Can I Lay Wood Over an Old Tile Floor?

Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romeros radio show with questions about everything from preventing chimney fires to getting rid of tree roots in their sewer systems. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona. Here are questions about home maintenance and improvement from the Tucson area.

QUESTION: We want to remodel our home, and were planning to put down laminated wood flooring. My husband is hoping that we can put the laminate on top of some very flat ceramic tile that we have in our house. Can we do that?

ANSWER: Putting laminate over an existing tile floor may sound a lot easier than ripping out the tile first, because you wouldnt have as big a mess in your home. But any good, licensed flooring contractor would discourage you from doing that. In fact, if someone tells you that you can do it, I would avoid that contractor. Among the problems you will have is that the doors in and out of the kitchen will not open properly because youre changing the thickness of the floor. You also can have problems with appliance clearances. This overlaying technique can mean trouble, trouble, trouble. And thats not to mention that there will be no warranty on the material by the manufacturer due to the unorthodox installation technique.

Q: I have a manufactured home that has very severe calcium buildup in the hot and cold water lines. Its a city-supplied water system, and my neighbors dont seem to have the same problem. The calcium really plugs up our plumbing fixtures as well. Sometimes I need to take the fittings off and blow air through the system. What can I do about this?

A: It does seem odd that only your home has this calcium buildup while the neighbors do not. You really need an on-site analysis done by a water-treatment expert, like a water softener company, in order to diagnose your problem.

Q: I read an article that said that laurel trees produce bay leaves. Is that true, and can I plant one of those trees?

A: Yes, the bay laurel is a true laurel tree that will produce bay leaves that you can use in cooking. Its a tree that does well in Tucson.

Q: I have interlocking concrete pavers on my driveway, and some of them are sinking down. How can we repair all that?

A: There are several things that could be undermining your pavers which by the way should have been laid on top of an aggregate base, often called ABC, plus a layer of sand. You could have a small fissure or crevice under the pavers or a water leak, for example. The nice feature about pavers is that you can pick them up in the area you want to repair; see what the issue is; and then put the pavers back.

However, you can avoid many problems if you hire a firm to install a driveway or patio that has workers certified to install interlocking concrete pavers. Many inexperienced installers put down too much sand. You need a good 4 inches of the aggregate base and then just an inch of sand with more sand put between the joints.

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Can I Lay Wood Over an Old Tile Floor?