Asked by: Claude Mittelmeyer
hobbies and interests woodworking

Can you install engineered hardwood over hardwood?

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Engineered wood floors can be floated over existing floors such as: laminate, vinyl, hardwood floors, and even some types of tile. Installing engineered hardwood over existing floors may also require that you cut the interior doors and any exterior door that opens into the house.


Considering this, can I install hardwood flooring over an existing hardwood floor?

With all that being said though the answer is YES you can install New Wood Flooring over the old. New Hardwood Flooring Over Old Hardwood Flooring: 3/4" thick or thinner Solid or Engineered hardwood flooring must be installed across the old wood floor boards (at a 90 degree angle).

do I need underlayment for engineered hardwood flooring? If you're installing laminate or engineered flooring that snaps together and floats over the subfloor without nails, you need underlayment even more. Besides all the other benefits, underlay helps support a floating floor. You may find that the flooring still requires a vapor barrier.

Keeping this in view, can I install engineered hardwood myself?

There is less noise associated with the floor and the installation method is more structurally sound. However, if this is not an issue and you are trying to cut costs, you can float engineered hardwood flooring yourself! Engineered hardwood installs a lot like laminate flooring.

What do you put under hardwood flooring?

Several intermediate layers that are sometimes directly installed between subflooring and solid hardwood flooring include:

  1. Red Rosin Paper or Builder's Felt.
  2. Solid Underlayment.
  3. Rubberized Membrane.
  4. Thick Underlayment With Intervening Plywood.
  5. Choosing Denser Hardwoods.
  6. Using Area Rugs and Runners.

Related Question Answers

Nama Snaijer

Professional

What is the recommended underlayment for hardwood flooring?

Floating engineered wood floors or solid-hybrid floors will use a padded underlayment such as Floor Muffler, while nail-down hardwood use paper underlayment such as Aquabar-B or Silicone Vapor Sheild.

Yarima [email protected]

Professional

Is it better to glue or float hardwood floors?

Floating wood floors are easier to install than glue down floors and can be put into place faster. If you're trying to install a floor over a surface that traditional glue-down flooring can't attach to, you are better off going with a floating floor if you don't want to change your subfloor.

Ronny Malonda

Explainer

Can you lay new floorboards over old floorboards?

The first is that old, softwood floorboards are rarely flat, which means that the surface of your old floor mightn't be ideal to provide a stable base for your new floor. The first, if the existing floor is not too uneven, is laying the new solid wood floor over the existing boards at a 90-degree angle.

Ursel Chifor

Explainer

How do you install wood flooring over concrete?

Lay 6-mil polyethylene sheeting over the concrete to minimize moisture migration from the concrete up into the wood flooring. Then fasten 3/4-in. treated plywood to the concrete with concrete screws spaced every 16 in. Alternatively, screw rows of treated 1x4s to the concrete 16 in.

Ilhem Hanswillemenke

Explainer

Can you install laminate flooring over existing hardwood?

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 the hardwood floor is wavy, you will need to do some work to level it out before installing your laminate floor.

Ridouan Neuling

Pundit

How do you cover old hardwood floors?

Whatever prompts you to cover a wood floor, there are many options besides carpeting.
  1. Paint. Bare and finished wood floors can be covered with water- or oil-based primer and floor paint, but the floor should be lightly sanded first to help the primer bond.
  2. Tile or Stone.
  3. Laminate.
  4. Vinyl or Linoleum.

Corine Folgoso

Pundit

Can you lay a wood floor over marble?

Wood flooring can be installed over existing ceramic tile, terrazzo, or marble with proper underlayment or adhesives only on manufacturer's recommendation. Repair, renail or replace loose flooring products as needed. Over an existing glue-down floor, glue direct to the existing floor.

Sokaina Martinez De Ubago

Pundit

How much does Lowes charge to install engineered hardwood?

Thanks for the info! $7 per square foot for installation is extremely high. Most flooring companies are installing for half of that right now, some even less. Lowes is offering installation for $1.99 per sqft if material is purchased from them.

Shawna Pearson

Pundit

Should you glue or nail engineered hardwood?

Engineered hardwood floors can be glued or nailed into position, but they also have the option of being floated over an underlay. If you have a concrete subfloor, then you should glue your hardwood down, if you have a wooden subfloor then you can choose either method of installation.

Analisa Heywood

Pundit

Is it better to nail or float an engineered wood floor?

While installing 3/4” solid hardwood flooring, 2" long nails or staples should be used. Shorter 1-3/4" or 1-1/2" nails might be used for thinner wood flooring like engineered wood floors. On the other hand, floating install requires a padded underlayment on which the engineered flooring rests for sound deadening.

Sanna Gandares

Teacher

How much does it cost to install 1000 square feet of engineered hardwood floors?

Hardwood Flooring Grades
The cost of material will be between $3 and $5 per square foot, and depending on the complexity of the project/layout, installation can cost anywhere between $3 and $9 per square foot.

Mounaim Esimontovsky

Teacher

Do you nail down engineered hardwood?

Install an Engineered Floor (Nail Down) Allow flooring to acclimate to its new environment. Wood Guys recommends flooring sit inside the house for at least one week before installation. Nailed-down engineered flooring must be installed over plywood.

Asis Aalst

Teacher

Can you put engineered hardwood on stairs?

Hardwood Stairs Cost
Engineered hardwood is often sold prefabricated into risers and stairs, so you need only to purchase the premade pieces in the color and dimensions you want. Once you've received them, you need to begin the process of preparing your existing staircase so you can attach the risers and the treads.

Xiaodong Volkenrath

Teacher

How do you nail down engineered wood flooring?

Manufacturers recommend that you install the planks with the tongue side against the wall and the groove side facing into the room. Use a pneumatic flooring stapler to drive staples through the groove at a 45-degree angle (Image 1). Put a staple every 6 to 8 inches.

Coumba Collins

Reviewer

Can engineered hardwood be refinished?

Can engineered floors be refinished? Yes, they can, at least once. Floors with a wear layer less than 2 millimeters thick can tolerate a light scuff-sanding with a buffer. Thicker top layers can be sanded just like solid wood, allowing you to erase deeper scratches and dents.

Kathya Vasyutinsky

Reviewer

Do you need a moisture barrier under engineered hardwood?

Installation. If you're planning to nail down your hardwood floors, a moisture barrier is recommended. If you are installing an floating engineered hardwood flooring, you can use Aquabar underlayment to help control moisture.

Igarki Baumans

Reviewer

Which is better hardwood or engineered hardwood?

Engineered wood is better than solid hardwood at dealing with moisture. Its plywood base is dimensionally stable, meaning that it warps and flexes less easily upon contact with moisture than solid wood. Fibers in plywood run in cross-wise layers, a far more stable structure than solid wood's parallel fibers.

Viriato Lucey

Reviewer

Do I need a vapor barrier between concrete and wood flooring?

A moisture barrier is need to protect the flooring against moisture or moisture vapor. Along with the moisture barrier, you may want to install an underlayment. Glue Down Installations – When gluing down wood to concrete, a moisture barrier is almost always needed, especially below-grade.

Rubia Osipenko

Supporter

How much does it cost to install engineered wood flooring?

Engineered Wood Flooring Costs
Low: Basic engineered hardwood has three core layers topped with a layer of wood veneer between 1/16- to 1/12-inch thick. It costs an average of $3 to $5 per square foot, with installation costs running between $3 and $10 per square foot depending on the complexity of the layout.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

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24th February, 2020

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