How To Install New Hardwood Floors Over Old Hardwood Floors

Installing engineered hardwood over existing flooring is a great option for people who have hard to remove floors such as glued down hardwood or glued down vinyl.

How to install new hardwood floors over old hardwood floors.

To save money and effort the best choice is to sand the old hardwood floor and to avoid installing the new one over the old floor. Like unfinished hardwood floors the prefinished types typically have tongue and groove edges on all sides. When installing new wood flooring parallel to an existing solid nail down floor add a minimum of 3 8 plywood underlayment over the existing floor to increase stability. To keep the new wood flooring level with other transitioning floors in your home consider using inch thick.

Before installing any wood floor over concrete you ll need a moisture barrier. Solid wood floors should not be installed in basements or below grade. Installing new hardwood over old hardwood floors. It will extend up the wall for about 2 to 3 inches creating a bowl where your wood floor stays dry and protected.

Check with the flooring manufacturer for recommendations. Installing new hardwood over older wood floors can be extremely time saving in lieu of removal that can become expensive dirty and even dangerous depending on how the original floor was installed. If you will install on top the old floor boards have to be securely fastened try to avoid any loose floorboards. When installing a floor over your existing floor you will want to choose an engineered wood floor that is at least 1 2 thick and over 4 3 4 wide.

For instance i will look at much older floors that were nailed into floor joists before the widespread use of subfloors. The surface of the old floor needs to be cleaned. They are available in 3 4 inch thickness as well as low profile styles that are 5 16 to 5 8 inch thick which are a good or installing over existing flooring.