proper subfloor for laminate

I'm going to be installing an Armstrong laminate floor (a "floating" floor; pieces look into place) in my kitchen next week and need some advice on what to have under it. After removing five different layers of vinyl or linoleum with plywood between some of them, I'm down to the original 1929 linoleum floor, which was installed directly on top of the oak plank flooring. The linoleum is mostly intact, but worn very thin in places, and completely gone in other places, especially at the edges where entire chunks were loose and I peeled them off. The wood places have a lot of old black linoleum adhesive on them too. (I know there's likely asbestos somewhere.) So the floor now has patches of linoleum, some thinner then others, and other patches of wood, mostly with old adhesive stuck to it. The height difference between patches is pretty minimal, maybe about 1 1/2 millimeters at the most, more often about 1/2 millimeter.

So that's the situation, now the question: Is the Armstrong underlayment sufficient to go under the laminate floor, or do I need some other subfloor, and/or do I need to do something to even out the existing floor? I'd rather not put in another layer of plywood as the floor is pretty close to even with the adjacent rooms right now.

I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.

 

Welcome to the forums.

How are you for height in the room after removing so many layers?

 

The floor is even with the adjacent rooms now! Before it was about an inch higher.

 

OK, so your goal at the moment is to add as little height as possible, right?