I am putting a hardwood floor down.?

Question

We are putting a hardwood floor down can it be put over linolium square tiles without a problem. The tiles are very secure but we need to know if a very thin subfloor is needed.

Answer 1

Generally, as long as the existing flooring is in good shape, glued down well and you are sure it is secure, then you don't need to put down an underlayment when install hardwood flooring.

You can run a test by taking a 3/4" thick block of wood about 18" long and pound two 1 1/4" drywall nails all the way through the wood. Use a soft wood such as pine so that it easy to pound the nails through. Now take the block with nails and pound the block down and into the flooring. Pry up the piece of wood with a pry bar and repeat this is about 3 or 4 different areas of the floor. If the tile squares do not shatter or break apart, then you should have no problem installing the wood floor over it.

The thing you don't want to happen is that you start putting down the wood floor and then the tile starts to break apart and  then you will have some real problems. It has been my experience that removing the old floor would be best if you feel that the floor is not secure after you run this test.

There is a precaution however when removing old floor tiles. If you think these tiles are very old, they could have asbestos in them and if there is any chance that they do, then you should have them tested before removing them.

If you find that the flooring is not as secure as you thought and it does start to pop up or break apart, then remove the broken pieces, and get some inexpensive floor tiles and glue them in place of the old pieces you removed to make the floor level and then install a 1/4" luan wood underlayment over the entire floor.

It would be best to rent a either an air powered or airless staple gun if you don't have one, and you will want to install the staples about 4" apart. Then, you can install your new flooring.

The hope is that you will be able to avoid this step and just put the new flooring right over the existing floor.

Here is a great article with instructions on how to install a hardwood floor. Just click on the link.

http://www.showroom411.com/SiteBrowser.a...

I hope this helps.  Rick

Answer 2

yes with no problems but fit foam underlay first or fibre board which is better

Answer 3

yes u can do that

Answer 4

Yes you can if the tiles are well glued down.

You can float the hard would floor  by simply well glueing the tounge and grooved boards and use an underlay, there are some high performance underlays on the market with noise reduction vapour barrier properties also feels nice to walk on.

(make sure you wipe off any glue as you proceed). Good Luck

Answer 5

I would definately suggest the subfloor for stability, nailed down at least every six inches.

Answer 6

If you are putting down a 3/4 inch hardwood you need to make sure there is something to nail to.  I would also put down the asphalt paper first.  If you are using an engineered wood floor that will "float" then I see no problem at all.  I would be tempted to put down the asphalt paper no matter what, because I would think the wood would rub and squeak against the linoleum.