Installation Guide
16
Acceptable Underlayments:
• Wood underlayment
Wood underlayment must be American Plywood Association (APA) rated underlayment grade as specied
and warranted by the manufacturer. All wood suboors 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
TracMaster. TracMaster does not recommend installing resilient ooring over wood ooring or
suboors 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. TracMaster 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 fortied 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 specied 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 specied 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
TracMaster 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