DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

I currently have a hardwood parquet flooring fitted. It’s been there for decades (I’m told by previous owner), I get the feeling this will be near impossible and very expensive to remove.

Are there any risks or issues with me fitting standard flooring on top of it?

There is nothing wrong with this at all. As long as the parquet is showing no signs of damp and is nice and flat, it should be a perfect substructure to lay a new floor on.

You will create a step up into rooms with the new flooring in, due to the extra thickness you are adding to the floor. Any damp should be addressed before covering.

Also as a thought, have you considered hiring a sander and refinishing the parquet flooring? Tough work, but well worth the effort. Or at the very least, don't glue down your new floor, so the next owner of the property can have the pleasure of uncovering it.

Hope this helps.

Will I need to lay a damp proof Membrane over it or will standard fibreboard underlay be enough? I don't have any damp issues in the house at the moment.

Just been doing some research about the topic and it seems to depend on the age of your property.

if it was built before the 60's it may not have a damp proof membrane (DPM) beneath the slab and this may cause issues.

Here's an interesting article

http://www.fitmywoodfloor.co.uk/why-you ... uet-floor/

Basically, if you know your house has a DPM, it should be fine.