Vinyl Tile Over Hardwood Project?

We have a kitchen that we want to redo with self-adhesive vinyl tiles (12"). We recently pulled up the old sheet linoleum and found the suface underneith to be worse than expected. There was 2 layers of linoleum and a layer of like tarpaper or something - I assume this acted like a leveler/cushion or something. The floor underneith is hardwood flooring. The tar paper stuff is pretty well stuck to the hardwood floor although it doesn't seem like it had an adhesive because you can scrap it off relatively easy. The other issue is that the whole kitchen is not JUST hardwood, there is one large area where a stairwell used to be that is plywood and is about 1/8" higher than the hardwood. There is also a place where a vent used to be that is also plywood and is about 1/8" higher than the rest. There is also a few holes (I assume where pipes used to be) that have been "corked" (although inadequately). My plan was this... I am looking for feedback....

-Rent a scraper (the kind that gets up rug backing) and try to get all the black tarpaper up
-Rent a hardwood floor sander (either drum or rotary??) and smooth out the raised edges of the hardwood as well as take down the areas that have the raised hardwood.
-grind down the places that have the corks (which are raised right now) so they are below the surface
-use leveling compound to even up holes, valleys, cracks, etc.
-vacuum
-use a tack cloth to get the dust out of all the cracks
-lay the tile
-wax the floor with a good coat
-drink beer

Some of my concerns are...
-Do you see any glaring issues with the procudure above?
-Should i sand the hardwood or is this going to cause adhesion issues from the dust?
-If there is stain/polyurethane left on the hardwood, will this cause adhesion issues?
-Is a large rental sander the best way to lower the raised areas of plywood?
-What type of sander would you use (drum or rotary)?
-AND my main question, is it okay to adhere tile directly to hardwood or will there be shrink/expansion/warping issues in the fututre?
-and is it okay to wax the florr soon after being installed and is this a good idea (my thought was to seal it sort of to prevent water spills from go through.

ANY help is so much appreciated.

Thanks,
Jason

 

I cant help with alot of it, but a couple things come to mind.

12x12 stick em tiles need perfection or they will come up, they may come up regardless, I have never had good luck with them, I hope you do.
I am concerned that in those layers there is asbestos in the vinyl and/or adhesive.
BIG TIME DANGER!!!!!!

If your not sure, but your sure the products are old, you need to get it tested right away before preceeding. Not only can you inhale it right away, but it could get in vents and cracks and creveses that will affect you and your family for years.
Please be carefull.
It's a lame way to die.

If there is no asbestos, you might want to consider pulling up underlay that does not match the wood height and install proper underlay (plywood) to match the height of the wood, I would imagine that would save a ton of sanding (blech, cough, cough).
good luck.

 

If I were you woundn;t waste my green on stick down tile. Not worth the effort. Check for asbestos in the older vinyl, if it was made before 1975 cover it all with plywood and start over. Put down a good grade of tile you will save money in the long run.

 

Consider covering the entire mess with a plywood underlay. It will save you a lot of work and will eliminate the potential danger from asbestos.

 

Agreed. Hardwood can telegraph the lines through the vinyl tile. Use Ultra Ply, Multi Ply, just do not use luan it is infamous for delamination.