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HOW TO | JEANNE HUBER

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2.We have a small kitchen that is in need of a new vinyl floor. The catch is the refrigerator: For reasons that are complicated, it can be moved within the kitchen but not out of it while we install new flooring. We've found a vinyl tile that we want to use. Should we pull up the old flooring or put the new on top of it?

Silver Spring

It depends on the kind of vinyl now on the floor. If it's firm and intact, you can probably install the new tiles directly on it. If the old flooring has texture, fill the voids first by troweling on an embossing leveler, or the texture will eventually telegraph through into the new tiles.

However, if your existing vinyl is loose or damaged, you should remove it or cover it. If it was made before 1972, it could contain asbestos, so have it tested before you start ripping it up. Good instructions on how to get the test and ensure safe removal are available by searching under "vinyl flooring" at the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency's Web site, http://www.pscleanair.org.

If you opt to leave loose flooring in place, cover it with quarter-inch-thick underlayment-quality plywood, then install the new flooring. Underlayment-quality plywood doesn't have interior voids, so it remains firm wherever a chair leg might press down. Don't use particleboard underlayment in a kitchen because the material will swell if it gets wet.

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