Betsy, I've been reding the comments, and since my son and I just finished installing vinyl flooring in our kitchen, I'll offer some comments. As for the lazy susan, our corner base cabinet has a round back that keeps anything from falling off. Works great. Your old vinyl was probably installed with underlayment under it. Underlayment is a quarter inch plywood or composit panel that you lay down first, and attach the vinyl to it. The reason for this is that you can cover over any small irregularities in the floor under the underlayment and creat a smooth surface for the vinyl. If you have any noticeable cracks or slight bumps in the floor they will show up when you look at the surface of the vinyl later. As we were laying it, I was running my hand over it, and could feel a lump where a tiny sliver set. You probably can't peel the old vinyl loose from the floor and leave a smooth enough surface to get a really smooth look to the vinyl. That's why the vinyl is glued to underlayment, which can be removed, and replace. Our old vinyl was laid down before the cabinets, so we had to take up all the cabinets to tear up the old vinyl and underlayment before we could put down new underlayment. Extra work, but I would do it again. First, if you have underlayment under your old vinyl, it will be very difficult to cut it back to the toe kick of your cabinet in order to get a smooth, neat job with the vinyl. Also, over the years vinyl tends to curl up at the edges, so if there is not a molding, it's much neater for the cabinets to set on the vinyl. Also, do some long range planning. If possible you will want to lay the vinyl as one piece, without a seam. My kitchen was 12 by 16, which worked perfect since vinyl comes in rolls 12 feet wide. In order to lay it without seams, we were going to go under the cabinets no matter what, so it was a no brainer for us. Now we have a clean surface over the whole kitchen floor without any seam that might curl in the future. If you do end up with a seam, there is a seam sealer that should be applied, though I have seen that fail. Note too that if you are going to lay vinyl under the stove, diswasher and refrigerator, and do it without seams, you aren't wasting any vinyl by going under cabinets. In our situation, we were able to use some of the vinyl from under the cabinets to cover some steps and a landing off the back of the kitchen. Others on the list have suggested using vinyl under the sink, or even in the bottom of base cabinets or drawers. A great idea. Some vinyl now comes as a loose lay product. That is, you put adhesive along the edges, but not in the middle. You unroll the vinyl into place, glue down the edges, and as it lays, it actually shrinks up a bit and pulls itself tight for a good look without bubbles. If you ar going to lay vinyl or underlayment yourself, we found that buying a roll of pattern paper was an immense help in fitting the underlayment into doorways, and some of the more complicated spots. Blessings, Tom
-----Original Message----- From: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com [mailto:blindhandy...@yahoogroups.com]on Behalf Of Betsy Whitney Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2009 4:25 PM To: blindhandyman-yahoogroups.com Subject: [BlindHandyMan] The kitchen remodel drama is starting Aloha everyone, It's time to replace the counters in our kitchen and we have been advised that since our cabinets are 30 years old and were not the best quality to begin with, that we really need to replace the cabinets also. We were planning to install vinyl in the kitchen to match the vinyl that we put in the entry way and in part of my office, but now they are suggesting that since we are going to replace the cabinets, that we should wait until the cabinets have been removed, then install the vinyl and then put the cabinets on top of the vinyl. Is that usual? I am wanting thoughts and ideas about this project. Do any of you have items in your kitchens that you really like or dislike? I was looking at some lazy-susan units that look like they would be very helpful, but I just don't know how well they hold up and if they are truly sturdy. Besides suggesting that I move out until the job is done, I welcome any and all suggestions. Perhaps I can get my husband to take a vacation while the work is being done. That would really be of great help,...grin. Thanks, Betsy [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
