Can you install laminate or vinyl flooring over existing tiles?

A common question customers have is whether or not we can install new flooring over their existing tiles and in most cases, the answer is yes. Sometimes, however, it is best getting rid of those old tiles and starting fresh.

Installing over existing tiles is much more convenient, less time consuming and less expensive. Besides that, removing tiles is a noisy and dirty job.

To determine whether or not you can install over the existing tiles, the following needs to be taken into consideration.

CONDITION OF THE EXISTING TILES

The tiles should be in good condition. Cracked tiles could be an indication of underlying problems. Whether that be a poor installation or an unstable subfloor, cracked tiles require further investigation to determine the cause. If cracking is recent and ongoing, it is preferable to remove the tiles before installing a new floor. New flooring requires a solid, smooth and level surface to install on to so in addition to being in good condition, there should be no hollow spots below the tiles and the area as a whole needs to be level and even.

THICKNESS OF THE NEW FLOORING

Most of the time, the slight increases in the overall height of the flooring does not cause any problems. In most cases, only doors are affected but these can be trimmed down to allow for the increase in height.

Different types of flooring have different thicknesses and it is important to consider the combined thickness of the final product when deciding whether or not to remove the tiles.

Laminate flooring with 2mm underlay ranges between 10mm and 14mm. Glue down luxury vinyl with self-levelling screed ranges between 7mm and 10mm and engineered wood, which generally comes in 15mm thick varieties, with underlay, can increase the height of the floor by 17mm.

Consider how this will affect adjoining areas, entrances, doors, cupboards and spaces for appliances. For example, kitchen counter tops are often at just the right height to fit a dishwasher. If the floor height is increased by 17mm, your dishwasher won’t fit back in.

If you find that the height increase won’t cause any problems down the road, and the tiles are all in good nick, then there is no reason to go through the process of removing them.

In the case of laminate and engineered wood flooring, this will entail laying down an underlay on which the new flooring is installed. When installing glue down, or stick down luxury vinyl flooring, however, a self-levelling screed will be applied first, after which the vinyl planks will be glued down directly on to the screed.

Can laminate or vinyl be installed over solid wood flooring?

Installing laminate, engineered wood or vinyl flooring on top of solid wood flooring is not ideal and a much better solution (if your budget allows for it) is to remove the solid wood floors and prepare the crawl space and base for new flooring.

The biggest concern with a crawl space is the moisture that accumulates in these areas which can wreak all forms of havoc with your new flooring. The biggest part of the preparation will be to try to eliminate the risk of moisture damage. Depending on which method you use it will also be necessary to make sure that the structure you will be installing the new floor on is sound.

There are two methods that can be considered. One: Repair and prepare the crawl space for new flooring. Two: Fill the crawl space.

METHOD ONE – REPAIR AND PREPARE AN EXISTING CRAWL SPACE FOR NEW FLOORING.

STEP ONE

Remove the old solid wood floor planks and check all the beams and joists for termites and dry rot. Make sure that they are solid, secure and in good enough shape to support the new flooring. Replace any joists that show signs of ageing with treated pine joists. Make absolutely sure there aren’t any signs of termites in the wood that remains.

STEP TWO

Lay a sheet of 200/250-micron SABS virgin plastic on the soil and around the brick plinths. Then lay a second sheet well overlapped and deep looped over the joists, coming up the inside walls. Lastly, lay a third sheet of plastic shallow looped over the joists and up the inside walls.

STEP THREE

Screw down 18mm plywood onto the joists making sure the ends of the plywood end on a joist. Leave a 5mm gap around each board.

STEP FOUR

Now lay yet another sheet of 200/250 micron SABS virgin plastic over the plywood and top that with a 3mm polythene foam sound cushioning barrier.

You now have a solid base to install your new floor on.

METHOD TWO – FILL THE CRAWL SPACE

This method would require a builder to fill up the crawl space and have it compacted. A sheet of SABS 200/250mm micron virgin plastic must then be thrown over the fill and well overlap the joints.

A slab can then be thrown and can be floated and screeded if necessary. When all is tested dry, you’re ready to install your new flooring.

Both of these methods will be costly but if you absolutely want to play it safe, can afford it and have the time and space available for a project like this to take place at your home, this is the way to do it.

Vinyl vs Laminate Flooring

With the amount of flooring choices in the market today, saying one is spoiled for choice is an understatement. When it comes to hard wood alternatives, it gets even trickier to decide on what is right for your home. There are plenty of hard wood alternatives to choose from and deciding on the right flooring for your home or office will be determined by a couple of factors which we’ll try to shed some light on in this article.

For many, laminate flooring remains a very popular flooring choice. In recent years the quality, durability and style of the products have improved a great deal and now more than ever before, laminated wood flooring is an excellent choice for almost any space, anywhere.

With the growth in popularity of laminate flooring there have unfortunately also been some downfalls. Many companies today import cheap, low quality laminated floors that simply don’t come close to the superior quality offered by the market leaders. More often than not, these laminates will be sold with big promises and disappoint very soon. It’s common to see a poor quality laminate floor that has been fitted incorrectly and due to the extremely low-grade of the product, a floor that warps, creeks and very soon becomes unusable. Products and installations like these have in some cases damaged the reputation of laminated floors to the extent that people believe it’s not a viable option for their homes.

The same holds true for vinyl flooring products in the market today. There’s the good, the bad, and the really bad. In drawing our comparison between vinyl and laminate, we’ll only take into consideration high quality vinyl and laminate products.

Laminates are by far a much more hard-wearing flooring surface than vinyl. Some laminates come with a warranty of up to 30 years. While vinyl flooring is also an extremely durable product, they’re not as tough as a good quality, high-grade laminate floor. Laminates are in general more noisy to walk on than vinyl, but with a sound absorbing underlay, laminates aren’t necessarily more noisy than click variations of vinyl. Stick down vinyl however is still the least noisy form of wood alternative flooring.

Due to its much thicker and harder composition, a laminate floor is more stable than a click vinyl tile floor. This does not necessarily mean that all vinyl floors are unstable, simply that in certain conditions such as extreme differences in heat, a vinyl floor is slightly more vulnerable. Stick down vinyl flooring however is not a floating floor such as vinyl click tiles and laminates and thus is not as easily affected by differences in temperature.

While vinyl flooring in general is a resilient form of flooring, direct sunlight will fade the surface print over time. Laminates are much less susceptible to these conditions.

Contrary to popular belief, laminate floors are not as susceptible to water spills as most would believe. It is only when large amounts of water are involved, like a leaking roof or a bursting geyser that laminates will suffer damage. Small spills can be cleaned up without causing any harm. It goes without saying however that they’re not waterproof, and not suitable for bathrooms. Vinyl flooring is waterproof. They’re perfect for wet areas and will not be damaged by water.

Deciding on which product is best is determined by where you want to install it, what type of traffic the area receives, how much sun it receives, temperature variations and much more. Should you wish to install either, call us to book a visit and we’ll come to you and offer professional advice on the best product based on your requirement.