Over the last few decades, laminate flooring as seen enormous growth and today it’s one of the most popular and commonly used floorings all over the world. It has stood out with its durability and wide range of designs. Many people are replacing their existing floors with laminate due to the long list of benefits it offers. If you’re one of them and replacing your floor tiles with laminate flooring, the most important question you’d ask would be if it’s possible to install laminate floor over the tiles. Luckily, it is possible. Removing tiles require a lot of work. Chipping away the tiles and grout is a labour intensive and time consuming task. So if laminate floor is placed over the tiles, the labour as well as the time spent in installation will be reduced significantly.
Many laminate flooring manufacturers explicitly tell that their product can be installed over tile flooring. As tile is a durable product, there is only a slight risk of deterioration. However, some installation precautions still have to be taken. The first thing you should check is that the tiles are in good shape and levelled, which means they’re free of cracks and depressions. It’s because if there are and major cracks and depressions, the issue may be in the subfloor. And if your floor has any of these issues, then make sure to get professional inspection of the flooring to determine the underlying cause.
Other important things to take care of while installing laminate floor over tiles are:
· Filling the grout joints
Make sure that the grout joints are properly filled before laminate flooring is placed over tiles. They should be levelled with the top of the ceramic tiles to create a smooth surface for laminate floor to be placed on. You can simply grout by using light pressure on the joints to keep them levelled or you can fill the joints by using a grout bad. Also, after filling the grout joints, make sure that there is not dirt or moisture on the tiles and they have dried completely.
· Padding below the laminate floor
Laminate floors come in floating snap-lock and glue-down varieties. Both the types are installed similarly, but some glue-down laminate flooring types are not suitable to be installed over tiles. So make sure you read the flooring specs before purchasing. Generally, laminate floor requires polyethylene foam padding as a base over which it is placed. This padding comes in large rolls that are installed directly over the tiles. For convenience, some floors come with already attached foam at the back of the planks.
· Follow the installation basics
Make sure you follow the step-by-step installation process for best results. Start from the longest wall of the room. All the planks have tongue-and-groove ends and sides. To fit the ends of the planks together you just have to tap them. And to snap together the sides, all you have to do is insert the tongued edge of one into the grooved edge of another (at a 45° angle) and then push the plank so it fits into place. Also, make sure that the ends of planks are staggered so the end seams don’t line up and create weak spots in the laminate floor. The simplest and best way to stagger the end seams is to start a new laminate row using the excess piece that is cut from the end of former row. Another thing to keep in mind when you’re installing laminate flooring in a room which isn’t a rectangle or square is that you have to carefully cut around the door frames and cabinets. Measure and then cut the planks properly as you lay them. Read and follow the safety guidelines given by the manufacturer when using any power tool.
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