Old timer told me to always staple felt paper even with self-stick underlayment... I skipped it on a job in Austin

I had a 1,200 square foot job in downtown Austin, old house with pine subfloors. Guy I subcontract for sometimes told me to always staple the felt down every 6 inches even if the underlayment says it's self-stick. I figured the self-stick was good enough and saved maybe an hour of time. Now the floor has a soft spot near the kitchen and I'm pretty sure it's because the underlayment shifted during the heat that week. Anyone else trust the peel and stick and regret it?

2 comments

2 Comments

betty_stone212d ago

The peel and stick might be fine in perfect conditions but Texas heat is brutal on that stuff. Caught a soft spot myself once where the whole sheet curled up underneath.

lee.casey12d ago

Got a buddy who tried peel and stick in his garage outside Houston. He thought he prepped the wall right, but by August that stuff was curling at every edge like old bacon. He ended up having to scrape it off with a putty knife in 95 degree heat, and the adhesive left this sticky goo behind that took forever to clean. He said it was way more work than just drywalling it from the start. Now he just tells everyone to save the peel and stick for a spare bedroom closet or something.