Sealing the Subfloor?(Pergo!)

[KingPing]

Hi!
Hopefully I've done my homework and searched well enough to not be redundant in my first real post! :-)
I have two questions as we prepare to put a floating laminate Pergo style (locking-seam!, no glue!) down in our '78 27' Ambassador. After pulling the carpet and pad, and of course all the staples and nails, we're left with a solid subfloor. There are a few areas of water-marks, but we believe them to be either old or in the case of the rear from leaking plumbing. (All plumbing systems are being checked and re-checked before the floor goes in.)
Here are the questions:
--Can I pound in the "little wiggly clips"(tm) which seem to be uniformly sticking up 1/16" at all the plywood joints? I smacked on one and it seemed unforgiving; is there extrusion under the plywood seams? Can I damage anything underneath?

--Is there any reason to put a coat of urethane or some other sealant over the sub-floor? I know that many of the waterproofing sealants are toxic and not recommended for interior use, but plain old urethane is fairly benign... (sp?). Ive tried to logic out the question and I can't decide, hence my request for help.

fwiw, I figure that since this flooring has unglued interlocking seams I could remove and wet or damaged pieces fairly painlessly. We picked up an extra box to help with floor mantainance(Costco-$30/20 sq ft).

Thanks in advance!
Dave

[PeterH-79MH]

Originally posted by KingPing

-------Is there any reason to put a coat of urethane or some other sealant over the sub-floor? I know that many of the waterproofing sealants are toxic and not recommended for interior use, but plain old urethane is fairly benign... (sp?). Ive tried to logic out the question and I can't decide, hence my request for help.-------
Dave

If you are going to use the pergo installation system (plastic/foam), you could potentially create a serious mold problem by sealing the floor. Any moisture would be trapped between the plastic and the urethane.

[74Argosy24MH]

There is 1x2 1/8" wall steel tube beneath the floor seams with the 2" side facing up. You won't hurt it, but you aren't going to get the clips to move either.

John

[wb13798]

clips
if those clips are on a seam.those clips hold the plywood together and should not be removed or damaged . i was at jackson center last week and was looking at the floor section and all seams had large spaples holding the plywood sections together. if the staples that was holding the carpet in place are removed no big deal. lol al

[KingPing]

Originally posted by wb13798
clips
if those clips are on a seam.those clips hold the plywood together and should not be removed or damaged...

Yes, these are the flat, squiggly hammered-down clips which help keep the subfloor together. I wouldn't think of removing them, but I'm faced with the goal of as flat a floor as possible on which to lay my engineered wood/laminate flooring. The thin foam pad may take care of some very small deviations in my subfloor, but the tops of those clips all over the floor is troublsome. If there's steel under the plywood seams, then that explains the clips stubborn nature. My next option would be to grind down the tops of them--that would leave me with a flat floor.

Thanks!

ps. And thanks to PeterH also! That makes sense...