I removed the vinyl in my kitchen, but the plywood is cold. how can I insulate the floor before replacing the vinyl flooring?
Flooring – How to insulate the plywood before replacing the vinyl flooring
vinylvinyl-flooring
Related Solutions
I'd question how waterproof you need this to be. Will there routinely be water sitting on the floor? If not, you may be over-engineering things.
That said, off the top of my head, one option for waterproofing the subfloor would be to paint on Redgard:
It's a 'paint on' waterproofing membrane that you'd typically use behind tiles on cement board and the like.
Staple down the underlay, and then I'd go with @mike's suggestion of double-sided carpet tape.
Installing molding around the edges will also help to hold it down and prevent buckling, especially if it's relatively thick (eg, includes quarter-round) and tight to the floor.
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Best Answer
You would insulate UNDER the floor, not between the floor plywood and vinyl. To properly insulate your kitchen: normal insulation material (fully enclosed is preferred) is applied between the Floor Joists. To access this area you need to get into the "crawl space" under the floor you want to insulate. NOTE: All floors (for main floor level rooms of a house) should be accessible via the crawl space, and all rooms should be insulated (for best heat retention). Special hangers are made for installing under-floor insulation, or: 1. chicken wire 2. strips of wood can be cheaper method of "hanging" the insulation between the floor joists. NOTE: Insulating water/sewer/electrical wiring under floor(s) can lead to problems locating them later. Plan ahead... for future access to these.