How to Install Hardwood Over Carpet Padding

While no hardwood flooring manufacturer would recommend installing its product over carpet padding, there may be circumstances that make doing so a desirable option. For instance, perhaps the padding is glued to the subfloor and difficult to remove, or the subfloor needs the extra sound or heat insulation provided by the carpet padding. The installation procedure isn't much different from that for laying hardwood to a bare subfloor. Unless the padding is very thick, you shouldn't need longer cleats, but the cleats you use definitely should be barbed. The padding will compress as you drive the cleats, and the barbs will bite into the subfloor and keep it compressed.

Plastic sheeting
Staple gun
Drill
1/8-inch drill bit
2-inch ring shank nails
Hammer
Nail punch
38- by 3/8-inch wooden splines
Flooring nailer
2-inch barbed flooring cleats

Instructions

- 1
  Place a layer of plastic sheeting over the carpet padding to act as a moisture barrier, and staple it down. Carpet padding may provide insulation, but it won't prevent moisture from seeping into the flooring and warping the boards. A thin layer of plastic will perform this function without adding much extra thickness.
- 2
  Lay out the first course of flooring either along a wall or down the middle of the room, depending on the installation. If you lay it along a wall, leave a 1/4-inch gap between the flooring and the wall to allow for wood expansion.
- 3
  Drill 1/8-inch holes in the faces of the boards in pairs at 8- to 10-inch intervals and about 1/2 inch from either edge. Drill holes within an inch of either end of each board.
- 4
  Drive a 2-inch ring shank nail into each hole and use a nail punch to set the head about 1/8 inch below the surface of the board. Ring shank nails will resist pulling out better than conventional finish nails and will keep the carpet padding compressed.
- 5
  Lay the next course of flooring, staggering the ends of the boards by at least 6 inches and tapping the boards against those in the first course as you go. Nail the boards in the same way that you nailed those in the first course. If you laid the first course down the center of the room, lay the second course with the tongues facing the opposite direction and join the boards with 3/8-inch-by-3/8-inch wooden splines that fit tightly into the grooves of the boards in the two courses.
- 6
  Nail the bulk of the flooring by driving 2-inch barbed flooring cleats into the tongues of the boards with a flooring nailer. The force of driving the cleats with the nailer will compress the padding, and barbed cleats, like ring-shank nails, will resist pulling out.
- 7
  Face-nail the flooring with ring shank nails, using the procedure in Step 4, when you are installing boards too close to a wall or other obstruction to use the flooring nailer.

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