Can You Put Vinyl Flooring Over Carpet?

A hardwood floor looks luxurious and artistic, but it is expensive to afford for many people, so a vinyl floor is an excellent alternative to wood flooring. Vinyl planks resemble wood flooring in texture and are also easy to install. People usually ask whether they can put vinyl flooring over the carpet or not. The answer is yes. You can put vinyl flooring over the Carpet, but you must keep certain things in mind before installing it.

Depending on your carpet type, you can directly put the vinyl plank over the carpet, or you have to add a wooden board first and then lay your vinyl planks over it. Read this guide until the end if you have to put vinyl flooring over the carpet.

Install Vinyl Flooring Over Carpet

Installing vinyl planks over carpet is an easy task that you can perform quite easily. Vinyl planks are of various kinds, e.g., glue-down planks, peel-and-stick planks, and tongue-and-groove planks. Before installing vinyl plank, inspect the carpet for any moisture and rotting. Putting vinyl planks over the rotten or moisturized carpet is not recommended. You should also check the carpet type before installing of vinyl floor.

Choose Vinyl Planks According to Carpet Type

• If you have a thin or low-pile carpet that has no or little padding, you can opt for thinner vinyl planks. But if you want the best results, you can use thicker vinyl planks with less flexibility.
• If you have a high-pile carpet with excessive and thick rug cushioning, there will be more comfort under your feet. Putting your vinyl boards straightforwardly on top of your rug will give you moving floorboard, and it will help in moving and unlocking your floating floor without any problem.
• For high-pile carpets, more preparation is needed to combat with the squeezing. You will initially have to make a steadier surface for your boards or planks. For this, you can use a 1/4-inch-thick (0.64 cm) sheet of plywood to make a subfloor on top of your rug.

Things Needed

• Tape measure
• Tapping block
• Tile cutter
• Rubber mallet
• Pen
• Ruler
• Spacers
• Utility knife
• Sheets of plywood for high-pile carpet

Procedure to Follow

Prepare the Floor

Prepare your floor before anything else. Remove all the furniture and appliances from the floor and tie up the curtains or blinds. Vacuum your carpet thoroughly before laying any vinyl plank over them. Besides this, you should also remove baseboards so that you will get a good finishing look.

Tape the Plywood Sheets Together

In case you have to put plywood over your carpet, lay them in the opposite direction your plank will go. You will definitely require more than one sheet, so it’s better to tie them together. Tape them at the seam.

Place Spacer between the Planks 

You have to place a spacer between the walls and planks. The spacer will help maintain a quarter-inch gap for expansion of the floor.

Start Placing the Planks

Start placing the planks from one corner of the room to complete the row. Move from left to right until you complete the entire row. You have to interlock the tongue and groove connectors of the plank. Align the seams afterward.

Do Not Leave any Space between the Planks 

There shouldn’t be any space between the wall and the last plank on the row. A little space between the last plank of the row and the wall cannot fit one entire plank. You have to measure the length of this gap. Then it would help if you cut the next plank according to this measurement so that it can fit into the gap. To cut a vinyl plank, you can use a table, miter, hand, circular, etc.

Stagger the Planks 

You can use the leftover cut ends to begin the next row if they are six inches long at least. It will help your planks to stagger, and offers you a more natural hardwood look.

Interlock the Planks

Continue placing new vinyl planks in the entire room and ensure that the planks are interlocked. Also, ensure that all the planks’ seams are tightly fit. Please use a rubber mallet and tapping block to tap and lock the planks.

Remove Spacers after Installation of Planks 

You have to add spacers every few feet around the floor’s edge. When you have done installing all the planks, remove the spacers carefully.

Also Read: how to remove vinyl floor tiles?

Is Removing Carpet Before Putting Vinyl Flooring Necessary?

Many people get confused about whether they have to remove their carpets before placing vinyl planks or not? It is ideal if you remove your room carpet before laying vinyl planks, but if you cannot, it’s perfectly fine also. It is advised to remove your carpet before installing vinyl planks for hygienic reasons, whether tufted carpet, commercial carpet, or carpet tiles.

Besides hygienic issues, you should remove your carpet because vinyl flooring uses a floating floor installation method. For this method, a solid and flat surface is required. So, if you remove your carpet, you will have a more solid, leveled, and flat surface for vinyl floor installation. If your carpet surface is flat, clean, and leveled, and you also don’t want to remove your carpet for certain reasons, you can put your vinyl planks over it.

Final Words

It’s fine to put vinyl planks over your carpet if you don’t want to remove them because it’s a time-consuming and a little complex task. You can directly place vinyl planks on low-pile carpet, but if you have a thick cushioned carpet, you need to add a solid base before putting vinyl flooring over it. I hope you find this article useful for your vinyl floor installation over your carpet.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is cheaper; a carpet or vinyl flooring?

Carpet is a common choice for flooring, so it’s obvious it will be more costly-effective than vinyl flooring. If you opt for luxury vinyl flooring, then it will cost you more than simple carpet flooring. According to an estimate, the carpet flooring cost, including buying and installation, is $2-$5 per square foot. Luxury vinyl flooring is a bit costly and will cost you around $4-$7 per square foot.

2. Can you put vinyl flooring over thicker carpet padding?

Carpet underlayments are mostly thicker and are 10mm in thickness overall. So, installing vinyl flooring over thick carpets is not advisable because it will make your flooring unstable and less durable. If you have a thin-pile carpet on your floor, you can put vinyl flooring over it instead of a high-pile carpet.

3. Can you put temporary flooring over the carpet?

Vinyl planks are an excellent option for temporary flooring, and they can be easily installed over carpets as well. You can snap and lock the planks on the existing floor by using an interlocking tongue and groove installation system.