Are you sure it is plywood? Often the decking in mobile homes has the identification printed on the the top side. Better verify due to the appearance considerations involved. But technically, your plan is OK. Do it if you want.

if you do, post pics ! we are wondering the same thing !
we will get hardwood laminate some day, but getting rid of carpet would be wonderful.
stace

Yes we sure the floors are plywood because we had the house special ordered and had plywood flooring throughout the house and also had plywood put on the roof and outside walls instead of the OSB or pressed wood they normally use.
Thank you for your input.

Plywood isn't always plywood, per se.

Sub-flooring, often referred to industry-wide as plywood doesn't always meet the specifications of an actual plywood. When you special ordered for plywood floors and roof decking, you may still have gotten two different products.

The most common sub-floor material (when you specify plywood) is AdvanTech. Many newer subfloor materials, such as AdvanTech, are laminated, and would have to be sanded before staining. Also, most subflooring, roof decking, and exterior sheating will have a manufacturer's grade that may be stamped on both sides, as they are an underlayment, and not intended to be a "finished product" or "finishable product". Subfloor is usually installed with the manufacturer's grade stamp UP, which means it's probably going to be revealed when you remove the floor covering (vinyl or carpet).

When removing the old vinyl flooring, remember that you're going to end up with dried glue that will have to be removed (usually by sanding). Whether you sand completely, or just enough to remove the old glue, you'll not likely achieve a suitable surface for staining and poly.

It would be best to clean the subfloor as well as possible, then install a 1/4" plywood over it, in order to level the surface, and give you a stainable wood.

In doing this, remember also that there will be a noticeable difference in the level between the old floor and existing floors. You'll have to utilize a gradual transition threshold strip, or you'll be catching a toe now and again.

Another option is to use a 'self-leveling' concrete which is about 1/8" thick, but then again, you can't stain that.

Frankly, by the time you spend the time and money trying to achieve a temporary stained look, you may have invested enough to simply remodel the floors to begin with.

As I read the original post, the areas to be stained are presently carpeted.

Hope you don't mind jumping in on this line of traffic, but it seemed the only message traffic on flooring in mobile homes and I've got a question I need some help with.

I inherited my mobile home which is now 12 years old. Our roof suffered some damage in the Texas storms and I'm getting that replaced. However, its what happened inside one of the bedrooms I need help with.

We have to replace a 5x3 section of ceiling and when we tore up the carpeting and padding as it was ruined too, we saw how bad the condition of the subflooring was. Its rotted along one whole wall and under the window. So we know for sure we have to pull up the whole floor and replace it.

My questions are:

1. What can I expect to find once I tear up that subflooring? Is there insulation underneath and is the subfloor just nailed to support beams that I'll have to check for rotting?

2. What is a good thickness and brand to replace the subflooring with? And should I replace the floor just right up to the wall, or go under the trimming?

Once we replace that, we're just going to put tile on the floor and not new carpeting.

I suggest cutting the old decking up to the wall, replacing with plywood of comparable thickness. Just replace the bad sections. Then consider adding a layer of 3/8" plywood over the entire room. Use construction adhesive under the 3/8". You say "tile". I assume vinyl. If ceramic, have the floor structure carefully evaluated before installation for adequate strength.

As the original message reads:

>.

Still, in the carpeted areas, it is possible (if plywood sub-floor was actually used), that the manufacturer's grade stamp would be exposed, therefore, not subject to being a finished, stained product.

My focus on the removal and preparation of flooring after removing vinyl was clear. One wouldn't likely have those issues after removing carpet.

On a personal note, bus_driver, is it necessary that you ALWAYS have a need to contradict my posted statements ?

I did not realize that we had ever posted to the same thread before. I just focus on the issues. It is not personal as far as I am concerned, but the perceptions of others may differ. And I earlier pointed out that the grade stamp may be visible from above, prior to any post you made on this thread. I will continue to post when-and-as I see fit.

To the original post, the plywood face used for the decking is highly unlikely to be Grade A, is more likely to be Grade C. The existing sanding on it may be coarse and done simply for thickness control. Patching and further sanding may be necessary to get a usable surface. Appearance considerations are left to your discretion. The sanding you do may remove the grade stamps marking.
"Frankly, by the time you spend the time and money trying to achieve a temporary stained look, you may have invested enough to simply remodel the floors to begin with." This is a good suggestion.

My husband and I recently turned a bedroom into a home GYM...We didn't want carpet in the room or expensive flooring that would get ruined so we did this...
Ripped up the carpet, bought (I Think) 1/2 inch plywood sheets...We cut the plywood in sections so the seams wouldn't line up.(did this on purpose)..We made sure to pull up any nails or staples from the old flooring...Nailed in the new flooring...Sanded REALLY WELL and filled in the nail holes...Sanded some more...Stained twice and coated with 3 coats of polyurethane...It looks wonderful and we only spent like $150....Feels good to walk on it and the noise from the weights doesn't sound as loud as it used to when the room was carpeted...

We get many compliments and people can't believe it's plywood...I say go for it if you're willing to put in the sweat equity...:-)

Good luck...

My floor near the kitchen is sinking. How can I repair the floor? What is underneath the vinyl tiles?

As far a staining the existing plywood floor...you will find that the plywood used is not a finished grade anmd without a lod of sanding and finsihing the stain will not look very good. A quick and econimical fix would be a good coat of high quality deck paint under a good looking area rug.

As far as the soft floor problem - Remove the existing vinyl so that you can inspect the floor. Where there are soft areas you should cut them out and replace them with a like thickness of plywood.

Here is a link that might be useful: Manufactured Housing Repair Topics OnLine