Q: I have an older home and when we first moved in back in 1991 we put a 6 x 6 ceramic tile in our kitchen for flooring. After removing all the carpeting from the rest of our home, we found we had oak flooring. We have sanded and refinished all the other floors. I want to put pergo flooring in the kitchen now and was wondering if this could be installed over the current tile floor. We have a couple of older dogs who are not very active . I don’t relish the thought of having to remove the existing tile floor in order to put in the pergo. Is this possible or is there another type of floor that could be installed. I really want the look of wood as I have recently completed interior decorating in the English country look. Thanks for help.
Millie C.
A: Installing a floating floor, such as Pergo, over tile is possible, but it is heavily dependent on the condition of the tile. If you have any severely cracked or loose tiles, you will want to remove those tiles and fill the with an appropriate leveling compound. It is also suggested to level out the grout lines with the tile as much as possible, this typically involves roughing up the surface of the tile to allow a compound to properly adhere, then pouring self-leveling compound over the tiles and troweling it to make it as even as possible.
Now if all of the tile is in good condition and the difference in height from the grout to the top of the tile is 1/16″ or less, than you can simply install right over the top. The key to making this successful would be to use a very good underlayment. Cheaper foam underlayments, such as combination underlayments or a majority of the manufacturer’s suggested underlayent will cause a bit more noise from the floor and will feel less solid.
When installing over tile I suggest using 3mm cork at a minimum. Cork’s density will make the floor walk far better and provide better support in accounting for the grout lines. Another alternative would be to use a dense, modified underlayment like Sound 6. Regardless of your underlayment choice, I would suggest using a vapor barrier as a safety net. If the subfloor under the tile is concrete, you must use a vapor barrier.
The key to making this project work is taking time to ensure your tile is not loose, and is in good shape, then ensuring any leveling work is done to make your subfloor as flat as possible before installing the floor.
