Installation Guide

16
Acceptable Underlayments:
• Wood underlayment
Wood underlayment must be American Plywood Association (APA) rated underlayment grade as specied
and warranted by the manufacturer. All wood suboors require a 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
TracMaster. TracMaster 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. TracMaster recommends 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 Acrylic Latex Floor Primer.
• Particle board (underlayment grade)
Particle board underlayment panels must be underlayment grade as specied and warranted by the
manufacturer.
- Surface must be primed using Acrylic Latex Floor Primer.
Unacceptable Surfaces:
• Inter-ex and any perimeter bonded products • Carpet
• Any oating oor system • Cork
• Resilient tile installed below grade • Cushion-back vinyl
TracMaster will not warrant or accept responsibility of any kind for ooring failures related to the use of
unacceptable substrates and surfaces.
Residential Installation Guide – Sheet Vinyl Flooring
This document is reviewed on an ongoing basis. 4/22/14