With out seeing it. How about some sort of glue or silicone
210 gallon Dream tank
- Thread starter MichaelB
- Start date
It's what I'm kinda looking for. The subfloor was some type of presswood, not osb or plywood. The old stuff from the 60s that swells up if it gets wet. I can't figure out what it's actual called. It's hasn't been made since they came out with osb that basically replaced it.
So kinda hoping sometype of glue will stick to it.
And recommendations on a specific type of product?
Particle board. It’s saw dust with wood glue squeezed together with high pressure ? If it is. Try Elmer’s glue. Your kid should have some from the 3rd grade. See if that works. Just do one piece as a test.
If worse comes to worse. Liquid nails. That will stick almost anywhere and everything
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Austin S
Supporting Member
Floor is looking sleek! Really cool to see the documentation of the whole renovation, not just the tank!
So some issues with my amatuer flooring job showed up today. Wife had been driving scooter across floor for 2 weeks now no issues. Moved some couches in and now sevral gaps have developed. Also the flooring under 40gallon tank has popped up after a week of being filled.
so at this point not sure how to fix it. Or do I call it a lost and do the floors over.
but with thicker flooring. This flooring was pretty thin like a stack of 20 papers opposed to the the much thicker flooring i took up probably like a stack of 80 papers thick.
I will admit I just went with the cheapest floor they had that I loved the look of. Better stuff would have added 2-300 to the cost. I paid roughly $540 for the flooring I picked out.
Open to suggestions at this point do i get another few boxes of what i already have and take most of it back up and try to do a better job? Or just take the lost and get better quality flooring.
Giving my plan of putting tanks on it. I definitely can't live with it long term how it is. I imagine it will only get worse in time.
doing the job wasn't hard but this material just didn't lock together well being so thin and easy to break them.
so at this point not sure how to fix it. Or do I call it a lost and do the floors over.
but with thicker flooring. This flooring was pretty thin like a stack of 20 papers opposed to the the much thicker flooring i took up probably like a stack of 80 papers thick.
I will admit I just went with the cheapest floor they had that I loved the look of. Better stuff would have added 2-300 to the cost. I paid roughly $540 for the flooring I picked out.
Open to suggestions at this point do i get another few boxes of what i already have and take most of it back up and try to do a better job? Or just take the lost and get better quality flooring.
Giving my plan of putting tanks on it. I definitely can't live with it long term how it is. I imagine it will only get worse in time.
doing the job wasn't hard but this material just didn't lock together well being so thin and easy to break them.
You can add a little liquid nails in the seam. To pull the seam together. Glue a block of wood with hot glue or strong double stick tape. Then wack the block of wood with a hammer. It should pull it tight.
My understanding is the complicated and right answer is get the floor completely level and buy thicker stuff. The practical, make it better with less effort, answer seems to be this right here.
At least that's based on my research before I got mine installed, while I was freaking out if it was going to work given how much my house moves and having a tank on it.
If you're going to replace it, trying the glue route in one spot seems like something to try anyway. I believe I read some people glue them down as well as a hack.
Finally, some people intentionally don't have anything under the tank itself. Your other option is then to that, since it's against a wall and not a peninsula. Ignore the tank part, and focus on the rest of the floor, deal with the tank area after you some day tear that tank down.
This also would be something I'd ask for guidance on from a diy forum versus only here.
So i tried liquid nail in other areas with 30lbs dumb bells to press it down. That didn't work at all. They popped right back up.
The cracks in first and last images are dead center of the floor. And looking closer looks like those joints are kinda broken and i doubt they would stay down.
Could give the hot glue gun method a try once i find my gun. I've already Tried a pry bar Couldn't get any of those in the center of floor to budge.
I suspect their thinness is a major part of the problem. The joints are like 6 papers stacked. So not much to grab and crazy easy to break them. I didn't see the issue when i started but probably should have been a clue when 2 full boxes of them every other plank had a broken joint just from opening the box.
Oh so you’re not talking about the gaps. You’re saying the subfloor is unlevel. With out seeing it in person it’s hard for me to say and understand what materials you’re using.
If the subfloor is uneven. That had to be leveled prior to flooring. If it’s concrete. Then self leveling concrete. If it’s plywood then, add in a osb subfloor. No LVP will fill a 1/4” floor gap. Did the LVP floor that you put down have a rubber mat on the backside ? If it didn’t then you might have to put a mat roll in prior to flooring. Some floors are supposed to be glued in like engineered flooring. It’s a mess. There’s a lot of YouTube tutorials on these subjects.
If the subfloor is uneven. That had to be leveled prior to flooring. If it’s concrete. Then self leveling concrete. If it’s plywood then, add in a osb subfloor. No LVP will fill a 1/4” floor gap. Did the LVP floor that you put down have a rubber mat on the backside ? If it didn’t then you might have to put a mat roll in prior to flooring. Some floors are supposed to be glued in like engineered flooring. It’s a mess. There’s a lot of YouTube tutorials on these subjects.
No flooring is level. Mostly quality of material used probably the issue. Would have definitely gotten better flooring if i knew it would make a difference.
Has a back mat on it already
Padding on ones I bought seems way better than padding on orginal flooring.
so these pictures better show what I mentioned in previous responses.
The thin stuff I bought verse what was down there already. The material I bought is in general suppose to be a better product at least what store said, but the thickness and locking joints are way different. In keeping flooring from coming apart. Ive done floors before including tile floors/ carpet etc. Just first time using this type of flooring. So I didn't see the issue in quality until now.
I wish current flooring could work. I will definitely try all your tips and see if any prove fruitful for me. Yet I would hate 4 months from now whole floor coming up, or water damage to the presswood sub floors. Due to these not staying locked. In and water tight. So will try to seen If I can make it work. If not I will have to say screw it and get better quality flooring.
tribbitt
Supporting Member
I have no experience in flooring, but the cats are cute
So subfloor is level. That's good. Room is square? Unlikely but possible. Did you scribe the planks installed for the last wall?
To me, it looks like too much space between some of the joints and some of the pressure from movement is coming up where there are loose joints. Especially with the motorized scooter wheels are grabbing planks for traction and then pushing/pulling the loose planks. Also,
you pinned down some planks to the subfloor with nails and glue ? That would further explain the floor having uneven movement and shifting where there is the most slack.
What's beneath the particle wood subfloor material? You've got non-waterproof planks with bad joints. Inevitable water spillage which will cause swelling and other issues with the subfloor. In turn, negatively effect the shifting of the vinyl planks further. That's only guessing without actually seeing it and guessing on installation methodology.
If it was my decision, I'd rip it up and start over. Take your time and ensure every single plank and its corresponding joint is absolutely solid. If you decide to go that route, then it would be an excellent opportunity to consider a sealant for the subfloor that WON'T cause it to swell. Very limited options for that unfortunately and most, if not all options, would be quite expensive.
I imagine this will be something that continues to happen and it will be impossible to fix after there is a giant tank keeping planks from moving.
To me, it looks like too much space between some of the joints and some of the pressure from movement is coming up where there are loose joints. Especially with the motorized scooter wheels are grabbing planks for traction and then pushing/pulling the loose planks. Also,
you pinned down some planks to the subfloor with nails and glue ? That would further explain the floor having uneven movement and shifting where there is the most slack.
What's beneath the particle wood subfloor material? You've got non-waterproof planks with bad joints. Inevitable water spillage which will cause swelling and other issues with the subfloor. In turn, negatively effect the shifting of the vinyl planks further. That's only guessing without actually seeing it and guessing on installation methodology.
If it was my decision, I'd rip it up and start over. Take your time and ensure every single plank and its corresponding joint is absolutely solid. If you decide to go that route, then it would be an excellent opportunity to consider a sealant for the subfloor that WON'T cause it to swell. Very limited options for that unfortunately and most, if not all options, would be quite expensive.
I imagine this will be something that continues to happen and it will be impossible to fix after there is a giant tank keeping planks from moving.
Planks are 100% water proof, they aren't now only because some are coming up. I purposly left gaps on 2 of the walls called a expansion gap. It's required for floating flooring. So it doesn’t buckle in future. According to all the research i've done. I love the flooring overall, but about 5 very worrying spots. I need to address. Most of the floor is good and functions as desired. So probably not to the point of needing to redo it all yet. I think if the suggestions don't work, next step would be to maybe buy two more boxes and redo half of it and replace the bad planks. Not there yet just thinking ahead.
I want the floor to at least last a few years.
Any attempts to pin down and glue failed. Beyond being a idiot and using roofing type nails, nothing i could thinknof screw or nails would even work product is way to thin to securenit that way. Liquid nail didn't bind to it. Can try other glues/ epoxies
PjFish
Supporting Member
Maybe get a handyman( good reviews on Nextdoor) or flooring crew on site to give you a price on replacement which should give you solid advice if salvageable or the next step..U mentioned alot of breakage, I would think whoever sold you the flooring would be responsible for any sort of product reimbursement unless it's was a clearence sale no returns thing. Even if you used a brad nailer or finish nailer on the whole floor not even sure if the flooring would hold due to how thin of product and fex when walking( last ditch resort compromises water sipage The nails should be angled at a 45 degree when nailing down flooring helps pin the flooring down and prevent the nails from riding up with constant up down pressure fyi...If the flooring has to come up definitely use those rolls of moisturizer barrier/plastic on top of the subfloor then the flooring on top of that. Yes they say the product itself is waterproof but it's not designed to hold water in case of large spills or water pipe leaks.. Best of luck
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planks are... not the subfloor
that was my point. The joints are the point of failure for the waterproofing in all installs.
That's good. Was it square/even gaps all the way around? That's what I was alluding to for the gap question.
Another point of failure for the waterproofing. Also, reduces to an extent for the floor to utilize expansion.
Yea, I will try the suggestions mentioned above to see if I can fix it or make it work. If i have to do it over. Will buy better material and probably grab a home depot guy.
I shouldn't have looked for the cheapest flooring available in a color i liked lmao. U get what u pay for in hind sight.
Not sure about a Home Depot guy (maybe…probably most could do it) I just meant it would take someone that knows what they are doing less than a day to knock this out.