Can I Glue Down Carpet on a Vinyl Floor?

Inspect Your Vinyl Flooring

• Your carpet installation can be only as sound as the vinyl flooring you lay it on. A vinyl subfloor doesn’t have to be picture-perfect, but big problems must be fixed. Replace any vinyl tiles or sections of sheeting that have holes or cracks that are wider than 1/8 inch. Check the edges of sheet and tile flooring for any sections that are lifting up off the floor. Reglue any small lifted sections. Large areas of popped-up vinyl sheeting indicate a moisture problem in the subfloor. Contact a contractor to identify and solve the problem before you glue down the carpet. Do not attempt to sand, scrape or otherwise physically alter vinyl asbestos tile. If you must make extensive repairs to vinyl asbestos tile, contact a professional contractor.

Strip the Vinyl

• The carpet’s adhesive is designed to stick firmly to whatever surface you apply it to. Ideally, that is the surface of the vinyl, where it will form a lasting bond. Vinyl is often covered with a surface layer of wax or other finishes. If carpet glue is applied to these finishes, the bond will be impermanent. Over time the carpet may buckle and lift. Remove these finishes with a floor stripper approved for use on vinyl flooring before installing the carpet. Use minimal water and rinse after you clean. Allow the floor to dry for at least 24 hours before you apply the carpet.

Choose the Right Type of Glue

• The carpet glue you use must be listed as safe to use on vinyl flooring. Use only the adhesive sold or recommended by the carpet's manufacturer. If the manufacturer-recommended carpet glue is unavailable or not cleared for use on vinyl, choose the highest-quality carpet adhesive you can find as a substitute. One that comes with an expert’s recommendation is best. Before you buy, call the carpet's manufacturer to get the go-ahead on the adhesive you intend to use. An inferior or unapproved adhesive may quickly undo your hard work. The carpet’s manufacturer's warranty won’t cover any problems that occur when unapproved adhesives are used.

Install a Layer of Padding

• According to the Flooring Guide, the best way to secure carpet to vinyl flooring is to double-stick it. Double-sticking involves gluing a layer of carpet padding directly to the vinyl floor. The carpet is then glued on top of the layer of padding. According to the floor care experts at the Bane-Clene Institute, this extra layer of protection “virtually eliminates the potential for wrinkles, buckles, seam peaking, split seams and shrinking” even in high-traffic commercial buildings. You can glue carpet directly to vinyl flooring. But unless the carpet manufacturer specifically recommends direct gluing, skipping the padding layer may shorten the life span of the bond between the carpet and the vinyl flooring beneath it.

Moisture Test

• Some vinyl floors are moisture permeable. The moisture that seeps up from the substrate and through the vinyl flooring evaporates once it reaches the surface. A layer of carpet or other covering will trap the moisture and disintegrate the glue's bond and damage the carpet. Have your vinyl floor moisture tested before you glue the carpet down. Relative humidity meters are the most reliable tools for testing precise moisture levels. Your vinyl flooring's humidity levels must be below 85 percent to be suitable for carpet installation. However, relative humidity meters require you to drill through the vinyl flooring and into the substrate beneath. For a simpler but less precise test, fold and lay a garbage bag over roughly 1 square foot of the vinyl floor and tape down the edges to create a seal. Check underneath the garbage bag for moisture accumulation. Three or four bags placed at different areas of the floor will provide an accurate measurement. If no moisture is present, it is safe to lay carpet. If moisture is present, contact a contractor for advice on moisture sealing or other flooring options.