Can You Carpet Over Laminate Flooring? (Do This First!)
Do you have laminate flooring in your home that’s looking a bit outdated? We all know that the style of our homes can change, but it’s important to make sure that your floors are also up-to-date. Can you carpet over laminate flooring though?
It is recommended that you do not install carpet over a laminate floor. Carpeting would dull the surface of the laminate to a mirror-like finish, and it may pull loose fibers from both materials to clog your vacuum cleaner’s suction.
Laminate flooring has been around for quite some time and while it might be outdated, there are ways to update them. We’ll show you how and what your options are for this.
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Here’s a Quick Pro Tip!
When it comes to laying anything over laminate flooring, vinyl tiles are your best option. Carpet usually is a bad idea because it buckles and gives other issues.
Amazon has some beautiful and affordable options for vinyl tiles that you can get to make your floors look great!
Can You Carpet Over Laminate Flooring?
You should not carpet over laminate flooring. The reason for this is not only will the carpet be damaged, but your laminate flooring could also sustain damage in the process.
This is because carpets do not have a smooth surface and if there are any depressions in it or lumps underneath them, they can cause slight warping of the laminate flooring – which means the surfaces won’t meet up properly and can cause cracks in the laminate flooring.
There is also a high chance that the glue holding the carpet to your subfloor will react badly to the glue holding together your laminate flooring and buckle or lift the laminate flooring off of its surface.
If this happens, it would be very difficult (and expensive) to fix, leaving you with a damaged laminate flooring installation.
There are other, better options that you can use instead of carpeting over laminate flooring.
For example, consider using vinyl tiles (which are like large stickers) or even real tiles if the subfloor is very sturdy and safe to use with them – just be sure to check with an expert before doing so to make sure that the subfloor can handle them.
If you’re deciding between carpeting over your floor or just leaving it bare, know that installation with an underlayment can cost up to 2/3 of what it would have if you were installing new carpet without any sort of subflooring.
A vinyl tile floor installation could cost about 1/2 what it would for new carpet installation with no underlayment, so you may want to weigh the options carefully.
Carpeting over laminate would also be a bad idea because of moisture and mold dangers. In order to avoid the problem of mold, know that cork underlayment is a better choice than felt or latex.
You should also know that it’s very hard to carpet directly onto a wood floor. Laminate is a good option for bathrooms and kitchens, but not in the same room as your carpeted living areas.
If you were going to go with shag carpeting in this case, make sure you have a large enough padding underlayment.
You might also enjoy our post on How Much Does It Cost to Dye Carpet?
What Flooring Can You Put Over Laminate?
If you want to know the types of flooring that can go over laminate, there are a few options to choose from.
Laminate flooring can be installed under vinyl tiles, saving money on installation costs. Linoleum would work as well if it were pre-laid or glued down beforehand.
Vinyl or stained linoleum are wonderful alternatives to wood that could be put over your laminate subfloor too – just make sure the type of material you settle on has enough space around its edges so peeling off won’t occur after installation.
You can try to place flooring that does not require adhesives between the boards. This includes vinyl flooring, linoleum, and cork.
However, the laminate will affect how these types of flooring interact with subfloor imperfections. Some will buckle; others may give easily.
It’s also possible to use high-quality vinyl planks as a finish on top of your existing laminate floor.
What Flooring Can You NOT Put Over Laminate?
You can not put carpeting over laminate flooring. Carpeting has a very high pile height that is incompatible with laminate flooring.
Laminate flooring is meant to look like hardwood floors, but it’s made of layers of plastic resin, paper, and real wood. The use of carpets means extra padding under the carpet which could cause warping or swelling to the laminate.
The easy answer is, you can’t carpet over laminate flooring. If you really want to put down carpeting in a place where there is also laminate, look for low-pile carpeting made of nylon fibers that won’t cause problems with your gorgeous new laminate flooring.
Do not try to place tile or stone over your existing laminate. You cannot seal them properly, and they will separate after a short period of time. It is also difficult to cut and install them properly.
It is best to start with bare flooring. You can use pre-finished laminate as a surface, but you may want to consider using tile if you need additional strength for heavy traffic areas like hallways.
How Do You Attach Carpet to Laminate Flooring?
If you want to install carpet on a laminate floor, it is possible to do so with the help of a few tools and some strong adhesive.
- Step One – Make sure that you have a sharp blade on your utility knife.
- Step Two – Measure the area where you want to put the carpet and then cut out the shape of the rug.
- Step Three – take the adhesive and cover both surfaces of laminate with it before laying down the rug.
- Step Four – Finally, use a roller and rollover your newly laid down rug and keep pressing for five minutes before letting it sit overnight to dry.
Once it has dried, you can vacuum and then use a special laminate cleaner to remove any adhesive that may be left on the rug.
If you choose not to do this procedure, then you will need to purchase a laminate flooring cleaning kit from your local home improvement store or hardware store.
That way, when you spill things on it, you can just clean them up instead of trying to remove the glue.
When you are choosing your carpet, choose one that is made for laminate or engineered flooring. You can usually find these at home improvement stores or online buy retailers like Amazon.
You might also enjoy our post on Can You Put a Carpet in the Dryer?
Final Thoughts
Carpeting over laminate is usually not a great idea. You risk warping the laminate underneath, and the carpet also tends to move around.
If you really want to put down carpeting in a place where there is also laminate, look for low-pile carpeting made of nylon fibers that won’t cause problems with your gorgeous new laminate flooring.
In conclusion, you cannot carpet over laminate. You also need to adhere carpeting with an adhesive that’s compatible with both surfaces, and the carpet needs to be low-pile to avoid any issues with warping or separation.
