[Home](https://www.referralflooring.com/)/[Tips](https://www.referralflooring.com/tips)/Over an existing floor Can it go over what is already there # What can be laid over your existing floor. Usually the answer is yes for floating floors and no for anything fastened or glued, and in every case the deciding factor is whether the surface underneath is sound, dry and flat enough. The flatness and grade-level rules below are quoted from the national installation guidelines, source beside each figure. Your specific product's instructions set what it may be installed over, and where they and a general rule disagree, the manufacturer wins, because that is what the warranty is written against. ### Can you put vinyl plank over tile, linoleum, laminate or hardwood? Generally yes, if the existing floor is well bonded, dry and flat, and if the height it adds still works at your doors and appliances. A floating vinyl plank floor does not care what is beneath it as long as it is a stable, flat surface. What stops the job is a hollow tile, a soft spot, or grout lines deep enough to telegraph through. Flatness is the number that decides it. The published tolerance for glue-down and short fastener work, which is the same order of flatness a floating floor needs, is 1/8" in 6' or 3/16" in 10'.[1] Wide grout joints usually need filling or a levelling compound first, or the plank flexes into every line and the seams work loose. **The honest caveat:** your specific product's installation instructions set what it may be installed over, and they vary by manufacturer. Where they and a general rule disagree, the manufacturer wins. The [vinyl plank page](https://www.referralflooring.com/vinyl-plank-flooring-installation) covers the rest of what a floating floor needs. ### Can you put vinyl plank over carpet? No. Carpet and underpad compress unevenly under load, so a rigid floating floor laid on top of it flexes at every step. That works the locking edges apart and eventually breaks them. The carpet and underpad come up, and the staples and tack strip come out with them. It is also the moment the subfloor underneath becomes visible and fixable, which is the main reason not to bury it. Old carpet in an older house frequently hides a subfloor that was never screwed down properly. See [what removal involves](https://www.referralflooring.com/flooring-removal-and-disposal). ### Can you put laminate over tile or over hardwood? Yes in principle, for the same reason as vinyl plank: laminate is a floating floor and needs a flat, dry, stable base rather than a particular material. The practical limits are added height at doorways and thresholds, and whether an underlay is required or already attached to the boards. Over hardwood, run the laminate across the direction of the existing boards where you can, so the joints do not line up with the seams underneath. Over tile, deal with the grout lines first. Where laminate does not belong at all is on the [laminate page](https://www.referralflooring.com/laminate-flooring-installation). ### Can you install hardwood over concrete, or over existing hardwood? Over existing hardwood, usually yes, provided the old floor is sound and flat. Over concrete the answer depends on which hardwood: the guidelines state that solid wood floors should not be installed below grade, meaning below ground level, unless the manufacturer recommends it.[1] Engineered wood is different, and that is the usual answer on a slab. On engineered, the guidelines are direct: "engineered wood flooring can be installed above- on- or below-grade" because of how it is built.[1] That construction is a real wood wear layer bonded over cross-layered cores, which is what makes it more dimensionally stable than a solid board of the same width. The [engineered page](https://www.referralflooring.com/engineered-hardwood-installation) has the four fixing methods. Either way the slab gets tested first, by in-slab relative humidity probe (ASTM F2170), calcium chloride (ASTM F1869), or calcium carbide.[1] A reading that comes back too high means a vapour retarder or a different material, and finding that out after the floor is down is the expensive version. Sources 1. National Wood Flooring Association, [Wood Flooring Installation Guidelines](https://nwfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/NWFA-Installation-Guidelines.pdf), revised 2025. Flatness tolerances, grade-level suitability for solid and engineered wood, and concrete moisture test methods. Standards last read 9 September 2026 More answers ## The other guides. - [Why a new floor squeaks, cups or gapsMoisture and the subfloor, with the figures.](https://www.referralflooring.com/why-new-floors-squeak-cup-and-gap) - [Which flooring to chooseBasements, kitchens, bathrooms, dogs, radiant heat, wide plank, sheen.](https://www.referralflooring.com/which-flooring-to-choose) - [The order things happen inCabinets, paint, baseboards, an unlevel subfloor, flush vents.](https://www.referralflooring.com/flooring-order-of-work) - [Stairs, treads and spindlesNosing, hardwood after carpet, runners, iron vs wood.](https://www.referralflooring.com/stair-nosing-treads-and-spindles) - [Cleaning and careWhat to use, what will wreck it, humidifiers, replacing one plank.](https://www.referralflooring.com/cleaning-and-caring-for-floors) - [All the questionsThe full index, and why there are no prices on it.](https://www.referralflooring.com/tips) Your floor ## Not sure what is under yours? 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