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Hardwood Flooring – Where Should it Be Installed When It Comes To Older Floors?

Hardwood Flooring - Where Should it Be Installed When It Comes To Older Floors?
How to install hardwood over another type of floor.

The question of whether San Diego flooring can be installed on top of the preexisting one can be frequently encountered on specialty blogs and forums. Many homeowners prefer setting the new floor over the old one for either convenience and budget reasons. In case you are wondering how much it costs to remove the original tiles, then you should know it depends on the type of floor. For example, having the ceramic tile flooring removed can cost between $2 – $5/sq ft.

You can understand how this reflects on your renovation budget, particularly for extensive living spaces. But let’s find out when hardwood floors can be safely integrated without tearing out the previous one.

Tiled flooring

This is one of the situations when installing hardwood flooring does not necessitate the removal of the original floor. In fact, it is advisable to skip the floor removal because the task will generate a lot of mess and minuscule dust particles that will seem nearly impossible to get rid of for weeks, even months. The only issue here is with the distance between the door and the flooring. Adding the hardwood floor tiles will increase the height, which means that the door may not close properly unless you adjust it. It is easier to fix for wooden doors compared to their metal counterparts, but don’t forget to take the new threshold’s height into account when trimming the door to size.

Carpet flooring

In this case you will have to remove the carpeting before proceeding with the installation. The reason you cannot install hardwood flooring on top of carpets even if it is a floating type is simple: the fasteners become ineffective in creating the bond between the two surfaces. In other words, it will simply not hold.

Previous hardwood floor

Yes, it is possible but you will need to take some precautions in order to avoid problems later on. Assuming that the preexisting hardwood tiles are firmly fastened in place, you can proceed with installing the new boards in the exact opposite direction. The rationale here is that installing the new set of boards directly on top of the old ones will determine their expansion to advance in the same manner.

In case the older hardwood flooring had gaps between the boards, then they will also be present on the new one. You should know that it is possible to effectively install the boards in the same direction, but in this case adding an extra plywood layer with a minimal width of 3/8 inches is mandatory.

Vinyl flooring

For the vast majority of vinyl flooring, whether they are roll or sheet the installation of hardwood floors does not require their removal. The singular exception to this rule comprises of engineered vinyl flooring, because it utilizes smaller gauge staples. In the eventuality that several layers of vinyl flooring are present, then you will have a real difficult time performing the installation. At the same time, if the vinyl flooring comprises of tiles constructed from this material, your only option is then a floating San Diego hardwood flooring.

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