Can You Put Laminate Flooring Over Tile?

Laminate flooring is one of the most famous floorings worldwide because it is easy to clean, install, and maintain. It adds value to your home as it has beautiful and aesthetic appeal. But if you have a tile floor already and want to change your flooring, then you will probably ask if you can put laminate flooring over tile? The answer is yes! But you must consider various things before putting a laminate floor over tile flooring. Read this guide further so you will better get to know about laminate flooring over tiles.

Factors to Consider Before Putting Laminate Flooring over Tile

Although you can put laminate flooring over tile, you should consider a few factors before doing it. You must consider the following factors before laying laminate flooring over tiles.

The Condition of Tiles

Check the tile condition before anything else for laminate flooring. If the tile is even and without any cracks, you can put a laminate floor over it. If the tile is loose or cracked, it is impossible to put a laminate floor over it, or not recommended. If the tiles are not leveled, you can use any leveling compound over them. After leveling your tile floor, you can put a laminate floor over it.

Floor Height

Another thing to keep in mind before putting laminate flooring over tile is the height of the floor. If you are going to put a laminate floor over tiles, it means you will increase the floor height, which might cause a problem for door threshold, flooring transitions, and appliances. So, it’s better to put thin pre-finished engineered hardwood or laminate instead of the thick layering. Pre-finished laminate is preferred because it either uses a click and lock system or is glued down. A

Also, make sure that when you put laminate flooring over tiles, you have to leave a 3/8 inch gap around the perimeter. This gap is necessary to expand and fit under baseboards and moldings.

Underlayment

Adding an underlayment before putting a laminate floor over tiles is necessary. There may be a moisture barrier under the tile layer, or tiles themselves act as a moisture barrier. But it will be best if you lay an underlayment before putting laminate flooring for moisture protection, acoustic, and a warm underfoot. You have to add underlayment after the leveling compound gets completely dry.

If your laminate floor has attached underlayment, it’s unnecessary to put additional underlayment.

How to Put Laminate Flooring over Tile?

Laminate flooring is getting more popular day by day due to its beautiful appeal and easy-to-install properties. Laminate flooring is a floating flooring material that doesn’t need to be necessarily fastened with the subfloor. You can easily and quickly install this floor by following the procedure outlined below.

Inspection of Tiles and Floor Height

The first step in laminate floor installation over tiles is to inspect the old tiles. Carefully check if the tiles are in good structural shape or not. Also, check them for any cracks and scratches. Besides this, you should also inspect whether the tiles are loose or not. If the tiles are loose or cracked, it’s better to chip them off and install the laminate floor over the bare subfloor. If the tiles are in good condition, you can proceed with the laminate flooring.

The second step is to estimate the possible increase in the floor thickness after adding the laminate flooring over tiles. The overall height increase shouldn’t cause a problem for the entryways of rooms or door thresholds. Increasing floor height may minimize the height of entrances and cause a problem for tall height people.

Leveling the Tile Floor

After inspecting the tile condition and height, you must level the tile floor. The uneven subfloor will not be suitable to install laminate flooring. You can level your tile floor with any leveling compound. Fill the leveling compound in the tiles’ troughs and deep grout lines. After applying the leveling compound, you will get a smooth and uniform surface where you can easily put your laminate floor.

Install an Underlayment 

To protect your laminate floor from moisture, you must add an underlayment. The underlayment will act as a moisture barrier for the laminate floor. Although an old tile floor will also act as a moisture barrier, it will not be as effective as an underlayment will be. Besides moisture protection, an underlayment will provide heat insulation and cushioning. If an underlayment is already installed with old flooring or under your new flooring, then you don’t need to add its extra layer.

Finishing

The last step is the finishing of the process. Start finishing by putting the laminate floor planks or boards over the even tiled surface. During installation, ensure to stagger the laminate planks for extra visual appeal and structural strength. For this purpose, cut down the laminate planks at random lengths. Ensure that the end joints of planks or boards in adjacent rows don’t overlap.

Pros and Cons of Putting Laminate Flooring over Tiles 

Laminate flooring looks flawless and grabs the attention of everyone stepping into the room immediately, but it has some disadvantages also. Here is a summary of the pros and cons of putting laminate flooring over tile.

Pros

• Laminate flooring is easy to install and doesn’t need any expertise.
• Enhances the aesthetics of your floor, which isn’t possible with tile flooring.
• Reduces the echoes, which are usually caused by hard surfaces.
• Laminate flooring is more resilient against certain damages.
• It saves your time on removing tiles because it’s not at all an easy task.

Cons

• Increases the floor height, which isn’t suitable or possible every time.
• Slight variances in the tile can produce squeaking whenever you step into the laminate floor.
• Laminate flooring isn’t resistant to liquid damage.
• It’s not possible to install laminate flooring over damaged tiles.

Final Thoughts 

Installing laminate flooring over tiles is an excellent idea to renovate your floor, but there are some concerns and factors that you must keep in mind before moving forward with your project. Overall, you can change your flooring with little effort and efficiency and make your flooring looks artistic in your own way.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is it possible to cover ceramic tile with laminate?

Yes, you can cover ceramic tile with laminate if the ceramic tile is in good condition, properly attached, leveled, and flat. Any cracks and uneven surfaces will not be in favor of laminate flooring. Besides this, if the ceramic tiles are loosely attached, then it’s also not possible to cover them with a laminate floor until you fix them tightly.

2. What is the difference between laminate and vinyl flooring?

Laminate flooring has a core that is made up of wood byproducts. It is sealed with resins and has a shiny surface as well. On the other hand, vinyl floor sheets are made of fiberglass and coated with PVC vinyl and a plasticizer. This kind of flooring is embossed with a design, and its finishing is done with layers of wear protection, for example, no-wax polyurethane.

3. Can you put the hardwood floor over tile in the bathroom?

No, installing a hardwood floor over tiles in the bathroom is impossible, but you can install a floating laminate floor over tiles. Make sure to remove mold from the tiles and put a moisture barrier over them before installing a laminate floor, especially in the bathroom.

4. Is it hard to remove tile flooring?

Removing tile flooring is a difficult and time-consuming task. Tiles may be attached to bare cement, a mason board underlayment, plywood, or even fastened to the previously installed floor. In all cases, it becomes hard to remove tiles, and you need specialized tools and a lot of time to remove them.