Q: I just took ugly laminate flooring off my kitchen floor. It still has two different linoleum layers 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?
A: If you are lucky and this was installed properly, then you should have 1/4 poplar under that, stapled to the subfloor. That would be much easier to remove. If you need to remove this because it is sitting on a hardwood floor, it is likely the floor isn’t worth saving, which is why they covered it over.
I would consider removing the entire mess down to the subfloor, install 3/8 spruce sheeting and then a new hardwood floor.
Removing old linoleum
Q imported from our old site, Face Lift Floors: How do we get the old linoleum off the floor to get to the wood?
A: I assume this is glued to your hardwood floor. If this is so, and this hardwood is the old style 3/8 thick product, then if I was you, I would set my skil saw to the depth and remove everything down to the subfloor and start over.
Even if you are able to get most of the layer of linoleum off the floor, the adhesive and some of the backing will remain. These 3/8 floors are only good for 2 sandings, and 3 if you are very lucky. We must assume they have been sanded at least once already. Aside from the question of why someone would glue linoleum to a hardwood floor if it is in salvageable condition, the question also comes up: What will be left of them after I have ground off all that mess that is stuck to them? And the answer is probably: Not Much.
Personally, I would take everything up to the existing subfloor, probably screw down at least 3/8 spruce plywood, and then the floor of your choice.
Original / moved link https://faceliftfloors.com/q-and-a/oldlanolium.php