Vinyl plank and laminate both float: the planks click together and rest on whatever is underneath, so the real question is whether the floor you already have is flat, solid and fastened down. Bonded ceramic or porcelain tile and firm, glued sheet vinyl can stay when they pass the checks below; carpet and another floating floor have to come out. This page goes surface by surface using manufacturer installation limits, with prices for the 8mm SPC planks in our vinyl flooring collection, a laminate alternative, and our removal rates for the floors that cannot stay. Old hardwood has its own article.
Quick answer: which existing floors can take a floating plank
Can you install LVP over existing tile? Yes, when three conditions hold together: the tiles are bonded and sound solid when tapped, the surface is flat to within 3/16 inch per 10 ft, and grout lines wider than 1/16 inch have been skimmed flush.
- Ceramic or porcelain tile: workable when the tiles are solid and the joints are flush. The floor rises by the thickness of the new plank, which matters at every door.
- Sheet vinyl or linoleum: workable when it is non-cushioned, intact and glued down. Cushioned vinyl gives too much under the plank.
- Laminate or click vinyl: take it out first. It floats too, so it is not secured to the subfloor the way the rigid-core SPC guide requires.
- Carpet: remove it. The SPC and laminate guidance both rule it out.
- Plywood or OSB: the base you reach once an old floor is gone; it needs to be fastened and flat.
Where a floor has to come out, the decision table further down puts our removal rates against one small room.
The planks: 8mm SPC and 10mm laminate prices
Both floors are sold by the box, so the per-square-foot figure is the box price divided by the coverage inside it.
| Floor | Box price and coverage | Per sq ft | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riche Driftwood Mist | $59.00 / 16.55 sq ft | $3.56 | 8mm SPC, 20mil wear layer, click-lock |
| Riche Linen Fields | $59.00 / 16.55 sq ft | $3.56 | The same plank in a different colour |
| Swiss Krono Grey Oak MV 803 | $42.83 / 17.22 sq ft | $2.49 | 10mm laminate, AC5, click-lock |
Prices checked October 6, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue, so these per-square-foot figures move only when a box price does.
What our planks need underneath
All three floors in that table float: the planks lock to each other, rest on the surface below and need an expansion gap at the perimeter instead of fasteners. A floating floor bends over whatever is under it, so the checks below are about support. The SPC boards are 7.09 inches wide and 8mm thick with a 20mil wear layer; the laminate is 10mm, or 3/8 inch.
Over ceramic or porcelain tile: four checks
Over tile, the answer depends on the tile more than on the plank. Tap across the floor first: a hollow sound means a tile has come away from the thinset, and a loose tile rocks under a floating plank until the click joint above it opens. Those tiles are re-set before anything else. Flatness comes next, measured with a long straightedge or a taut string. One rigid-core SPC installation guide puts the limit at 3/16 inch per 10 ft and says any area outside it must be sanded down or filled with a leveller.
Grout is the third check. The same guide requires grout lines wider than 1/16 inch to be filled with a Portland-based skim coat or floor leveller, so a plank does not bridge an open channel along every joint. Joints at 1/16 inch or narrower can stay as they are.
Height is the fourth check, and it is the one that shows up when a dishwasher will not slide back under the counter. Tile on thinset already sits above the slab or plywood, and an 8mm plank adds its own thickness on top. Measure at every doorway and appliance space. Once the surface is ready, our flooring installation cost guide shows how the installation itself is priced.
Over sheet vinyl or linoleum: firm and glued down
Sheet vinyl and linoleum can stay under a new plank, with one condition attached. The rigid-core guide lists non-cushioned vinyl or linoleum among the existing floors it accepts, provided the floor is intact and properly secured to the subfloor. A second SPC maker's guide says a sheet vinyl floor should have little cushion from soft underlay or substrates, because too much cushion can compromise the strength of the plank. Press a heel into it: a spongy surface or a lifting seam means it comes out, while a firmly glued sheet can take a plank straight over it.
Laminate is accepted over sheet vinyl as well. Swiss Krono's installation FAQ says laminate can be installed over sheet vinyl, and that it needs a 6mil vapour barrier if the vinyl sits on a concrete subfloor.
Our Riche Linen Fields SPC vinyl plank is the second colour in the same 8mm construction at $59.00 per box, and the surface rules are identical whichever colour you pick.
Over laminate or click vinyl: take it up first
Putting vinyl plank over laminate is the overlay we advise against, and thickness is not the reason. Both are floating assemblies that move as one sheet, with click joints that hold only when the layer below stays still. The rigid-core guide wants an existing floor fastened down, and a floating floor is by design not fastened to anything. Stack one on the other and any cupping or soft spot in the old floor reads through to the new one.
Removal also hands the height back, so doors and appliances still fit. Taking out an existing click-lock laminate or vinyl floor is $1.30 per sq ft in a house and $1.60 per sq ft in a condo. Old hardwood is a separate case with different rules, covered in our guide to installing flooring over old hardwood.
Over carpet: remove it before any plank goes down
Carpet is the clearest case. One SPC maker's instructions rule out installing over any type of carpet, in capital letters, and Swiss Krono's FAQ says the same for laminate. Pile and padding leave the plank without a solid surface, so its joints flex with every step.
Taking the carpet out is the inexpensive part: $0.70 per sq ft in a house, $1.00 per sq ft in a condo. The rigid-core guide also requires carpet staples and adhesive residue to be removed, so tack strip and staples come up with it, and the floor below is inspected before a plank goes down. A soft panel means subfloor repair first, and our page on when a subfloor needs replacing rather than a simple repair covers how to judge that.
Onto plywood or OSB once the old floor is up
Once the old floor is gone, the plank goes onto plywood or OSB. Loose sheets get fastened first, because movement in a panel shows at the joints of the new floor, and low areas get filled, since a floating plank follows the shape of whatever is under it. Our page on subfloor flatness tolerances explains how those measurements are taken.
Swiss Krono, the maker of our Grey Oak laminate, says its floors must be installed over a subfloor that is clean, smooth and level, and its general assembly instructions cap unevenness at 2 mm per 1 metre of base. Laminate is quoted with an underlayment roll beneath it.
Overlay or tear out? A 30 sq ft decision
A 30 sq ft powder room or entry shows how the numbers sit. With the 5% waste allowance it needs 31.5 sq ft of plank, which rounds up to two boxes of 16.55 sq ft, or $118.00 of Riche SPC for the material alone; installation and delivery are confirmed at quote. If the surface fails the checks above, the table adds the removal line for the same room.
| Existing floor | What the plank needs from it | Removal on 30 sq ft, house | Removal on 30 sq ft, condo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceramic or porcelain tile | Bonded tiles, flat within 3/16 inch per 10 ft, grout wider than 1/16 inch skimmed flush | Priced after viewing | Priced after viewing |
| Sheet vinyl or linoleum | Non-cushioned, intact and glued down | Priced after viewing | Priced after viewing |
| Laminate or click vinyl | Remove it first | $39.00 | $48.00 |
| Carpet | Remove it first | $21.00 | $30.00 |
| Plywood or OSB subfloor | Sheets fastened, low spots filled | Nothing to remove | Nothing to remove |
Carpet costs less to lift than an old floating floor, $21.00 against $39.00 in a house, and both lines are small beside a second installation in a room where the plank went over a surface that could not hold it. For whole-room budgets that include installation, our vinyl plank installed cost guide works through complete room estimates.
Prep we price after viewing
Three parts of an overlay cannot come off a rate sheet, and we would rather say so than guess:
- Tile removal. There is no published rate for taking up ceramic or porcelain, so it is priced after a look at the floor.
- Levelling and patching. Low spots, high tile edges, plywood patching and self-levelling pours are measured on site.
- Glued flooring removal and door undercuts. Each depends on what is installed.
Transition strips and reducers at doorways do have published rates, so those are confirmed at quote once the doorways are counted.
Questions about installing over tile, vinyl, laminate and carpet
Can vinyl plank go over ceramic tile without taking it up?
Yes, as long as every tile is bonded, the floor meets the manufacturer's flatness limit and wide grout joints are skimmed level. A hollow or cracked tile is the exception: re-set it first, or the plank joint above it can work loose.
Can I put vinyl plank over laminate?
Not as a lasting floor. Laminate rests loose on its underlay rather than being fastened down, so new planks on top would sit on a layer that shifts by itself. Pulling it up adds $1.30 per sq ft to a house job, or $1.60 per sq ft in a condo.
Can laminate go over an existing sheet vinyl floor?
It can, provided the sheet is firm, stuck down and has little cushion. On a concrete slab, Swiss Krono calls for a vapour barrier as well, and laminate jobs in our quotes include an underlayment roll.
Why can't a floating floor go over carpet?
Carpet pile and pad compress under load, so the plank has nothing firm beneath it and the locking edges bend each time someone walks across. The SPC and laminate instructions quoted above both exclude carpet as a base.
Does a floor laid over tile raise the height at a doorway?
It adds close to the thickness of the new board, so an 8mm SPC plank or a 10mm laminate changes the floor level at the threshold. Door undercuts are priced after viewing, the transition strip is confirmed at quote, and a step too tall for a reducer is a sign the old floor should come out.
Get an overlay or removal quote in Toronto and the GTA
Send us photos of the floor and your room sizes, along with the building type, and we will tell you whether the surface you have can stay. You can request a quote online, or browse the SPC vinyl plank range first.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819