LVT planks have an incredibly realistic wood look, and vinyl flooring care and maintenance is a breeze. Here's something even better. If you've been graced with authentic hardwood flooring, it isn't even necessary for you to remove it before installing LVT!
Vinyl is a very versatile material that is well suited to go over hardwood. It stands up well to heavy foot traffic, pets, kids, dirt, and soil, making it a great flooring solution for just about any room or setting with less maintenance than hardwood.
If you have existing hardwood floors, you can put a floating floor over top of them so long as you either install an underlayment on top of the floor or install floating floors that have the underlayment bonded directly beneath the plank, tile, or sheet.
Unlike tile floors, which have a very specific series of underlayment requirements, vinyl plank floors can be installed over existing flooring so long as it is clean of debris, in good repair and completely flat.
Expense. Price is usually the first thing people consider when it comes to refinishing or replacing a hardwood floor. The truth is, it is almost always cheaper to refinish your floor than to replace it.
Yes, you can install over an existing wood floor, provided it meets some important conditions. First, make sure doing so won't create problems with height differences at areas such as transitions with other rooms and stairs.
Laminate flooring can be installed directly over hardwood, often with no preparation necessary. If your laminate has a built-in underlayer, you may install it right on top of the hardwood.
If you are ready to upgrade your existing floor, you will need to remove the old vinyl first. In some circumstances, you can install new flooring such as laminate flooring, hardwood or engineered flooring over vinyl flooring as long as it is in good condition.
Having new floors that are too high can affect other structures in the room. For example, doors and cabinets may not be opened correctly if the new flooring height takes up too much vertical space. If this happens, it's better to remove the tiles first before installing the vinyl.
Hardwood flooring boards (either solid wood flooring or engineered wood flooring) can be fitted onto existing wooden floor boards. The hardwood flooring should run perpendicular to the existing floor boards to provide maximum strength and stability.
If the wood floor is sturdy, you can cover it with tile, stone or even brick veneer. A layer of tile backer board helps minimize the natural movement of wood floors. Backer board installs with screws, similar to drywall.
COREtec flooring can be installed over most existing hard–surface floor coverings, provided that the existing floor surface is clean, flat, dry and structurally sound.
Whether you have traditional hardwoods, prefinished wood, or laminated wood, restoring without sanding is a practical solution. Though you can sand your traditional hardwoods, it's difficult or even impossible to sand prefinished or laminated wood floors.
Rigid Underlayment
Plywood is often the most commonly used type of underlayment in vinyl plank flooring installation. Sheets of 4×8 foot plywood, usually ¼ to ½ inch thick tend to be an excellent flooring underlayment for many subfloors including wood, tile, and linoleum.
Vinyl floors can last anywhere from 5 to 25 years, depending on their quality and how they're installed and maintained.
The answer is yes, you can! We commonly lay vinyl plank over existing ceramic or porcelain tiles. The main condition for this process is ensuring your existing tiles are well stuck down to your floor.
But does that mean you need to remove the old flooring first? You can install laminate over old linoleum flooring, provided the linoleum is clean and level first. Additionally, the floor should be in good condition – with no large cracks or dents – and there should be no moisture damage.
To remove interlocking vinyl plank flooring, all you need to do is find where the installation ended, gently remove the baseboard trim around the room, pry the first piece upwards slowly, and then begin removing the remainder of the floor.
You certainly do not want to attach or glue your new floor right to the existing one, as your new installation will only be as sound as the one before it, and most manufacturers will void their warranty if you do so. In short, layers can cause problems.
Yes, hardwood floors are beautiful, but leaving them as-is can lead to scratches, injuries, and more. Covering up the hardwood in your home is not only a good idea, but a necessary step for maintaining the quality of your flooring and the safety of your family.
In most scenarios, refinishing rather than replacing your hardwood floor is the ideal outcome. While refinishing hardwood can be a long and tedious process, it is much more cost-effective than a total replacement. During the refinishing process, all furniture will have to be removed from the room.