One of the biggest reasons people choose hybrid flooring is that it's a floating floor — it clicks together over the top of what's already there, with no glue or nails into the subfloor. That means in a lot of homes you can lay it straight over your existing floor and skip the time, mess and cost of ripping the old one up. But "a lot of homes" isn't "every home." Here's when you can lay hybrid over an existing floor, when you can't, and what to do either way.

The three things any existing floor must be

Forget the specific floor type for a second — whatever is already down, it has to pass three tests before hybrid can go over it:

  • Sound. Firmly fixed, no movement, no lifting, no loose or drummy patches. If it shifts, the floor on top will too.
  • Flat. Within about 3mm over a 1 metre span, with no humps or dips. Hybrid follows the surface underneath, so an uneven existing floor makes for an uneven new one. Our subfloor prep guide shows you how to check and fix this.
  • Dry and clean. No damp, no mould, and swept spotless. Moisture trapped under a floating floor causes real problems down the line.

If the existing floor ticks those three boxes, you're usually good to go. If it fails any of them, see the last section.

What you can lay hybrid flooring over

Tiles. Yes — tiles make a great base, as long as they're stuck down well with none cracked or drummy. The only thing to watch is wide or deep grout lines; if they're more than a few millimetres, a quality underlay or a thin levelling skim bridges them so they don't telegraph through the boards.

Concrete slab. The most common base of all. Just check it for moisture and flatness first (again, the prep guide covers exactly how).

Existing timber floorboards. Fine, provided they're solid and screwed down tight with no spring or creak. Screw down any loose boards and sand back high joints. If the boards are very gappy or uneven, sheeting over them with plywood first gives you a clean, flat surface.

Glued-down vinyl or lino. Yes, if it's a single layer, firmly stuck down, flat and not the soft, cushioned type. If it's lifting or spongy underfoot, it has to come up.

What you shouldn't lay hybrid over

Carpet. No — pull it up. A floating floor needs a hard, stable base, and carpet and its underlay are far too soft. The boards will flex and the joints will fail.

Another floating floor. Don't lay floating hybrid over floating laminate or floating vinyl. Two floors that both move independently make for an unstable result — take the old floating floor up first.

Soft, cushioned or spongy vinyl. Same problem as carpet: too much give underneath.

Anything loose, lifting, damp or badly uneven. Fix it or remove it before you go any further.

Mind the extra height

Laying over an existing floor raises the finished height by the thickness of the new boards. It's usually only a few millimetres, but two things are worth checking before you start: whether your internal doors will still clear the new floor (you may need to take them off and plane a little off the bottom), and how the new floor will meet the floors in adjoining rooms. A reducer or threshold strip handles any change in height neatly — our guide to transition strips walks through which trim to use where.

What to do if your floor doesn't pass

If the existing floor is just uneven, the fix is usually levelling rather than removal — grind back the high spots and flood-coat the low ones, all covered in the subfloor prep guide. If it's soft, loose, damp or another floating floor, the honest answer is to take it up and prep the subfloor underneath. It's more work upfront, but it's far cheaper than laying a beautiful new floor over a bad base and watching it fail. When in doubt, pull it up — a sound subfloor is always worth it.

Keep reading

See every how-to on our guides page, or order free samples first.