Hardwood floor on top of the existing hardwood floor?

Question

We have a 3 level building with hardwood floor and you can pretty much hear every little impact sound upstairs, although airborne sound is not a problem somehow. We are thinking about putting in an underlay (RB rubber), and then a new hardwood floor on top of it. Basically we want to do it an efficient way, cost and time wise. Does anyone have a better idea?
Thank you in advance.

Thank you in advance.

Melaself · Answer

No. Sounds like an excellent idea to me. When we built our two story I researched about limiting sound. Found out that the major cause of the sounds is lack of insulation in the ceiling of the room below. So we added insulation before we put up our downstairs ceiling and we have next to no sound from walking on the upstairs floor. Your rubber underlayment should provide a bit of insulation. Maybe all you need.

Jojo · Answer

Thanks, Melaself. I guess my question is if it a good idea to put the underlayment and hardwood floor ON TOP of the existing hardwood floor?

SLS Construction & Building Solutions LLC · Answer

Floating laminate floor or real hardwood? If hardwood how do you plan on attaching hardwood. How good of shape is the existing hardwood? Does the manufacturer or flooring company state that the rubber is acceptable or void the warranty?

Many floating laminate floors have an underlayment course which will help reduce sound and also help to protect the original. Have you considered cork or even area rugs?

Debbie Gartner · Answer

I doubt this will work. The source of the sound is the existing flooring/subfloor. If you add an underlayment, it will reduce the sound transmission from the new floor, but do nothing about the existing sound which is below that. Also, if your floor is uneven (which is likely if you have a lot of creaking), the new floor won't be very secure and will bounce and cause additional noise.

Best way to reduce the sound issue (and this is not a cheap option) it to rip up existing flooring and subfloor and replace both). 2nd best way is probably to rip up ceiling (from floor below) and add in some sort of sound insulation.

You also may want to try area rugs. http://TheFlooringGirl.com

Deb K · Answer

Hi Jojo, Yes, you can install over an existing wood floor, provided it meets some important conditions. Then, be sure the existing floor is flat, clean, dry, structurally sound, free of squeaks and free of protruding fasteners. An existing floor used as a subfloor has the same flatness requirements as any other subfloor.

Johnavallance82 · Answer

Hello, I think if It was me, I would ask around a few Flooring specialists for their advice and a price to do the job. I would ask all the necessary questions and would decide whether I wanted to do the job myself or ask the experts to do it. It would all depend on the cost, the time it would take and the disruption it would cause and of course whether I had the skill to do it myself!

Mogie · Answer

Installing a new hardwood floor over an existing hardwood floor is a good decision. The existing hardwood floor can act as a solid and secure subfloor that will work well. As long as you prepare things properly, an existing hardwood floor is a better subfloor than plywood or other subfloor options.

Proper planning is imperative if you want to avoid any problems that could occur during the installation process and after the floor is installed. Perhaps the most important step in the process is to thoroughly inspect the existing hardwood floor and weed out any problems that exist.

Kmdreamer · Answer

You could also insulate your selling with the stuff they blow in that will help it.

Hardwood floor on top of the existing hardwood floor?

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