LESLIE: Buddy in Alabama is on the line and has a floating floor to put over tile. How can we help you?
BUDDY: Yes. I just put a shower in, in the master bathroom. I’m looking to change the floor out. I have tile on the floor. Now, I didn’t want to pull the tile up and put new tile down. I want to leave that tile there.
TOM: So you want to know if you can go on top of the old tile, Buddy?
BUDDY: Yeah.
TOM: So, the new tile that you’re going to put on, what size is it and what …?
BUDDY: Well, it’s not tile, actually. She was thinking of a vinyl something that’s coming out. They’re coming out …
TOM: Well, there’s different types of vinyl products that can be used for a floating floor to put over tile. If you’re talking about extruded vinyl plank – the EVP flooring – you know, look, if the bathroom floor is solid, it doesn’t have any unusual movement, it’s not rotted around where the toilet is mounted – sometimes you get softness there or at the edge of the tub. If it’s generally solid, there’s no reason you couldn’t put a floating floor on top of that. And if you’re thinking about vinyl, I’d take a look at the extruded vinyl plank. It’s called EVP flooring. It’s a plank floor that can look like wood or look like tile but it’s incredibly durable and 100-percent waterproof. It’s neat stuff.
Go to a local Lumber Liquidators store; you can see it in person. Or check it out online and I think you’ll be …
BUDDY: Home Depot or Lowe’s?
TOM: Yeah. Or I think you’ll find it in most major retailers but EVP is the type of floating floor to put over tile.
BUDDY: The grout underneath or anything?
TOM: No, you may have to put a thin underlayment on top of that but then it can float, basically lay on top of the old floor.
BUDDY: But I’ve got to cover the seams. In other words, put something there to level it out?
TOM: Well, is the floor a flat-tile floor now?
BUDDY: Oh, it’s – yeah, it’s solid.
TOM: Yeah, you don’t have to worry about the grout lines, no. This is going to float. It’s just going to lay on top of the floor. It literally floats; it doesn’t get attached to the floor. It literally floats in place and you put trim around the outside edge to cover it.
BUDDY: OK then. I really appreciate the comments.
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