Vinyl flooring question

[radreef02]

Installing vinyl flooring in my office which will hold a 133g peninsula in a few months.

Lowes person told me I needed padding under the vinyl as insulation for the slab but I am worried the tank weight will crack and make the floor bow out with extra insulation padding


Is that necessary? I’m I risking mold for no flex ?
It already has a pad so I thought I was good

 

[Gtinnel]

I installed a vinyl plank flooring in my house that has the padding attached to each piece, and I did not lay down an extra underlayment. I have a 125g and 100g tank sitting on the floor and have never had an issue.
How it would do with an extra layer of unerlayment I can’t say for a fact, but I suspect it would be fine. Do those planks have a built in pad?
If they are only recommending the underlayment as a form of moisture barrier then you may be able to just use the rolls of thick 6mil plastic instead. If the vinyl planks are completely water resistant then I don’t even know why a moisture barrier would be necessary, but I’m no expert.
For reference here are the planks that i used

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SMARTCORE-SCU-XL-Chadwick-Oak-Plank/1002446130

 

[radreef02]

I installed a vinyl plank flooring in my house that has the padding attached to each piece, and I did not lay down an extra underlayment. I have a 125g and 100g tank sitting on the floor and have never had an issue.
How it would do with an extra layer of unerlayment I can’t say for a fact, but I suspect it would be fine. Do those planks have a built in pad?
If they are only recommending the underlayment as a form of moisture barrier then you may be able to just use the rolls of thick 6mil plastic instead. If the vinyl planks are completely water resistant then I don’t even know why a moisture barrier would be necessary, but I’m no expert.
For reference here are the planks that i used

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SMARTCORE-SCU-XL-Chadwick-Oak-Plank/1002446130

Sorry, just realized I did grab 6mil plastic. It wasn’t foam or anything. But still a concern

I will look into the recommendation on the vinyl

Yes they do have padding

 

[FUNGI]

The underlayment is really only for moisture and noise abatement......(walking)....you'll be fine. I assume over the tile floor?

 

[radreef02]

The underlayment is really only for moisture and noise abatement......(walking)....you'll be fine. I assume over the tile floor?

Understood , but will the extra padding cause my tank to crack the flooring from extra padding

It’s going over slab, concrete

It’s currently a carpet room

 

[Justdrew]

That flooring has padding already attached. No need to add any more. If on a slab you can use a sheet of plastic moisture barrier, but no more padding. I put 1500 sf of Charleston Oak in my house.

 

[JayM]

Underlayment (padding) and vapor barrier are two different things. You need a vapor barrier when installing over anything other than plywood.

 

[Gtinnel]

Underlayment (padding) and vapor barrier are two different things. You need a vapor barrier when installing over anything other than plywood.

They can be different but many of the underlayments have a vapor barrier built into them.

 

[radreef02]

Now to my next question , will the floor pop up or crack or smush over time as I’m using the leveling feet from redsea or Cade. Haven’t decided between the Cade 1200 peninsula or 500 g2

I’m considering tile now

 

[JayM]

Now to my next question , will the floor pop up or crack or smush over time as I’m using the leveling feet from redsea or Cade. Haven’t decided between the Cade 1200 peninsula or 500 g2

I’m considering tile now

It will likely leave indentation over time where the feet are.

Maybe a sheet of plywood cut to size underneath to eliminate direct pressure from the feet.

Setting the stand directly on the floor and use composite shims should minimize the indentation.

Tile would be best, but much more labor intensive to install.

 

[shadyraro]

I replaced my Cade tanks feet with anti vibration pads as it’s sitting on floorboards, does a great job.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

I would never get a stand with feet. You want to spread the weight not focus it to a few points.

 

[karimstolen]

Vinyl flooring decisions can be a bit nerve-wracking, especially with something as hefty as a 133g tank in the mix. I remember when I was redoing my office setup and the Lowes rep suggested padding under the vinyl to insulate against the slab.

 

[karimstolen]

Vinyl flooring decisions can be a bit nerve-wracking, especially with something as hefty as a 133g tank in the mix. I remember when I was redoing my office setup and the Lowes rep suggested padding under the vinyl to insulate against the slab.

I had the same worry about the weight potentially causing cracks or making the floor bow out.
I ended up opting for vinyl with a built-in pad to keep things simple, but I still wonder about the long-term effects, like potential mold if there's no flexibility. If you've already got a pad, that might do the trick, but it never hurts to get a second opinion from a flooring expert. But for me, Vinyl floor sounds like a stylish choice for my rebuild.

 

[affan]

Installing vinyl flooring in my office which will hold a 133g peninsula in a few months.

Lowes person told me I needed padding under the vinyl as insulation for the slab but I am worried the tank weight will crack and make the floor bow out with extra insulation padding


Is that necessary? I’m I risking mold for no flex ?
It already has a pad so I thought I was good

If the vinyl already has a pad underneath, additional padding might not be necessary. Too much insulation could create pressure points, especially with the weight of the tan

 

[hoffmeyerz]

I own a flooring company and I install these floors all the time. You do not need "extra" underlayment, if the product has an underlayment pad attached that's all you need and some manufacturers won't warranty it with any additional padding. If it's going over concrete it will most likely require a layer of 6 mil black plastic for a moisture barrier.
The only thing to be aware of is that these are floating floors and shift as one big contiguous unit. Putting a heavy tank on top of it will lock down that area so if the floor ever tries to shift it may separate somewhere in the area of the tank.
I will say from experience that these floors will shift quite a bit on plywood subfloors, however, don't tend to shift that much on concrete slabs. You just should be aware because if it separated the manufacturer most likely won't warranty it because of the weight of the tank.
Hope everything goes well!!

 

[oreo54]

I do not own a flooring store but tend to agree that one should isolate the tank area if one is doing a floating floor.

THAT said...YMMV ..

I have seen people that have made the area around their tank separate from main flooring with a gap and trim in between. Seen others do a tile area for their tank. Other than things like that I don't think there is much you can do to prepare if you putting your tank on the floating floor. It has the risk of causing floor to buckle and/or separate but depends on a lot of factors how much risk that really is. I have ran tanks on a floating floor without issue, but have also seen other who not been as lucky.

The worst I've done is put a toilet and small sink on top of a floating vinyl floor. No issues... so far.
It was a very small sq floor though.

Just get extra for if/when you get rid of the tank. You'll need it anyways to replace the damaged vinyl from the stand.
Patching these types of floors is not too difficult.

A tiled area with floor gap and trim looks good.
Could leave it bare concrete for that matter.

Oh second the just vapor barrier and existing attached pad.