Self Levelling compound over laminate
Self-levelling compounds should never be applied over laminate flooring. It should all be removed to get back to a solid subfloor. Laminate flooring is easy to remove yourself, as it just clicks together.
Don’t be an idiot, rip it out and start fresh. But if you want to know the reasons why, read below.
- Laminate flooring is loose-laid, meaning that there could be movement in it. It is not held down by fixings or glue. The sheer weight of all the boards clicked together to form one uniform mass stops the floor from moving.
- Laminate flooring is normally laid on thin polystyrene underlay usually between 3-5mm thick. If this compresses down when you add the extra weight of the self-levelling compound and your finished floor covering then the self-levelling compound could start to crack!
- All Laminate flooring has MDF at its core, The laminate is only the thin plastic wear layer at the top. If moisture gets into the laminate flooring it will start to blow. You may have seen this on an old laminate floor that has seen too much action with a mop.
- You normally want your new floor to be as low as possible, so it finishes as flush as possible with any pre-existing floor coverings. You don’t want a nasty step between rooms, so rip it out!
You don’t really want flooring upon, flooring upon, flooring. But if that’s not put you off, and you are a mad man, then it might be possible. Let me know in the comments!
This is Construction after all. There is no right or wrong way to do something. If it works it works!
