Looking to spruce up my old house to sell. Carpet in bedrooms is old and worn, thin loop type carpet with attached backing. House is very old and floors are un-even. Tearing up old carpet and scraping and leveling floor would be tons of work. Ok to put down a foam underlayment over the old stuff and lay wood floor over?
2006-10-18 04:40:22 · 16 answers · asked by Foss 4 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
You have to take up the carpet, because laminate flooring needs to be put on to a hard surface.
Depending on just how un-even your floors are you may be able to put the laminate down over the floors without leveling them - if you use a thicker underpad/foam lining under the laminate.
Take up the carpet and then take some digital photos of the floor and head off to the flooring store and show them what you have to work with and ask for their suggestions.
Good Luck!
2006-10-18 04:47:05 · answer #1 · answered by ms_know_it_all 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The carpet has to be removed. Removing carpet is not hard at all - it pulls right up. Then you will need to remove the tack strips along the wall. This is a thin board with 'tacks' that stick up and grab the carpet.
You will also need to remove the carpet pad underneath and the staples. Then vacuum thoroughly.
The flooring needs to be install over a level, smooth, stable base. Most subfloors are in good enough condition. If yours aren't, you will need to fix that - possibly by installing thin plywood over the subfloor. Typically, the subfloor is in good enough condition unless you have some unusual damage.
Do not waste your money on trying to install over the carpet. If you aren't going to do it right, just leave the carpet or put new carpet in. Or consider giving an allowance for new flooring when selling the house.
2006-10-18 16:19:33 · answer #2 · answered by cathy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It wouldn't work. If you did and then walked on it the laminate would move so much that it would break apart. It has to be a rigid surface in order to secure it properly. It would be worth tearing out the old carpet, putting a leveling compound in the areas needed leveling and either putting the laminate on then or putting another thin sub floor down. But if you try putting it over the carpet you will be just throwing your money away.
2006-10-18 11:59:57 · answer #3 · answered by jhaups 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This would work for a quick fix and will last forever if the old carpet is very thin.If you do decide to go ahead with it dont put down any further padding.Your old carpet will act as a pad .Laminate floors are designed to give a little anyway.Its called a floating floor.Put down a thin layer of plastic over the carpet first so the carpet underneath dont get wet and stay wet.Your idea will work out great if the old carpet is very thin
2006-10-21 10:48:41 · answer #4 · answered by Billy T 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Tearing up old carpet is not the problem, that is the easy part, however I must agree that scraping and leveling floor would be tons of work.
You did not mention what is under the carpet, either concrete or wood sub floor. Assuming that it is old wood sub floor, you aren't going to be able to scrape that much. You should be able to buy the foam underlay from a home improvement store. That should help with some of the unevenness, however, you will have to fill the major areas and fan them down to have an acceptable finished product.
Good luck!
2006-10-18 20:52:48 · answer #5 · answered by onemelbgirl 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If the floor is uneven the new floor will be too. Remove the carpet and padding then use a liquid floor leveler, install any flooring you like. It may take a little more work (not nearly as much as the scrapping sanding path though)but the result will be well worth it and the resale value will be too. There is some good info at the site below.
2006-10-18 11:48:29 · answer #6 · answered by Walking on Sunshine 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You will have to remove the carpet...for one, you will not want all the fugus and crap growing under the laminate floor. That would make the whole fam sick after awhile.......dont worry so much about leveling off the floor after you remove the carpet, you wont have to do much of it.
Just remove the carpet...use a shop vac and clean it up. Scrape all the glue off (shouldnt be much) remove the tacs, and have at it. I did the same in my house and was able to do my living room and master bedroom in two days. And that included painting and putting up new baseboards in each room.....dont forget you will have to yank the baseboards.
2006-10-18 12:00:40 · answer #7 · answered by Win the West!!!! 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to remove the carpeting and level the floor..otherwise could be problems down the road and it would not be fair to the prospective buyer who would end up fixing the problem if they buy. You can reflect your time and effort in marking up the house more. Good luck.
Get a floor sander to do alot of the work:)
2006-10-18 11:49:47 · answer #8 · answered by AQHA34 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
remove the carpeting. It increases the value of the house. Putting old wood over old carpeting may cause problems in the future.
2006-10-18 11:44:01 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
That will not work. Every time you step on the new wood floor, it will sink too far and eventually, it will crack the joint. AND... if you should spill any liquid, it will soak the carpet under it and it can never dry... causing mold and rot problem.
You should do it right, if you are going to do it at all....
2006-10-18 11:48:45 · answer #10 · answered by tkquestion 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋