Installation Guide

Leading the Way

IVC US Residential Installation Guide – Sheet Vinyl Flooring

double layer construction. Porous wood underlayments must be primed.

- Any failure of the underlayment or ooring due to the underlayment is NOT the

responsibility of IVC US. IVC US does not recommend installing resilient ooring

over wood ooring or suboors applied directly over concrete or sleeper-

construction oors.

• Concrete — See Grade Levels below:

Grade Levels

Suspended: An acceptable suspended oor is a concrete or wood substrate with a

minimum of 18” (460mm) of well-ventilated air space beneath it. IVC US recom-

mends that a moisture vapor barrier be placed on the ground below the air space.

On-Grade: An acceptable on-grade oor is a concrete substrate in direct surface

contact with the ground at the surrounding ground level. The concrete

slab should be protected from moisture penetration and incorporate a

proven moisture vapor barrier.

Below-Grade: An acceptable below-grade oor is a concrete substrate partially or

completely in contact with the ground below the average surrounding ground level.

The concrete slab should be protected from moisture penetration and incorporate a

proven moisture vapor barrier.

• VCT (well bonded, on and above grade)

• Ceramic (well bonded)

• Terrazzo (well bonded)

• Self-leveling and patching compounds (latex fortied Portland cement based only)

• Resilient oor (no more than 2 layers, well bonded, non-cushioned – residential

applications only)

• Radiant heat oors (not exceeding 85°F (29°C) and approved by the manufacturer for the

use of their product with resilient vinyl ooring applications)

• OSB (underlayment grade)

OSB underlayment panels must be underlayment grade as specied and warranted by

the manufacturer. Underlayment panels and joints must be fastened and reinforced

according to manufacturer’s instructions. Completely sand the oor with a oor sander,

so that the oor is smooth and at. Note: The chips in OSB overlap. Without sanding

properly, OSB has high and low spots throughout the oor that could telegraph through

the vinyl.

- Surface must be primed using IVC FLEX-PRIM Acrylic Latex Primer.

• Particle board (underlayment grade)

Particle board underlayment panels must be underlayment grade as specied and war-

ranted by the manufacturer.

- Surface must be primed using IVC FLEX-PRIM Acrylic Latex Primer.

Unacceptable Surfaces:

• Inter-ex and any perimeter bonded products • Carpet

• Any oating oor system • Cork

• Resilient tile installed below grade • Cushion-back vinyl

This document is reviewed on an ongoing basis. Control # MKF_0012_0 8/13/13