I need help from all of you who have experience laying new floors over old in a kitchen remodel of a mid-60s ranch.
Subfloor is two layers of plywood with builders felt in between. By the main the subfloors seem sound. First layer of finished flooring was glued down linoleum. Some of this original linoleum was covered with carpeting, some with a high end Armstrong glued down vinyl. Some of the linoleum is still exposed. At lest where still exposed and under the carpet pad, some of the original linoleum is crumbling up, probably due to water. The sources of the water, and there were several, have been located and fixed.
I understand there are asbestos issues which you need not address here.
I would like to remove the carpet and put one unified floor covering over the entire mess which covers a utility (washer/dryer/freezer) room, kitchen, and family room.
If I cover everything with say, a quarter inch plywood, to form a new subfloor, how do I handle the transition from new floor to oak which is in the rest of the house, given occupants who need barrier free floors, so traditional reducer strips are out. And how do I handle the difference in height between the vinyl covered kitchen floor and the original linoleum in the utility room and under the carpet.
The Pergo type flooring is out, unless someone knows of a Pergo type floor which can stand up to kitchen use, can take puddles of standing water for hours at a time, and does not look like formica or have joints which do not coincide with joints in the flooring.
Tile is out.
Sheet goods are fine if the old patterns won’t “read” through the new, and there is still the issue of crumbling old flooring.
Wheelchair and appliances such as a mobile washing machine are pushed on the floor, so it must not tear when moving something heavy which has been sitting on the foor for a while.
This has to be a common problem.
I would really appreciate any suggestions or tips you may give, particularly what HASN’s worked.