Hi all,

I was hoping someone could help me here. About 5 years ago, I remodeled my kitchen an installed luxury vinyl tile on the floor. New subfloor was installed and the tile was set with vinyl tile adhesive. We are now making a couple of changes and because the tile has been discontinued, we've decided to install engineered hardwood. My question is this, when installing the new flooring (3/8", staple method) is it necessary to remove all of the old adhesive? The adhesive is still quite sticky and completely uniform. Is there any reason why I couldn't just lay the underlayment right on top of the adhesive? How imperative is it to scrape all that off? To me, it seems like it shouldn't be an issue as long as it is completely uniform, which it is. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks

It will be easier to place the flooring and to remove it when the time comes to cover the existing residue with building paper, like AquaBar.

I'm sure it can be done, but you won't get any warranty on either the materials or the installation, since the subfloor wasn't properly prepared for engineered wood. Any moisture related issues that occur down the line will be met with "you should have cleaned the old glue from the subfloor first" as an excuse to not have to pay for re and re. Some installers/manufacturers are better for warranties than others so your mileage may vary. Could have no problems - could have many problems; cover yourself and follow the right procedure to make sure you get the most for your money.

IMO 100% of the time I would make the GC or builder scrape the glue off before installing. We can't offer our warranty otherwise.

Follow any instructions for installation that come with the flooring. Be sure to get the surface that the flooring is laying on flat to within specifications. With glue residue it may be hard to get the floor clean. Just because you can flex the flooring to fit, even though the vinyl seemed to be flat, check with a straight-edge. If it is not flat,you may need to go back to the sub-floor, if there is an underlayment.

For installing engineered flooring you can use the adhesive but it wont be assurance for long term running. If you want it for long run then you should remove adhesive before and then place the flooring again. Also before using the adhesive of vinyl tile you should consult with flooring installation company as personal visit will give better idea.