Laying hardwood flooring?

Question

Can you lay plywood over low pile carpet ? Then lay your hardwood flooring The carpet has been glued down. Or should you remove the carpet first.Then lay plywood sub floor. There's only one boarded floor . If so what thickness of plywood?

Answer 1

Yes guys all of the above is right but no one mentions this.

s***w down the existing floor with screws, lots, that will stop any squeaks.

Answer 2

You need to remove the carpet first.  Having it there would make the flooring too 'soft' and could lead to squeaking between the edges of the plywood.

Answer 3

You need to remove the carpet, if not it will give too much and your floors will split.

Answer 4

Yes you need to remove the carpet first.  Just as the others said, it will cause the floor to float and cause a miriad of problems in a very short time.  If you need to replace the sub-floor you need to use 3/4 inch plywood laid on the joists,  but chances are you will not need to replace the sub-floor unless you really tear it up removing the carpet.  Check with your local flooring outlet to see what types of material you could use to loosen the glue, as there are products to make this process easier.

Answer 5

You will need to take up the carpet. If your sub-floor does not have a lot of give in it then you should be able to put the hardwood flooring right on top. If you are doing a floating floor then you might want to put down plywood. The plywood is a judgment call on your behalf. I would at least put down1/2 if you sub-floor is really weak then 3/4. Make sure that you take into account that your floor in that room will be higher by as much at 1 and 1/2 in.