Do I need a foam underlayment or vapor barrier when installing the laminate over a) concrete, b) carpet, c) sheet vinyl or d) an existing hard wood floor?
No additional underlayment should be used since the product purchased has a pre-attached pad. Adding additional pad will void the warranty and cause the floor to have too much deflection. This adds stress to the locking system and can cause it to fail over a period of time. When installing over concrete a 6mil poly vapor barrier is required. Our product can not be installed over carpet or carpet pad so these items must be removed prior to installation. This is for the same reason adding additional pad is not recommended. Laminate can be installed over sheet vinyl but will require a 6mil vapor barrier if over a concrete subfloor. Laminate can be installed over existing hardwood floors installed over a wooden subfloor without a vapor barrier. Hardwood installed over a concrete floor must be removed prior to installing a laminate floor. Since the hardwood is not going to act as a vapor barrier one would have to be installed. If this was done by putting plastic over the hardwood it would t
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