How to Install Waterproof Vinyl Plank Flooring Without Removing Old Floor

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Today I am sharing how to install waterproof vinyl plank flooring without removing old floor in our pool house. Can you install vinyl plank flooring over tile, hardwood or laminate floors? Yes, you can! These planks click together and float on top of your old floor. The installation is so easy! Installing waterproof vinyl plank flooring in any space that may get wet, especially a pool house or bathroom, is imperative! 

Waterproof Vinyl Plank Flooring 

The original floor in our pool house before we started the remodeling project was real hardwood and parts of the floor were damaged from years of water and excessive foot traffic coming mostly from kids running in and out while swimming. We partnered with Select Surfaces for this flooring installation and purchased the Rigid Core Vinyl Plank Flooring in Reclaimed Oak at Sam’s Club.  Best waterproof vinyl plank flooring ever and I am going to show you how we installed this luxury vinyl planking right over our old floor!

Which Direction to Install Vinyl Plank Flooring?

Deciding which direction to install your plank flooring is really a matter of preference but the for me, I prefer to run the planks with the “long part” of the room. So when you walk into the pool house from our patio, the planks run horizontal. You will also save on material and time (less cuts) if you run your planks in the same direction as the longest (length) part of the room. 

Why pick waterproof flooring?

For reasons that are fairly obvious in a pool house, waterproof flooring near a pool is a must. Another reason to pick waterproof flooring is to save costs. Yes, waterproof flooring is cheaper than traditional hardwood and in most cases, it looks just as good.

Here is the finished floor completely installed.

We have used Rigid Core Vinyl Planking in 4 basement remodel projects and our pool house in 2021 and I don’t have one negative thing to say about it. It’s durable, easy to clean and ridiculously easy to install. The foam backer on the back of the vinyl plank also provides a nice cushion under the flooring. 

Waterproof Vinyl Plank Flooring Installation

When we added on the addition to the pool house, we decided to install the new vinyl plank flooring throughout to tie the old part and the new part of the pool house together.

We started our first row by marking a straight level line with a chalk line.

There was a slight transition from the old part to the new part which we leveled the floor with shims under the vinyl plank flooring. 

The vinyl plank flooring clicks together to stay in place nicely. One of the best features about this vinyl plank flooring is that it floats on top of your existing flooring making it easy to install. It’s also very easy to cut. I have a full flooring installation tutorial here of installing this same flooring (in gray) in our basement.

One trick or tip when installing vinyl plank flooring is to use a scrap piece of flooring and a hammer to tap the plank flooring into each other. The flooring is tongue and groove and installs very easily. Using a scrap piece of wood as a buffer between your hammer and flooring will prevent the hammer from damaging the flooring and ensure that the planks are tight/secure into each other. 

Installing Vinyl Plank Flooring over Plywood

For our pool house addition floor installation, we decided to go right over the plywood and over the existing hardwood floor in the “old” pool house.

This flooring can also be installed directly over concrete as well. See this basement remodel post for more information about installing vinyl planks over concrete.

The transition from the old pool house and new addition above (where Dylan is standing) is where we had to shim under the new flooring as there was a slight floor variation so the shims fixed that problem in seconds! 

Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring

Here is the pool house before with the hardwood floor (if you look close you can see the water damage from kids running in and out wet) before we added the addition. We removed the window and added a doorway to the addition.

Here is the after and current view. We still need to put a second coat of paint the top part of the new addition, touch up the trim and finish the bar area but it’s coming together! I think the old pool house looks so much better with white wall planks and ties in nicely with the new addition. 

Jim added corrugated metal panels on the bar lower wall which I think will be painted black. Do you think black would look good?

The blue blanket hanging above the bar is where a bar lift up window of some sort will be installed. The flip up window we wanted is crazy expensive so we are researching more affordable options.

Installing the new luxury vinyl plank flooring over the old hardwood floor was very easy and created a smooth traffic flow into the new addition. Now the “old pool house” and new addition look like one big space and flows nicely. 

I will be sharing a blog post soon featuring the metal accent wall which came out amazing! The beams that Jim installed were also quite the project to install so I am hoping I took enough pictures during the installation process to share a tutorial. 

I love the warmth that the new floor offers and the reclaimed lumber look adds character and visual appeal. 

Is Vinyl Plank Flooring really waterproof? 

From my experience, the Select Surfaces Rigid Core Vinyl Plank Flooring is 100% waterproof which makes this flooring excellent for basements, bathrooms, kitchens, pool houses and really any floor in your home. We installed the Select Surfaces Rigid Core Vinyl Plank Flooring in Harvest Oak over 2 years ago in our basement remodel and it’s still absolutely perfect. If you want to see that basement makeover and how much it cost, you can read that post here. 

Last month I also shared another basement makeover where we installed the morning fog (gray) vinyl plank flooring in the Split Level House (see that remodel project here).

I get a lot of emails from readers asking how our basement floor we installed 2 years ago is holding up and asking how do you clean vinyl plank flooring. To answer your questions, the floor looks as good as it did the day it was installed and I use hot water, a mop and Mr. Clean. Swiffer mops also work great for quick clean ups as well. It’s so easy to clean!  

The decorated and full reveal will be coming soon. We partnered with Endura and Masonite for the new pool house entrance door that will be installed next week! If you want to buy our vinyl plank flooring, you can find it here and the color is reclaimed oak by Select Surfaces. All of the Select Surface vinyl plank flooring products are amazing so you can’t go wrong. 

More Flooring Posts

• 1 year later, how our red oak floors are holding up
• Red Oak Floor Stains (how to pick the perfect color)
• Refinishing red oak floors lighter (see how we made red oak look like white oak!)
• Red oak vs White Oak Flooring (several pictures showing red and white oak floors)
• Installing floating vinyl plank flooring over concrete subfloor
• How to install floating vinyl plank flooring over existing floor
• Vinyl plank floating flooring basement remodel
• How to install engineered hardwood flooring with staples
• Best tips for choosing hardwood floors
• Tips on prepping your floor for hardwood

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Select Surfaces. All words and opinions are 100% my own.