Wood Floors: Another question.

[PaPaPeng]

I also need to redo my kitchen floor. At present it has stick on vinyl tiles that I really hate. Some of the corners have been chipped so that the damaged areas spread as more traffic goes over it. Furthermore dirt seems to stick to the tiles.

The compressed type wood flooring looks pretty good. I understanding that they are "floaters" that is they are slotted-locked in place and no glueing or toeing with brads is necessary. If this is the case can I just lay them over the existing vinyl tiles? Peeling of the tiles to expose the subfloor may mean that I will have to sand the subfloor to remove the old glue patches.

[Joe Bobst]

Of course you need a better floor than that, especially in a kitchen

Sure you can. But let's be logical here.

Here's the bottom line: the first flooring job was a hack installation and now you want to compound the problem by covering it up. Read the instructions that come with any flooring product and note the first thing mentioned is a decent substrate. So forget the shortcuts. Get the subfloor clean and level (sealer and Bondo as needed) and you won't be doing it all over in couple of years. Good luck.

Joe