Floor prep

[Borrego23]

I am going to be installing a solid 3/4” cherry floor. I’ve searched high and low for a quality product and have settled on Olde Wood Limited here in Ohio. It is a prefinished Oil (Rubio). Opinions ?

My open living room and kitchen/pantry and hall are currently a mix of carpet and sheet vinyl. Under the sheet vinyl is a very smooth 1/4” plywood underpayment.

Instead of ripping that up, could I just put the same 1/4” plywood on top of the subfloor that had carpet? This would be faster than removing all of the 1/4” ply in the kitchen and hallway.

Is it acceptable to put the 1/4” ply on top of the 3/4” subfloor before installing the hardwood flooring?

 

[highup]

I'm guessing that you could but I'm not sure. You would want to be sure that it's nailed or stapled properly.
That's going to make the finished height higher, going into any other rooms.
If you are actually considering this, you could notch out one square foot of the kitchen vinyl using a circular saw, then pry that piece out. Doing so would tell you how difficult removal would be of the rest of the kitchen.

 

[Borrego23]

I'm guessing that you could but I'm not sure. You would want to be sure that it's nailed or stapled properly.
That's going to make the finished height higher, going into any other rooms.
If you are actually considering this, you could notch out one square foot of the kitchen vinyl using a circular saw, then pry that piece out. Doing so would tell you how difficult removal would be of the rest of the kitchen.

Thanks. Yeah the more I think about it, I should probably just remove the underlay. I’ll get a decent toe kick saw for cutting along the cabinets.

 

[highup]

You might not need a toe kick saw. Most of the time quarter inch underlayment is fit up to the cabinet and doesn't go under it.
..... I said most of the time, your mileage may vary.

 

[DarisMulkin]

Thanks. Yeah the more I think about it, I should probably just remove the underlay. I’ll get a decent toe kick saw for cutting along the cabinets.

Hang on tight to it, they have been known to kick back.

 

[Borrego23]

I actually took my oscillating saw and cut out a small bit to see if it had been glued. Good news, no glue. Just tons of staples I’ll have to pull out.

I believe I’ll actually be able to use the oscillating saw along the cabinet toe kick. Just lots of work.

 

[highup]

He oscillating saw can also work fairly good to shave off those staples once the plywood has been removed ......rather than pull them out.

 

[Borrego23]

He oscillating saw can also work fairly good to shave off those staples once the plywood has been removed ......rather than pull them out.

Good idea. Otherwise I’ll be on my hands and knees pulling them out with pliers.

 

[highup]

You'll find out real quick if they pull out or snap off as you try to pull them out. As long as there's no wood chunks underneath the staple you also might find a hammer works quite well they might bend over instead of drive straight in but it won't make any difference as long as they're not sticking up.