On the face of it installing new carpet over the old carpet does have some advantages.
Install carpet over vct.
It saves on the cost and labor of pulling up and disposing of the existing carpet keeping carpet waste materials out of the landfill.
In some cases you can also install carpet tiles over existing wood tile or vinyl flooring so long as the existing flooring is no more than an inch thick.
Before you can install carpet tiles you must prepare the existing floor.
And if the existing carpet was glued down not tacked it can be a huge time saver to lay the new carpet over the old.
Vinyl planks are designed to resemble hardwood and can be found in a number of wood look textures such as hand scraped wirebrushed and distressed.
To glue down carpet choose an adhesive that will hold fiber or cloth to vinyl.
Installing glued carpet over vinyl.
Position a knee kicker about 1 inch away from the wall and push the teeth into the carpet.
You can lay carpet squares directly over concrete plywood and osb or particleboard subfloors as well as over vinyl tile laminate and some hardwood finished floors.
Hook the carpet ends over the tackless strip beginning at one corner of the room.
This is not recommended if you think you may want to change out the carpet at another time.
To install over vinyl you can also glue the carpet down.
The backing may eventually discolor some wood floors.
Also you ll probably have to cut down your doors so they have clearance to not rub.
Carpet tiles can adhere to concrete plywood or particleboard subfloors.
By going over the tile you ll create a height problem when it comes to marrying up with any other flooring you have in the house.
Order the carpet adding an extra 10 percent for waste.
Assess your existing floor.