Archive for the 'Ripping Out Old Flooring' Category

Little staples sunk into the wood

Sunday, July 1st, 2007

I just bought a house that was built in 1942. I tore up the carpet in it, due to being completely nasty, and found that there was wood flooring underneath. It’s in pretty bad shape. It has paint all over it. I think it would look really nice if refinished. However, when I started to look, there are all kinds of little staples sunk into the wood. Does this mean they’ve been sanded down too much? If not, what are they? The flooring is about 3/4″ thick. what should I do?

Installing a new 3/4 inch floor on top of the old floor

Thursday, June 7th, 2007

I have a contractor who said my hardwood floors are too thin to sand and finish. Assuming that is true, he is planning on installing a new 3/4 inch floor on top of the old floor. First, is this normal? Or should I ask him to remove the existing floor? Secondly, any advice on choosing unfinished oak vs. pre-finished?

We really want to save as much of the wood as we can

Saturday, April 7th, 2007

We just bought a 1950’s home with all original hardwood floors. They were covered in carpet and still in pristine shape. We’re in the process of remodleing the home, which includes moving several walls and expanding off the back of the house. We really want to save as much of the wood as we can and reuse it in the main part of the house. Prior to construction starting we want to pull up all the floors. Is this possible without damaging them so that we can relay them once the house is complete?

Removing tar paper from hardwood floor

Wednesday, March 14th, 2007

I have oak hardwood floors that were covered in the 70’s with vinyl type tiles. They laid a type of tar paper over the hardwood flooring. the tiles were then glued to the tar paper. The tiles come up very easily, but the tar paper doesn’t. In some areas the tar just peels up with light pressure from a putty knife. How can I safely remove the rest without damaging the floors?

How do I remove engineered wood floors that are glued directly to a slab?

Friday, March 9th, 2007

How do I remove engineered wood floors that are glued directly to a slab?

Removing staples from wood floors

Monday, February 12th, 2007

Is there a tool to remove 1 1/4″ staples from wood floors without breaking the staple?

Removing floor laid with rubberized adhesive

Monday, February 5th, 2007

I had a flood and the engineered wood floor which was laid with rubberized adhesive must come up. It is glued on a concrete slab. What is the best way to remove the floor?

How to save the subflooring when removing hardwood?

Friday, January 26th, 2007

I am removing oak hardwood floors in my ‘89 home that are glued down onto particle board subflooring. I will be replacing it with tile. There is about 300 sq. feet of hardwood flooring that needs to come up. I’ve been researching methods online with little success and what I have read makes it sound like a total nightmare. Will I be able to salvage my subflooring by carefully removing it with a prybar and hammer? Besides using my circular saw to cut small sections at a time for removal are there any other secrets to this inevitably painful project?

Ripping out linoleum

Friday, January 26th, 2007

I just took ugly laminate flooring off my kitchen floor. It still has two different linoleum’s that are glued down. I need two take it down to the wood. How do I do this, without destroying the wood? Do I use some kind of heat gun and scrape out with a scraper or am I out going to hurt the floor itself?

Removing the parquet first?

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007

So, parquet flooring should come up before hardwood of any type, 3/4″ or engineered, goes down, nailed of course?

Removing tar paper

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007

I need to remove the tar paper and tar backing left behind while stripping my pine floors of years of layering from laminates. I believe this material was laid sometime in the 1940’s or 1950’s and it was adhered directly to the pine plank flooring. How do I remove this tar paper like material?

Refinishing used gymnasium flooring

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

We obtained about 500 sq. ft of maple gymnasium flooring that we want to refinish and install in our cabin. The flooring is probably 50 years old or more and has been heavily waxed, and it looks as though there may be a shellac finish under that. We had to dismantle the flooring but we are at a loss as to the best way of taking the finish down to the bare wood, removing the old gym lines, and then refinishing.

Gaps

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006

Is it possible to fill ¼” or less cracks in hardwood floor before sanding and finishing? For anyone who has carpet, linoleum, tile on their hardwood floors and are looking to remove it this is what we did. First we had to take off the very old 20+ year carpet and it’s pad which was falling apart. We first used a ice scraper. We also found a roofing shovel with ridged edges worked well for tough spots. After carpet was removed, we found old linoleum backing under that. So we scrapped some more. Finally went to the local Menards (Hardware center) and asked for some tile/glue remover in the carpet/tile department. We got a gallon which you mix with water, put on a small area at a time, leave on for hour or two, and it worked like a miracle. The linoleum backing and glue scraped right off. After you scrap it off, you use clean water and a rag to rub off any extra glue that is left. You are left with a beautifully clean hardwood floor that is ready to finish. Hope this helps some of you.

Hardwood floors under tile

Tuesday, April 25th, 2006

We just purchased a house that has ceramic tile flooring in the living room. It is on top of a hardwood floor. I don’t know if there is a layer protecting the wood, but from peeking on one corner it looks like it was laid directly on the wood. Is there any hope of salvaging the wood floors underneath? Can you give us any tips for removing the tile?

Removing tile

Sunday, March 19th, 2006

We have a tile down the front hallway and wood almost everywhere else. Is it possible to lift the tile and replace it with the hardwood flooring we have left over from the doing the rest of the house?

Carefully removing boards

Wednesday, March 8th, 2006

My hardwood floors were installed under the kitchen cabinets and have not held up well. I would like to replace them with wider planks, but how do you remove the old flooring without tearing out the kitchen cabinets?

Removing glued down laminate

Tuesday, February 14th, 2006

How do I remove cheap, laminate, wood flooring from my foyer and hall way? It is glued down rather randomly throughout the space and is extremely difficult to tear out. Is their a product that will remove the glue and make this job a bit easier? The flooring is about a 13/8 inch thick, if that helps.

Glue around edges

Monday, January 9th, 2006

We just bought a house where carpet was covering the wood floors. We pulled out the carpet. The floors are in wonderful shape, even the finish, but there is glue around the edges which held down the old carpet. How do I get the glue off without taking the finish off?

Glued laminate removal

Wednesday, November 16th, 2005

We have a 20 X 20 section of 1/4 inch wood laminate flooring. We are trying to remove the entire area to put down new floors in our home. We are having a difficult time removing the flooring as it is a click in place and it has been glued to a particle underlayment. Is there something that can be used to heat the glue to make the removal easier?

Oily old floors

Friday, October 21st, 2005

I recently removed carpet and rubber padding from a bedroom (which did not stick) and removed all staples from a beautiful oak floor . The problem is the oak floor feels oily! Is this because it has been covered for so many years? What should I use to clean this up? The house is approximately 50 yrs old.