ᐅ Laying New Laminate Flooring Over Existing Floors – Any Experiences?

Hello forum!

I have a really old historic building and I’m currently renovating a few rooms... the focus here is on price AND performance, so I have to make some compromises...

The floor situation varies depending on the room, but the basic structure is always the same:

Hallway:

• Very old floorboards from around 1900
• Some kind of plywood underneath (presumably)
• Carpet from the 1960s
• Laminate from the 1990s (installed well, but unfortunately beech wood^^)

Room 1

• Very old floorboards from around 1900
• Some kind of plywood underneath (presumably)
• Linoleum with a really unpleasant pattern (strongly glued down, from the 1990s)
• Fully glued PVC with a plank look on top (probably from around 2000)

Room 2

• Very old floorboards from around 1900
• Some kind of plywood underneath (presumably)
• Linoleum with that unpleasant pattern (strongly glued down, from the 1990s)

Room 3

• Very old floorboards from around 1900
• Some kind of plywood underneath (presumably)
• Linoleum with that unpleasant pattern (strongly glued down, from the 1990s)
• Fully glued PVC with a plank look on top (probably from around 2000)

Removing both the linoleum and the PVC is currently out of the question because I don’t have the tools or the budget to completely redo the floor structure. Removing them would only be possible with associated damage.

So the plan is to lay new laminate flooring over the existing floor.

A few questions regarding this:

Is it absolutely necessary to install an underlay for impact sound insulation on top of PVC or linoleum?
In the hallway, the beech laminate is installed as a floating floor and could theoretically be removed – then I could lay the new laminate directly on top of the carpet.
Which option makes more sense? Laminate over laminate or removing the old floor and laying the new laminate on the carpet? Also, in either case, should there be an underlay for impact sound?

Thank you 🙂

Well, sooner or later the floor will reach the ceiling 🙂

DReffects schrieb:

Is it absolutely necessary to install an impact sound insulation layer under PVC or linoleum?

Impact sound insulation mainly affects the rooms below. Without it, you will always hear creaking when walking.

DReffects schrieb:

In the hallway, the floating beech laminate floor could theoretically be removed – then I could lay the new laminate directly over the carpet.
What would be better? Laminate over laminate or remove the old one and lay the new laminate on the carpet? Also wondering if I should add impact sound insulation there as well...

Neither is ideal. Laminate over laminate is a bad idea. Laminate over carpet is also a bad idea. Laminate glued down is good. Laminate directly on a subfloor is best.
See previous answer regarding impact sound insulation.

DReffects schrieb:

Removing both linoleum and PVC is currently out of the question because I don’t have the tools or the budget,

Tools ==> tool rental
Budget ==> 50€ and an afternoon
Would you rather shorten the doors if you keep increasing the floor height?

HilfeHilfe schrieb:

Well, eventually the floor will meet the ceiling 🙂

3.20m (10.5 feet) ceiling height, so there’s still some room 😉

nordanney schrieb:

Impact sound affects the rooms below. Without any insulation, you will always hear creaking when walking.

Neither option is good. Laminate on laminate is a bad idea. Laminate on carpet is also a bad idea. Laminate glued down is good. Laminate on raw subfloor is best.
Impact sound, see previous answer.

Tools ==> tool rental
Budget ==> 50€ and one afternoon
Are you sure you want to cut the doors shorter if your floor build-up keeps getting higher?

Thank you very much for the information! Phew, it sounds quite simple, but I’m afraid the effort is much greater.

Here are my thoughts on the matter—please correct me if I’m wrong:

I would cautiously suggest that the existing floor needs to be removed with a milling machine (100 square meters (1,076 square feet))—afterwards there will probably be no usable subfloor left. So, leveling compound will be needed. Possibly plus OSB boards.

In all rooms except the hallway, there are also channels along the walls where the heating pipes run. The current floor was installed in front of these... They would have to be renewed as well—about 1 meter (3.3 feet) costs approximately 14€.
The channels are glued to the wall where it meets the textured wallpaper.

Next problem: The textured wallpaper only covers the upper layer up to the top edge of the baseboards or heating channel.
There it is also glued with mounting adhesive and silicone.
If I lower the floor now, I will need significantly higher baseboards/heating channels to cover the gap.

All the doors open into the hallway—there the laminate was installed over carpet, which can be easily removed.
Is laminate on laminate more stable than with carpet underneath? The hallway floor currently feels rather soft underfoot... But the laminate is lying flat without any wobbling or similar issues.

I am also replacing the door leaves because they were damaged by a dog—regardless, I would have to cut each one shorter since they are all different heights. The frames are also sometimes flush-mounted, etc.

I fully understand that a hard reset with a new floor build-up, walls, etc., would be the clean solution... 80/20 principle and all that 😉