How many of us fellow renters have dreamt this very same idea: covering up an ugly rental unit carpet with wood flooring? Is it even possible? Seattle renter, Sumit Basu, covered up his low pile apartment carpet with a snap-in laminate floor, sharing tips of the process with a how-to video documenting the upgrade process...
Bored with the dark, bland, low-pile carpet in my living room, I decided to install a "wood" (laminate) floor to cover part of my living space. The challenge, though, was that this is a rental, so I couldn't damage/remove the existing carpet. This video shows how I did it, from the initial strategy to how to cut and assemble the pieces and finish the boundary between the laminate area and the carpeted area. Note that if you're planning on doing this in your own place, you should check with your landlord first to make sure it's okay.
Sumit's results are admittedly impressive, as there's nearly nothing disheartening to a renter than ugly rental carpet (the gift that keeps on giving). But there would definitely be concern about the long term condition of keeping a floating surface over carpet if humidity (and thus, mold) is an issue, alongside the inevitable warp/flex which would appear due to foot traffic. Also, if and when a liquid is spilled, the possibility of seepage through to the sub-flooring (the once detested carpet underneath) could cause issues.
And make sure you're working with a hard laminate product, not the popular vinyl TrafficMaster Allure, unless you're desiring the sensation of walking on marshmallows.
All these concerns spell out, "proceed with caution", with a special note to ask your landlord first about doing anything flooring related. You might be surprised and discover your landlord agrees it may be time to pull out the 70's orange carpet in your living room and replace it with something new and properly installed.
Video and images: Sumit Basu
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I think I have a new hero. I've been (not so secretly) loathing the carpet in my apartment for months.
yes ...why not just ask the landlord if you can replace the rug ?? really seems crazy
That's an interesting idea and it looks nice, however:
1. You should never install laminate flooring over carpet.
2. Why would anyone spend that kind of money on a home they don't own?
Most landlords would work out a deal to knock off some of your rent if you install new flooring properly and leave it...it'd save you money on the total cost and it's not like you'd really be taking that floor with you anyway.
I'm feeling like this is a bad idea. The flooring will start to buckle and warp within weeks (even over a very flat carpet), leaving you without a real way to take it with you and re-install in another rental or home and being a complete waste of money.
Asking your landlord for a new, cleaner carpet if dirt is the issue or for an allowance from the rent to have the carpets professionally cleaned is a better idea.
I don't care where people live, how much money they have for rent, etc, nobody can afford to waste money and I'm afraid this is like throwing money (and effort) right out the window!
Basu=my hero!
I still maintain that going the route of proposing doing significant work on a rental unit to a landlord is dicey business.
I see Dewey's point about tossing money away, but there's thousands of dollars of difference and years of saving between buying a home and a modest investment to make your rental nice, especially if you're planning on staying a few years. For me, putting a wooden floor over nasty rental carpeting would save me thousands in talk therapy.
Buy RUGS! You can take them with you, when you move to an apartment with hardwood floors.
Ugh, this seems like an amazingly terrible idea. I can't imagine a landlord who would agree to this.
I think this is great, but would definitely put down some sort of waterproof layer between the panels and the carpet to prevent mold. Some landlords won't budget/don't care, and if you are planning on staying put for more than a few years I definitely think it's worth it, carpet is so icky and rugs can't always help that.
I think it would be less trouble and expense to simply rent a another apartment with wood floors when the lease expires.
Worst idea ever...
easily the dumbest thing I've ever seen posted here.
How can the click-in seams possibly hold up over time when the floor is installed on a non-solid surface? I disagree with this install on so many levels...
Agree.... not convinced by a long shot that this even remotely approaches a sensible thing to do.
most laminate flooring is no more than 3/8" thick. they have very thin and fragile click locks, we're not talking about 3/4" hardwood with a nice thick tongue and groove to keep them together, we're talking about a super thin click lock which will eventually crack/split/break away from the lack of a solid base surface.
I agree with others, chances are you will not take the flooring with you to the next place (you've already cut up pieces to fit your specific layout). A better approach would be asking a landlord if you can remove the carpet and install it, you're paying for the floor anyways. If I was a landlord with a unit that had old/cheap carpet and a tenant was offering to put in a new floor (even if it is also cheap laminate), i'd definitely let them as long as I could supervise the installation and it it was in fact an improvement upon the space (which from the pictures of this project appear they would have been). As said above, some landlords may even cut you a deal on rent or split some of the costs with you.
I'm temporarily living in an apartment with horrible carpet. I won't be here long enough to ask for new carpet, plus I have cats. So I ran a carpet runner over the hallway and found for $20 on Kijijiji a nice 8'x10' rug that covers the majority of the living area. This is what I'd do even in a longer term rental.
I hate carpet, but I agree with SkylarkMelody; carpet is the way to go if you want any hope of quiet if your housing unit is next or above or below someone else's.
I once "installed" linoleum in my apartment bathroom over tile. It was the ugliest puke-green and brown splattered tile you've ever seen. I can't imagine why anyone ever installed it, unless their idea was to make sure someone could have an "accident' in the bathroom without anyone noticing.
It was a small space, so I just cut it as perfectly as I could and then taped the whole edge down with double sided tape. Worked fine, was cheap, and was easy to remove when I left.
I actually think throwing a vinyl or linoleum over a truly god-awful carpet wouldn't be that bad an idea if the space was small - I knew someone who did that where her apartment kitchen area was, and it actually felt great to step on.
I would also buy some cool throw rugs and take them with me when I leave. Less fuss, less muss and I like the warmth and funkiness area rugs can bring in...
After living in Seattle for a few years, I can say this is a horrible idea. There is a lot of moisture in the area and very few walls are insulated. After leaving a bag against an outside wall for several months in my bedroom, I picked it up to discover mold was growing on it. I can't imagine how much mold will grow on that carpet.
At last someone finally proved my point, that carpet can be covered by hard flooring, even the nicest area rugs cannot cover the hideous carpet and stains in my apartment, I can't wait to try this in my home.
We recently installed laminate in our place, and I was surprised to see on the installation instructions that came with the laminate that they claimed you could install it over carpet. I would have used a moisture barrier, though. And I don't know if they were promising the carpet would be in great condition when you removed the laminate later.
He is sooo spicy hot.
I'm pretty sure theres carpet under my laminate floor in my rental. Its kinda strange that the landlords didn't just rip up the carpet but eh, I haven't noticed any ill effects.
Is there any way to submit this post to "Ask this Old House"--I'm convinced that one of them may have a heart attack upon seeing this...
Hi all, this is Sumit, the author of that video above. Thanks so much for posting about my video, and for those who are wondering about the durability, I've had the flooring installed for about a year and a half now and have had no problems with buckling or moisture whatsoever (I've lifted up portions to check). I asked my building managers about it beforehand - I would recommend doing the same if you're planning on trying this - and they didn't have an issue with it as long as I promised to take it out when I leave, which will be easy since it's not attached to the carpet in any way. All in all, I spent about $300, well worth it in my opinion for a much more pleasant living room :)
It's good to hear from the original author of the video regarding longevity. I'm actually planning on doing this in my rental because when I moved in there was a 20 year old commercial off white carpet down. The landlady was going to remove and replace it before I moved in but in return for us being allowed to bring out puppy she left it. She also cuts me a nice deal on the rent so I wouldn't be able to beat the price I pay looking elsewhere for somewhere with nice floors and as I plan to move in about 4 years it only needs to last that long. For £250 I am happy to lay over carpet as it's cheeper than renting a cleaning machine every three months and the final condition of the carpet isn't important (though I will damp proof it). I think that if can do laminate correctly then definatly do it, laying over a carpet if you don't need to is lazy and silly but if it's only a short(ish) term fix for somewhere you can't remove the carpet then it's not a bad idea.
Great idea. I will give this a go once i move into my next place.
I am so glad this can be done! And for you naysayers, units with carpet are often significantly cheaper, and finding an apartment is just like a house - you often don't find every single requirement on your list. I'm moving into a building that has a variety of floors (wood, stained concrete, carpet) in the units. My unit is close to $100 less per month because it has carpet. The carpet is newer, but it's grey and my entire house is furnished in tan colors. My options: buying all new furniture/decorations v. paying an extra $100/month for 12+ months v. $500 to install laminate.