Rather than remove the ugly (but in good shape) vinyl in our basement,
I am thinking
of putting engineered wood on top of it. Would vinyl work well as a
vapor barrier? Would you
suggest placing anything between the vinyl and the engineered wood?

What about doing the same in the kitchen? Moisutre is not a problem in
the kitchen but I'm not too excited about the thought of removing vinyl
and would prefer to leave it in place.

Those engineered wood (cardboard panels with a sticker on top) usually
require some type of padding underneath. I put the Pergo with the
padding already attached in the kitchen of our last house. Went in
easy, but I was very unhappy with it.

It did make the room look better since we were in a *starter* home, but
I wouldn't use it again. The panels would occasionaly slide apart,
maybe because it was installed over smooth linoleum instead of plywood.
It was also nearly impossible to clean becasue it would always get
water spots like when you don't dry your car after you wash it.

Maybe there are better products out there now. Do whichever room is
smaller to see if you like it. Ceramic tile is cheaper and not much
harder to install.

The vinyl should work as a vapor barrier, but an underpad is still
required to soften the feel and noise.

I did 3 basement rooms (on a subfloor), the laminate was $.79 per
sq.ft. and it looks really pretty good.

Todays laminates snap together pretty tightly on all 4 edges - so
there should be no gaps - ever.

It does show dust, and it feels like laminate (hard, uniform and
smooth).

Still it was the right choice for me.

"RayV" wrote in message
oups.com...
Those engineered wood (cardboard panels with a sticker on top) usually
require some type of padding underneath. I put the Pergo with the
padding already attached in the kitchen of our last house. Went in
easy, but I was very unhappy with it.

Pergo is laminate. What you describe is a laminate. Engineered wood is all
wood, a plywood type base and the finished wood on top. Yes, it does
require a pad.

"Hogwild" wrote in message

Todays laminates snap together pretty tightly on all 4 edges - so
there should be no gaps - ever.

But he is not doing laminate. He wants to know about engineered wood. Some
are glued.

I stand corrected.