LESLIE: Jean in Florida has a question about flooring. What can we help you with today?
JEAN: I ripped up the carpets and I had the Pergo flooring put down. But unfortunately, when he put the Pergo flooring down he didn’t put it down to where it was all running in one direction. You know what I mean? Like the kitchen is going one and then it’s 180 degrees opposite in the living room …
TOM: OK.
JEAN: … then 180 degrees …
TOM: So the patterns aren’t lining up.
JEAN: That is correct. (INAUDIBLE)
TOM: OK.
JEAN: Can Pergo flooring can be put down over the top of Pergo flooring?
TOM: Yeah, generally you can and – you’re talking about laminate floor and most of the flooring products today, whether it’s Pergo or Formica or Armstrong, they’re all locked together. And so you can put a second layer on top of it. However, you mentioned you’re dealing with a kitchen. Be careful around a dishwasher. You don’t want to lock that dishwasher in so that you can’t get it out when it breaks down because, believe me, it’ll break down probably the week after you put your floor in and you’ll be wondering how the heck you’re going to get out of there.
LESLIE: Yeah, but some of the laminate flooring, Tom, are meant to be locked and unlocked more than once. Like you can get a second lock out of them. It might be that type where you’d be able to reposition it, unless they’ve been cut in ways that you can’t switch it around.
TOM: How long has this flooring been down?
JEAN: Oh, just a matter of seven months.
TOM: Oh, well maybe you can disassemble it. Take a look at this. Do you have any extra pieces around?
JEAN: Yes.
TOM: See if you can figure out if it’s a lock-together type because you may be able to simply disassemble this.
JEAN: Oh yeah, they are the lock-together …
TOM: Well then, you may be able to disassemble it. You won’t have to put a second layer on it.
LESLIE: I mean as long as it’s not glued together and, you know, nailed down to the floor. If it was installed truly in a floating capacity, some of them are made to lock and unlock twice. Like you could.
TOM: Yeah. Get the guy back that put it down wrong in the first place. You shouldn’t have to do this yourself, Jean.
JEAN: Yeah.
TOM: I mean that’s just not right. Did you buy it from a flooring company? From a store?
JEAN: No, no, no. I didn’t.
TOM: Ah, well.
JEAN: Yeah.
TOM: Well, if you can get him to come back I think that you can disassemble them and put them back together as long as, like Leslie said, they’ve not been glued together.
Jean, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.
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