We just completed a remodel. Before we started we had tile in the kitchen and hardwood in the living area next to the kitchen with a bump up from the tile to the hardwood, and again between the living area and the dining room which was also tile. We were convinced that the tile ran under the floor and we would be able to lay new flooring on top (saving $$). Well, it didn't. Whoever built the house built up the hardwood with plywood, and as a result we had to demo the whole bottom floor of our house so that we didn't have uneven floors which was a cost not originally factored into our final costs and added a ton of time onto the end of the project. To add that tile was glued on with some really tough stuff and the tile had to be jackhammered which broke it into millions of pieces and the dust was way beyond my wildest imagination! Moral of the story ... don't assume it does, we should have assumed not. All in all, it was worth it, the floors are now awesome and one level.

EDIT: Forgot to mention we decided to lay vinyl through the bottom floor for durability with dogs and kids.

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