Engineered HW over carpet-to-tile

Flooring Forum - DIY & Professional

Help Support Flooring Forum - DIY & Professional:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

six50joe

New Member
Joined
May 20, 2019
Messages
3
Location
New York
For years now we've been wanting to install a new floor that currently spans from our carpeted living and dining area to the kitchen area, which is tiled.

I had been looking at a product like the Bruce Hydropel, for its ability to resist spills for 36 hours.

The attached photo shows what's under the carpet and where it currently transitions to the tile, which is 7/16".

The first question is: can this flooring be floated over the tile? The question is not really whether or not I 'can'- it's whether or not I'd need to put down an underlayment, would it feel solid when being walked on, and most importantly whether the added height would pose a major issue with thresholds like the front door (in attached photo). I'm not worried if I need to plane down doors to adjacent rooms a little, but front door is more of a concern.

Second question is about the transition from the bare subfloor is to the tiled area- would that be just a matter of putting down another subfloor (plywood) to match the tile level?

If what I'm looking to do is not a good way to go, alternate suggestions would also be appreciated!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_7284.jpg
    IMG_7284.jpg
    117.8 KB · Views: 121
  • Threshold.jpg
    Threshold.jpg
    157.5 KB · Views: 116
  • IMG_9684_2.jpg
    IMG_9684_2.jpg
    212 KB · Views: 111
I'm mot familiar with the product. One thing for certain, the floor needs to be extremely flat. Not because it's Bruce. All wood and wood like flooring have really narrow tolerances for flatness across a given span. Like mo more then 3/16 of an inch in 10 feet.
If the tile has any height differences from one tile edge to the next, the tile will need to be floated out smooth and flat with a cement based floor patch. Same with the tile to carpet transition. The plywood you use to raise the previously carpeted areas, would need to match up to the tile very close in height, then any deviations will be floated out with filler.
 
Your front door like you mentioned might be an issue. Might have to remove the trim and raise the entire door and casing. Might be OK as-is if the combined height from the door to the current underlayment is enough. If it barely clears, you won't have room for a protective rug in the entryway.
 
Thanks highup. What is the best method for checking the flatness of the existing subfloor? Would I just lay a level on top of a board (known to be flat itself) across the floor? The spaces between the tiles are very shallow, maybe 1/8". Would they be significant enough to cause a problem, in places where they line up below the adjoining areas of the new floor?
 
A long level, not a 3 footer. I use a 6 foot length of angle aluminum. Longer would be better to some degree, but 6' works for me. A 6 inch tall strip of 3/4 inch plywood would work too, since the factory edge is straight. A 1x4 or 1x6 piece of wood from the lumber yard would work as long as it's straight. Pine is sometimes a bit crooked but it's cheaper. You just need to place boards against each other until you find a straight one. Everyone needs level, so that might be best anyway. Lust get a long one. Plastic is ok.
The gaps between the tiles aren't the real issue. It's when one tile edge is sticking up higher than the one next to it.......... visualize laying a 5 foot glass table top on the floor. If one edge sticks up 1/4 inch high or the floor has a 1/4 inch bow or wave, the glass will 'tedder todder' on that point. A dip or hollow isn't good either. Flatness is one of the more important parts of the job.
A finished wood floor that is floated over a bump or a depression can do the same thing. That isn't good for the joints let alone the feel of it moving up and down.
Do you have a link to the product you are looking at?
 
Last edited:
It's this one:
http://www.bruce.com/hydropel.html

I had been thinking of this one because I would prefer to go with a wood floor instead of a a laminate, and with my lack of experience and knowledge with many types of products available, this one as advertised uniquely tolerates spills, and is DIY friendly (interlocking). Having noted that, if there are reasons other products might be a better choice, I'd be interested in knowing the reasons why.

Thanks for the explanation on how to check for height issues. Overall, the thing that would make this project not DIY friendly is if I'd need to break up and remove all the existing tile instead of floating the floor over it. I've never had to do it before, but it sounds like it would be a lot more labor intensive than pulling up carpet, removing staples and leveling out, which I have done before.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top