so the whole floor is perfectly flat with no bumps, dips, nail holes, or seams to telescope through the vinyl.

 

Vinyl is very good at showing you what's beneath it so you want to make sure that's nothing but a perfectly flat floor.

 

Makes sense, I feel much more confident now. Thank you!

 

Why not ceramic tile? A lot more durable and forgiving and just as easy to put down.

I used peel and stick once in a mud room - never again. I ripped it out after a couple of years.

 

I'm not sure the subfloor can handle the weight of ceramic, and honestly I'm not a fan. My first thought was slate, but went with vinyl in the end as it's easier to install, lighter weight, and more forgiving with cuts/mistakes/repair. I'll be happy if the floor lasts 5 years.. And with the reviews I've read about vinyl I'm pretty confident it should last.. Guess we'll see!

 

So I sent my boyfriend to get the plywood and he ended up getting 3/16".Will this work just as well or is 1/4"necessary? Thank you!

Edit; come to think of it, the plywood has a reddish tone to it. Is this the luan you advised not to get? I wish I had a larger vehicle so I can get this stuff myself!

 

Most likely luan based on the color. UNDERLAYMENT GRADE plywood (those words will be on the product upc sticker) is a more solid product and is not full of voids and other undesirables found in luan. Many lumber produts cheat the ruler, so 1/4" product many times will measure 3/16".

 

Thank you. I'll return what we got and make sure it is specifically underlayment grade. What a waste of a day. Oh well! Thanks again for coming back and answering all my ridiculous questions!