I want to lay some cushion vinyl tiles on an upstairs bathroom floor
that is currently carpeted over floorboards in an ex-council house.

The floor looks too uneven to lay the tiles on directly, so I propose
to fit a layer of either plywood or MDF first.

Checking out my local Focus DIY store, I can see a choice of panels
that might fit the bill. 3mm MDF, 4mm MDF, 5.5mm 3ply.

Any suggestions here about what would be the best material for light
use? And if it is either of those MDF panels, how best top cut it?
Saw or shears? And would 20mm ringshank nails be OK to pin it down?

David

On Nov 8, 9:21*am, David J wrote:
I want to lay some cushion vinyl tiles on an upstairs bathroom floor
that is currently carpeted over floorboards in an ex-council house.

The floor looks too uneven to lay the tiles on directly, so I propose
to fit a layer of either plywood or MDF first.

Checking out my local Focus DIY store, I can see a choice of panels
that might fit the bill. 3mm MDF, 4mm MDF, 5.5mm 3ply.

Any suggestions here about what would be the best material for light
use? *And if it is either of those MDF panels, how best top cut it?
Saw or shears? And would 20mm ringshank nails be OK to pin it down?

David

3mm hardboard or bigger ply. Saw. I'd avoid heads sticking up.


NT

On Nov 8, 9:21*am, David J wrote:

Any suggestions here about what would be the best material for light
use?

Probably none of them. Focus is a ghastly place to buy timber, poor
quality, poor selection and high prices. Shopping around for a real
board supplier (often not the same as a timberyard) will save enough
to make it worth the effort.

I'd use 3mm oil tempered hardboard (if you can find it), as it's
harder and a lot more water resistant than normal hardboard. MDF is a
bad idea, as it's so moisture sensitive. Full colour MDF (Valchromat)
is OK as it has extra resin and a bit more water resistance, but it
costs more and is hard to find. Viroc's Versapanel sounds ideal for
this (doesn't care about water) but it's brittle in thin sheets - use
10mm minimum, with 3mm polyethylene foam underneath, and don't have it
flexing. If you're local to Bristol, Avon Plywood have all these.

In a bathroom it's admittedly a problem. I'd even consider laminate
flooring, as cheaper grades of this are cheaper than plain boards of
comparable water resistance.

Saw or shears? And would 20mm ringshank nails be OK to pin it down?

Saw. Good excuse to buy a good jigsaw, if you have the budget (posts
passim, Blue Bosch or Makita, the £150 quid models - no-one regrets
it). If you're using a circular saw, set up a good bench with a long
cut space, don't faff about on a Workmate. Also put the right blade in
for thin boards - most circulars are sold with just ripping blades and
they become far more useful with the right blade in.

Screws are easier than nails to achieve a good result. Get those heads
low though. I'd do this with a separate drill and driver, one drilling
with a countersink bit, the other driving.

On Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:21:28 +0000, David J wrote:
Any suggestions here about what would be the best material for light
use? And if it is either of those MDF panels, how best top cut it? Saw
or shears? And would 20mm ringshank nails be OK to pin it down?

Use exterior-grade ply, and screw it down. Countersink the screws, or buy
some which are designed for tiling (backer-board screws over here, but
I'm not sure if that terminology works in the UK) - they have ridges on
the undersides of the heads and will countersink themselves.

To be honest, if you think you might upgrade to ceramic tile ever, just
putting cement backer-board down instead of ply might be best - at least
over here, it's comparable in cost to ply, should last even longer, and
is appropriate stuff to tile onto.

cheers

Jules

On Mon, 8 Nov 2010 18:29:15 +0000 (UTC), Jules Richardson
wrote:

On Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:21:28 +0000, David J wrote:
Any suggestions here about what would be the best material for light
use? And if it is either of those MDF panels, how best top cut it? Saw
or shears? And would 20mm ringshank nails be OK to pin it down?

Use exterior-grade ply, and screw it down. Countersink the screws, or buy
some which are designed for tiling (backer-board screws over here, but
I'm not sure if that terminology works in the UK) - they have ridges on
the undersides of the heads and will countersink themselves.

To be honest, if you think you might upgrade to ceramic tile ever, just
putting cement backer-board down instead of ply might be best - at least
over here, it's comparable in cost to ply, should last even longer, and
is appropriate stuff to tile onto.

cheers

Jules

Thanks to everyone who replied; the information is appreciated.

A call to Wickes has revealed that their 'exterior' grade plywood is
guaranteed to be WPB - although not labelled as such.

David