Choosing flooring to install over existing ceramic tile

[epilogstudio]

Hello, I am still remodeling my control room in my studio, and I am now at the flooring.

There is existing 16x16 square ceramic tile that is very ugly. I have been using cheap and thing marine grade carpet from Lowes for the time being, but I have a dog and theres a
lot of traffic through here so it is hard to maintain and keep clean. (traps odors etc)

I know theres a lot of info on here already about floating floors but I did not come across the info I was looking for. I apologize if I missed it and hopefully its not much of a bother to ask
my questions here

I am looking at 3/8" engineered wood flooring. As far as I have read, laminate, vinyl and tile all have basically similar properties as far as reflections. My room is very well treated as far as absorption gos,
and I am not having any serious issues with mixing. So mainly I am just going for fixing the aesthetic of the room. Engineered wood looks better to me than most of the laminate wood. I am a fan of real wood
and I don't mind the wear that I would get with it, but its too thick to put in here without removing the tile and demoing the floor. Lot of work and $ and I think it would be easier to just install over the existing tile.

My question is, when looking at these flooring options, is any of these types better than the other for acoustic reflections? Engineered stuff seems to have a thicker veneer top than laminate to me, and is all ply construction (at least from the ones I am looking at), others seemed to be more compressed style like MDF with a cheap photo laminate on top, and pergo seemed to be very glossy and smooth with a thinner laminate than the engineered wood I am currently liking.

So

I just dont know if its all superficial for the application, in other words whether I use engineered wood or vinyl flooring....would it be basically the same acoustic situation with reflections?

Also, what kind of underlayment would be best to use between the tile and the flooring?

If I use engineered wood, should I use the layer of felt and then another 1/8" layer of foam or cork? and would the underlayment materials change if I decided to just use laminate or vinyl?

I am trying to keep it as thin as possible because the room is a converted den located between kitchen and hallways in the home and would prefer to have the transitioning not too extreme. Also prefer to
to use as close to real wood (aesthetically) as possible.

Thanks

Patrick

[epilogstudio]

ok so doing a lot of reading on other sites, gearslutz mainly and this whole "is this surface more reflective than this surface" debate is making me want to just throw a bunch of dirt on my floor and grow grass lol

I am thinking it really doesnt matter what I put in here, I should just pick something that looks nice and is thin enough to make a smooth transition.

But any advice is still welcome, and def any insight to the underlayment etc.....

[Soundman2020]

I am thinking it really doesnt matter what I put in here, I should just pick something that looks nice

That's pretty much it! Any of the options you mentioned will work just fine, so choose whichever one best fits your budget and aesthetic taste.

Also, what kind of underlayment would be best to use between the tile and the flooring

Basically, whatever the manufacturer recommends. When choosing, check the instructions on the packages, as each manufacturer could have different methods or requirements. Normally manufacturers specify that the sub-floor or existing floor must be flat and level, to within certain parameters. For example, it will tell you what the maximum allowable deviation from "flat" is, in terms of how big a bump or dip can be, with regard to the rest of the floor, so check your existing floor first: if the tiles are well laid, flat and straight and level, then you can probably just use a foam underlay. But if they are uneven, tilted, etc. then you might need to do something more drastic.

But the key is to check with the manufacturer of the exact flooring that you want o use, and see what they say.

It would be sad to have a beautiful looking floor that cracks after a few weeks due to the uneven base, or that squeaks or creaks...

- Stuart -

[epilogstudio]

thanks Stuart!