On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:08:17 -0800 (PST), wrote:

Hi all,
I am about to install a wood flooring- the glueless/nail-less kind
that just interlocks together and had a couple questions. One room
has vinyl squares over a standard concrete slab and the other is a
carpeted over a slab.
For the vinyl room: should I pull the vinyl up first (which is
easy enough to do- some of the squares just pop up with a little
pry). A guy at the store said to leave them down as the vinyl will
serve as a moisture barrier, and you can put the self-leveling glop
right on it and then the underlayment on top of that.

Personally, I would remove the vinyl. The foam underlayment serves a
moisture barrier. Will this flooring transition into both rooms?

For the carpeted room: it was just painted and if I pull the
baseboards off, in addition to the extra labor doing so and putting
them back it will no doubt require some cosmetic repair renailing,
repainting, etc. I was wondering if I can just go around the
perimeter as close as possible to the baseboards with a carpet knife
cutting the carpet. In other words, leave a little strip of carpet
directly under the baseboards. Then when I put the wood flooring in I
can cover the interface of the flooring board and the little carpet
under the baseboard with quarter round. Would sure save alot of
labor. Or is the space under the baseboards needed for expansion or
something ?

Thanks for any advice, Bob

Pull back a corner of the carpet and see if is actually installed
"under" the baseboards. Might just be tucked in at the tackless strip.

When you remove the carpet, double check for tack nails still in the
slab.

Leaving the baseboards on you can use quarter round.