Installing Laminate Wood Flooring Over Carpet

A carpet adds a soft surface underneath the laminate.

Installing laminate wood flooring over carpet.

When you tear up carpet you must remove everything down to the subfloor. Plywood is highly recommended when installing over high pile carpet. Install baseboards and molding remove the spacers around the border and install baseboards and quarter round molding covering the plastic moisture barrier on the wall and the gap between the wall and the flooring. What happens with carpet is it tend to push down as people walk on it.

This gap allows the laminate floor to expand and contract while hidden beneath the end cap. I hope that helps. Remove any carpet padding from the area where the end cap will be installed. We just lay it right on top of the carpet and then put the hardwood on top of that.

Install the first row of planks with the tongue side facing the wall. The same thing happens even when the carpet is underneath the laminate. You absolutely cannot use carpet underlayment underneath laminate flooring. Ensure a snug connection by using a tapping block to gently tap the pieces together.

We have done this twice now because we moved and it has never shifted or caused any problem. Since carpet is usually plush and soft your laminate flooring would not have the support it needs to keep the locking system sturdy. Install your laminate flooring one row at a time. Use the tongue and groove edges to connect one plank to another.

As much as you want to cut down costs on a new floor this is not the way to do it. If you are using more than one sheet of plywood tape the sheets together at the seam. It stays in place under the weight of the laminate especially when you add furniture on top of that. Installing laminate flooring over carpet underlayment will do more harm than good in the long run.

Bored with the dark bland low pile carpet in my living room i decided to install a wood laminate floor to cover part of my living space. When placing plywood sheets over plush carpet lay them in the opposite direction the floor will go. Allow a 1 4 inch expansion joint between the track central portion of the end cap and the laminate floor. How to install laminate flooring.