Can You Lay Hybrid Flooring Over Tiles or Concrete? A Builder's Guide

Removing old tiles is dusty, slow and expensive - often $30 to $60 per square metre before a single new plank is laid. The good news is that in most Gold Coast and Brisbane homes, hybrid flooring can go straight over the top. The bad news is that it fails badly if the subfloor doesn't meet four specific conditions. Here's how we assess it.

The four checks that decide it

1. Adhesion: every tile must be firmly stuck down. We tap the floor and listen - drummy tiles have to be lifted and patched, or the whole area removed.
2. Grout lines: anything wider than about 6mm can eventually telegraph through the plank. Wide lines get skimmed or self-levelled first.
3. Flatness: manufacturers typically require 3mm over a 2m straightedge. Beyond that, the click joints flex and fail - and it voids the warranty.
4. Height: adding a floor raises the finished level. Doors, sliding-door tracks, dishwasher cavities and wet-area thresholds all need checking before, not after.

Over concrete slabs

A concrete slab must be clean, dry, flat and free of curing compounds, paint and adhesive residue. Moisture is the one people underestimate: ground-level slabs in older homes, and any slab poured in the last six months, should be moisture-tested rather than assumed dry. Where readings are high we install a moisture barrier under the underlay. Trapped slab moisture under a non-breathable floor is how you end up with mould and a warranty claim nobody honours.

Over existing timber floors

Tongue-and-groove boards and particleboard sheeting can both take a floating floor, but only when they are sound. We screw down loose or squeaking boards, replace anything rotten or borer-affected, and sheet over with plywood where the boards are cupped. In Queenslanders we also look under the house: poor ventilation or drainage will keep pushing moisture up into whatever you lay on top.

What preparation costs

• Carpet removal and disposal: $8–$15 per m².
• Tile removal and disposal: $30–$60 per m².
• Grinding back adhesive or paint residue: $15–$30 per m².
• Self-levelling compound: $25–$50 per m², plus a drying day.
• Plywood overlay on a timber subfloor: $35–$75 per m².
• Moisture barrier: $5–$12 per m².

Detailing that separates a good install from a bad one

• Expansion gaps at every wall, column and fixed cabinet - hidden by skirting or scotia, never by silicone alone.
• Intermediate expansion joints on runs longer than roughly 10–12 metres.
• Architraves undercut so planks slide beneath, rather than being scribed around.
• Set-out planned so the last plank isn't a narrow sliver against the most visible wall.
• Planks run with the length of the room or the direction of the main light source.
• Acoustic underlay upgraded where a body corporate imposes an impact-insulation requirement.
• Stair nosings glued and pinned by a carpenter, not floated.

When we recommend removing the old floor anyway

• More than a small percentage of tiles are drummy or cracked.
• The floor height gain would foul a wet-area threshold or a sliding-door track.
• The existing floor is hiding a moisture problem that needs to be solved at the source.
• You're already renovating the kitchen or bathroom and the tiles are coming up regardless.