When installing luan, you can place the laminate directly over the luan plywood. This will work regardless of room temperature, and will lock out moisture if that is a concern of yours as well. When you attach the flooring, use staples with a quarter crown. They are small and fast, and they won't leave holes if you decide down the line to refinish the flooring. Also leave quarter inch expansion at all vertical walls. This is important to allow for shrinkage and expansion during different climate conditions which you may experience throughout the year.
Vinyl flooring is affordable and durable and water resistant which is made in a variety of colours and patterns, making it a first choice in all types of home renovations such as for the bathroom, kitchen and laundry. Once installed it can form tightly with the vinyl flooring and the surface beneath it. So the use of luan plywood underlayment is required. The good news is that it is easy to install for all purposes. While luan plywood is smooth one on surface, it is easy to install below or under vinyl flooring. - Keep in mind it is not always the best fit for all types of vinyl flooring.
Luan is 1/4 thick and it comes in a variety of sheet sizes including 4x8 sheets. It is made from various wood materials and is manufactured by layering thin strips of wood at right angles and then bonding them under pressure to form larger panels. Each luan panel has a rough side and a smooth side. The smooth side faces upwards when installing the vinyl flooring attaching itself to this surface.
Installing Luan Panels
Luan installs on top of a subfloor since the sheets are not strong enough or engineered for that exact purchase. Start in one corner of the room and begin to lay a full panel of luan perpendicular to the form of the subfloor panels. Leave a gap of about 1/16 of an inch between the walls and the luan panel. Use a staple gun to insert 1/4 inch crown staples every 6 inches across the plane of the luan panel and every 2 inches along the edges. Install additional luan panels the same way, and remember to leave a 1/16 of an inch gap between expansion gaps and panels.
Quick Tips
Use a chalk guide line on the underside of the luan panel. Cut the luan panel with a circular saw from the backside to prevent the splintering of the face of the sheet. Luan is lightweight and thin enough that you can cut a smaller area from the top side with a utility knife. Make sure that several pressure cuts in the groove rather than trying to cut through the panel with one forceful cut. Since vinyl flooring shows every bump and groove, it is very important that the staples are flush with or slightly below the surface of the luan plywood. An easy way to check this is by raising the edge of a large metal taping knife over the surface of the luan. If any staples are raised or sticking then you will hear a clicking sound of metal hitting on top of metal. Tap any of the extending staples lightly with a hammer to make sure they are flush with the surface of the luan plywood. Before installing vinyl make sure to sweep and vacuum all the particles and dust from the underlyament of luan.
Things to Keep in Mind
When using luan as an underlayment for vinyl its better to use a sheet of vinyl flooring as opposed to vinyl tile. Although luan is often very smooth on the surface, it doesn't repel water very well, and it tends to warp when it gets wet. This will mean that the seams between the vinyl tiles allow water from spils or mopping can soak into the luan which will result in swollen plywood and lumps that are going to become visible on the surface of the vinyl floor.
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