Carpet over laminate?

[Tom Barker]

Hi, I have a carpet question.

We just moved into this flat. The living-room/dining area is floored with cheap laminate. We want to carpet it. Do we have to remove the laminate or can the carpet be satisfactorily laid over the laminate?

One carpetfitter says laminate must be removed because otherwise it may buckle and warp, ruining the fit of the carpet. Another carpetfitter made no objection when I said we'd rather not bother taking up the laminate.

The trouble with taking up the laminate is that after it was put down, some pipes were boxed in and a cupboard was built. This is going to cause problems in removing the laminate.

Any ideas?

[Grunff]

It really depends on the thickness of the laminate, and how well it was laid.

I've seen some laminate that's 3mm thick. Sounds unbelievable, but it's true. At that thickness, it *will* move around and buckle.

If your laminate is say 8mm+, and a reasonable job was done of fitting it (it feels solid to walk on, and shows no sign of buckling anywhere), then there should be no problems with laying carpet on top of it.

[Mary Fisher]

Why should it?

Why should there be any more problem with laying carpet on thin laminate?

Mary

[Grunff]

Because thin laminate does buckle and break up over a fairly short period of time - regardless of whether it has carpet on top or not.

[Mary Fisher]

The OP didn't say that it IS buckled, only that he'd been advised that "it may buckle and warp" if carpet was laid on it. I can't understand why laying a carpet on it should cause it to buckle and warp, if the laminate has been correctly fitted.

Ours was cheap, it's perfect after three years but it was well laid by Spouse. There's no carpet on it, we used laminate because we didn't want carpet.

Mary

[Tom Barker]

Because at the moment the laminate is "floating". It can expand and contract as it needs to. If carpet is laid on top, the carpet has to be gripped into place. That means that the laminate beneath is also fixed, and can't expand and contract as it needs to.

That's the explanation the carpetfitter gave me. I just don't know if he's right or not.

[Mary Fisher]

Umm. I imagined a loose carpet ,sorry.

How would the carpet be fixed? I mean, would it be fixed to the laminate? That surely wouldn't be substantial enough.

Mary

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If you have wood or chipboard floors simply staple or tack the underlay through the laminate down to the original floor. Leaving it in place will help with sound and heat insulation. If the floor is concrete - pass.

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , Tom Barker writes

I have had carpet laid over the cheapest laminate since 2001. Underlay is Cloud 9 Cumulus, and the carpet is gripped at the edges.

Absolutely no problem whatsoever.

The first guy is pulling your plonker, although I cant imagine why?