Fill Screw Holes in Plywood Sub-floor Before Installing Vinyl Plank?

[sharonschieber]

Hello, we are updating our kitchen and dining room with vinyl plank (Lifeproof). The kitchen had a wooden parquet floor that we tore out and the particle board sub-floor had to come with it. We replaced it with plywood (the dining room sub-floor is still particle board). We are to the point where we need to fill all the cracks between the new plywood sections and bought some Fix-it-All for this task. First, is this a good choice for filling those cracks? And second, we attached the plywood with screws. Do these holes also need to be filled too (to prevent eventual telegraphing through the vinyl)? If so, is there a non-permanent filler we could use so that if we ever need to change out the plywood sub-floor we are not stuck with "concrete-like filler" in all the screw holes? Your advice is very appreciated. (I realize I probably should have posted this in the vinyl flooring section--sorry about that!)

The Lifeproof vinyl plank we are using is 7 mm thick with a built-in underlayment.
Here's the link: Lifeproof Dusk Cherry 8.7 in. W x 47.6 in. L Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring (20.06 sq. ft. / case) I06204L

 

[C.J.]

I don’t bother filling screw or nail holes for floating floors. As far as gaps in your subfloor/ underlayment, what kind of gaps are we talking about? 1/16” that you left for expansion? I wouldn’t fill them either. I would put a straight edge on the floor to see if the floor is flat. Could be between the panels themselves or just in general overall flatness.

 

[Tile Tom]

I'm with CJ, I don't bother filling any plywood seams for a click together.

If you're dead set on filling them though I would use a Portland cement based flooring patch. Ardex feather finish is what I use but there's a few different brands that work just fine.

 

[sharonschieber]

I don’t bother filling screw or nail holes for floating floors. As far as gaps in your subfloor/ underlayment, what kind of gaps are we talking about? 1/16” that you left for expansion? I wouldn’t fill them either. I would put a straight edge on the floor to see if the floor is flat. Could be between the panels themselves or just in general overall flatness.

Hello, thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my question. So are you saying that because it's a floating floor that sits over the subfloor with its own underlayment, it doesn't tend to telegraph like other vinyl flooring?

We do have a few larger gaps then 1/16. When we removed the wood parquet and cut out subfloor with a circular saw the edge was not perfectly straight. So when adding the new plywood there are gaps along some of these edges. Is Fix-it-All a good product for filling these? Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

[Tile Tom]

I don't know what you're referring to with the fix it all stuff.

Any flooring installer is going to tell you the same thing I already did. Portland cement based floor patch is what everyone in the trade uses. Henry makes one available at the home center for around $15 a 10 lb bag. It's cheap, use it.

 

[C.J.]

When I think of Fix All I’m thinking of white wall patch. No bueno for floors. As Tom said get the Henry’s from HD. It’s in the flooring section. It’s a 10# bag that comes in a box.

 

[highup]

When I think of Fix All I’m thinking of white wall patch. No bueno for floors. As Tom said get the Henry’s from HD. It’s in the flooring section. It’s a 10# bag that comes in a box.

I'm in agreement with that. I had to replace a defective Armstrong floor once and I had used Vitex floor patch to prep it. After removing the existing vinyl, I needed to do some patching and I couldn't find any Vitex in town so I bought a bag of fix-all........ That's got to be the nastiest material to patch with. I had forgotten how unfriendly it was to work with.
Like the guys said, a Portland cement-based patch like Feather Finish.
I wouldn't be at all concerned with a 16th of an inch gap between the planks. I would patch the seams if they were uneven and filler was the appropriate way to make it flat.