Installing Kahrs Engineered Floors Over Vinyl

Q: I am thinking of installing an engineered wood floor in my kitchen – Kahrs brand – can we install the wood flooring directly over the vinyl or does the vinyl need to be removed and an underlayment used. This is a second floor installation.
Thanks for your assistance.
Lisa
A: As long as the vinyl is still in good condition, you should be fine to install a floating floor over it, but I would be safe and use a moisture barrier. Since you are installing on the 2nd level of your home, moisture barrier is not necessary, but again it can be a precaution. Although not necessary if this is roll vinyl, I would use it anyway as it will be the cheapest insurance you’ll ever buy should something unfortunate occur where moisture seeps up through the vinyl from the subfloor.
If the vinyl is in poor condition, such as raising at seams or damaged in places you will want to remove it and any glue residue before installing your Kahrs floor. Keep in mind, with all floating installation you must use an underlayment.
If you intend to install this floor using glue or nails, you must remove the vinyl and all residue from the vinyl’s adhesive before installing the wood floor. The good news here is that Kahrs make some excellent floating engineered floors and you should have great success with their product. As I always suggest, use a premium underlayment rather than less expensive foam underlayments to get a better sound and feel from your floor, as well as a longer life span from the underlayment.
A quick note from Tammi L. a member of iFLOOR.com’s online sales team:

I always tell people in this case that another reason to remove the vinyl is they are adding height to their flooring by keeping it. Also- some installers will tell them if their is vinyl down they can forgo using an underlayment, which I do not agree with.