Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Laminate over half vinyl/half carpet

I have looked through the page of this forum and haven't found this situation, so thus I am posting.. :)

My wife and are considering installing laminate flooring in our kitchen/dining room area and I was hoping the I could get some ideas as to problems I may run into in this situation.

The flooring in this area is half vinyl (kitchen half) and half carpet (dining room). I understand the carpet would come up, but would I have to bring up the vinyl flooring as well? I am not sure how thick the vinyl is at this point. The house in only 6 years old, so everything is pretty new/modern.

Also, give those circumstances, would you recommend I have a professional install this floor? I am now new to home improvement, but have never installed a floor.

Thanks for your time and I hope to learn lots!

would you recommend I have a professional install this floor? I am now new to home improvement, but have never installed a floor.

If you have the patience and time DIY! Be sure to do all the research you can and use this forum...these guys are great!

No you don't need to rip up the vinyl but you may need a subfloor to bring the area under the carpet to match the kitchen subfloor (minus the vinyl). I had the same situation and after I put in the subfloor I used a leveller to smooth out the transition from the vinyl to the new subfloor.

As diyaddict said, its not a bad project at all but if you have hallways and other complicated areas, it can be frustrating. You may need to do some levelling but I doubt it if your house isonly 6 years old.

Everyone eventually gets it done.

Here's (http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=254239)a link to basically the same question asked a few days ago ~ hope that helps! in a nutshell, your vinyl flooring is much thinner than you'd think & you'll never detect the edge of it underneath your underlayment and laminate planks. think of it as a free bonus layer of underlayment!

this is a great DiY project - go for it, good luck, & have fun!

Thanks for the suggestions guys and gals! I was hoping that would be the answer because tearing up that vinyl would not be fun!

I am suprised I didn't see that thread, Annette. Thanks for pointing it out!

Thanks again.

The problem with removing the vinyl, is that unless you know that the backing contains no asbestos, it's better to leave it down and use a leveling compound to feather out the height difference. Encapsulation is still the preferred way to deal with it.