Wood Floor Removal

Getting Started/ Prepping The Work Area:

• Move Furniture & Content: Get the furniture and content out of the way prior to getting started.

• Drying Equipment Present: If drying equipment is onsite & running, it must be switched off, wrapped up, and moved out of the work area.

• Dehumidifier readings should be collected before moving them, if running.

• It's going to be in the way: It'll just be something else that requires manipulation in the room.

• Dehumidifier(s) should be moved into another area out of the way, and keep it running, as they take a while to start dehumidifying again

  • Ensure that the discharge hose is still in the drain. (even when switched off, the discharge can activate by leaning the unit back for repositioning.)

• Air movers should also be switched off and moved, as they 2 will be in the way & create issues in production efforts.

• Air Filtration Devices should be be operated as normally while work is ongoing to control dust & debris. 

  • Special considerations may be required if they are absolutely going to be in the way. 

  • This requires special shutdown sequences on many situations. 

• Protect Surrounding Areas: Cover adjacent floors with protective material or drop cloths to prevent damage associated with the removal.

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Wear safety glasses, gloves, a dust mask or respirator, and knee pads for comfort.

• Tool Selection: Depending on installation type, different tools may be required, But you'll likely need;

  • A hammer.

  • flat pry bar.

  • A shingle shovel with a leverage strut.

• Setup a Containment Barriers: Especially if saws will be required or if you suspect there will be mold growth discovered.

• Use Air Filtration: Especially if saws will be required, or if mold is likely to be discovered during removal. (Negative Pressure is Preferred)

• Asbestos Warning: If there is a possibility that the flooring adhesive or underlying materials may contain asbestos. If you suspect asbestos, stop work, and have the materials tested by a qualified professional before proceeding with removal.

Removing Baseboards &/or Quarter Round:

Scoring: Use a utility knife to score along the top edge of the baseboards where they meet the wall. This insures that the caulk line is cut & won't ideally rip the drywall & paint when removing.

Prying: Carefully pry the quarter round or shoe molding away from the floor using a pry bar. Start at one end of the wall, ideally starting at a doorway, and working your way along. Then slide the pry bar beneath the baseboard between the floor & the baseboard. Mild pressure will create a gap between the wall & the baseboard. Carefully slide the flat bar longways between the wall & the baseboard as far down as possible, pull the top part of the bar away from the wall using the bottom of the wall as a fulcrum. This avoids damage to the wall. 

Nail Removal: Remove any nails protruding from the wall or baseboards using a hammer and nail set or pliers.

Labeling: Label the back side of the removed baseboards so they can be reinstalled in their original locations if they are to be reused.

Removing the Flooring:

Starting Point: Begin at an outside wall, where the flooring is typically easiest to access. If you can determine the direction the floor was installed, removal from the nail side of the strips, is the easier side to pry from.

Continuous Flooring Run: Flooring materials differ, however, with the exception of sand and finish wood flooring, all encountered wood floor should be removed for the continuous run, due to matching issues. The end of the continuous run is normally to a door opening with a door, or a flooring material change or a transition strip.

Prying Technique: Insert the pry bar between the flooring and the subfloor. Apply gentle, even pressure to lift the board versus quick jerky motions.

Plank Removal: Once the first board is lifted, subsequent boards can often be removed more easily.

Glued-Down Flooring: For glued-down flooring, use a hammer & flat pry bar &/or a shingle shovel to separate the boards from the subfloor. 

• When installed over plywood subfloor, care must be taken to avoid damaging the subfloor with aggressive means of removal. 

  • It can happen despite efforts to avoid damaging the subfloor. 

• These floors often require the use of a motorized floor scraper, preferably a ride on style unit, but can only be used on installation over concrete slabs.

  • Adhesive Removal: If the flooring was glued down, remove any remaining adhesive using a razor scraper.

• • • • This work is exceedingly labor intensive (With the exception of Snap Lock Laminate flooring).

      • Ride on floor scrapers & some of the motorized units will remove the adhesive during the removal process.

Dealing with Difficult Areas: In tight spaces or corners, a hammer and flat pry bar may be necessary to remove the wood.

Additional Considerations:

Type of Wood Floor: The removal process may vary slightly depending on the type of Wood flooring (solid, engineered, laminate).

• • Solid Hardwood is likely the easiest of the materials to remove, and is typically nailed down without adhesive.

  • Engineered wood is usually one of the hardest wood floors to remove. It's typically glued down onto concrete, or stapled down onto a wood subfloor. Engineered wood is essentially plywood with a veneer of real hardwood floor, so the material tends to rip apart during removal.

  • Laminate wood floor is the easiest of the wood floors to remove, as it's rarely if ever attached in a manner using fasteners or adhesives.

Underlayment: Most installations of wood floor will have some material between the flooring & the wooden subfloor beneath it. 

• • Snaplock Laminate will use a padded underlayment material for sound deadening, the laminate is being removed, then you're expected to remove the underlayment also.

Difficult to Remove Floors: 

• • Wood floor with difficult adhesives sometimes require creative means to ease removal. 

    • Cutting the wood into smaller strips, to minimise the surface area the wood is bonded with adhesive. 

    • If that doesn't work, liberally applying warm soapy water with a sprayer, with the intention of wetting both the wood & adhesive beneath,. Then covering with sheet plastic for 24 hours, will allow the adhesive bond between either the flooring or the concrete it's installed. 

Removal Inspection: Inspect the subfloor to ensure that additional material doesn't require removal.

• • You're expected to remove whatever material remains, leaving only the subfloor. 

  • Unless you discover an asbestos containing material beneath the wood floor.

Debris Management:

• As you remove the flooring, take breaks from removing the floor to haul the material out to the container. 

  • You don't want it to accumulate & get in the way

Bagging versus No-Bagging:

• General Removal: If the demoed material won't require carrying through an unaffected area of the property, and won't be transported in the passenger compartment of a vehicle then it can be loaded into a trash can or carried out to the dumpster by hand. 

• Bagged Removal: However if it's to be carried through the affected area of the house, is contaminated, or is to be hauled in the passenger compartment of a vehicle, then it should be bagged up before hauling.

Cleanup: 

• Pick up small pieces of debris not carried out:

• Pull all remaining nails left after removal:

• Sweep what remains after pickup 

• Vacuum the work area upon completion.

Equipment Setup:

Equipment Setup: If equipment was removed from the room before getting started, reset that equipment as it was previously.