How to Remove Linoleum

Removing old linoleum is always a challenge. Over time, the glue holding the linoleum on wooden subfloors will have literally bonded with the underlying porous wood, making a surface that is very difficult to get off. Your job is slightly easier if you're trying to get the linoleum off a concrete floor, since the concrete doesn't absorb the glue the way wood does. Plus, you don't need to be as concerned about scratching a concrete floor.

Things You'll Need

• Reciprocating saw (possibly)
• Heat gun or lots hot water
• Floor sander (possibly)
• Circular saw (possibly)
• Long handled flooring scraper
• Utility knife

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Instructions

Removing Linoleum From Concrete

1. Use a utility knife to cut the flooring into 6- or 8-inch wide strips.

2. Pour hot water onto the flooring and leave it for a few minutes. The hot water should soften the glue and make it possible to roll the linoleum off the floor in long strips. An alternative to using hot water is a heat gun. This will also soften the glue's hold and allow you to roll the linoleum.

3. Once the linoleum in off the floor, more hot water (or the heat gun) will soften the glue so it can be scraped off the floor with a long handled flooring scraper.

Removing Linoleum From a Wood Floor

1. Most of the time linoleum is laid over a plywood subfloor, although surprisingly you will sometimes find linoleum laid directly onto a hardwood floor. Determine what kind of subfloor you have by peeling back a section in a corner to see what's underneath. If it's on a plywood subfloor, one option is to remove the linoleum and subfloor as a single piece. However, if it's on a hardwood floor (or you want to use the existing subfloor), you will need to remove the linoleum (and underlying glue).

Removing Both Linoleum and Subfloor

1. Determine how thick the subfloor is by drilling a hole in the floor. Set the depth of a circular saw blade to 1/8-inch deeper than the floor depth and cut the flooring into manageable sections of about 3 feet by 3 feet. Cut close to walls with a reciprocating saw.

2. Install your new plywood subfloor onto the exposed floor joists.

Removing Linoleum From Wooden Subfloors

1. Check to see what your subfloor is made from by peeling off a small section of linoleum.

2. If it's hardwood, determine which way the underlying hardwood flooring is running and cut the linoleum into 6- or 8-inch wide strips running with the grain.

3. Heat the linoleum with a heat gun and pry it off the subfloor while the glue is soft.

4. Use a flooring scraper to remove as much of the remaining glue as possible (try not to gouge the hardwood).

5. Sand the hardwood surface to remove any traces of glue and refinish the floor, or go to step 6.

6. Level and smooth the wooden subfloor in preparation for your new flooring.

Tips & Warnings

• Removing linoleum flooring is a lot of hard work. If your existing flooring is in good shape with no missing sections, consider installing new flooring right over the linoleum.

• Older linoleum and adhesives sometime contain asbestos (products made in the 1970's and earlier). If you are considering removing your old linoleum yourself, first soak and then break off a small section of flooring and have it tested to determine if it actually contains asbestos. (Check in the Yellow Pages under "Asbestos Abatement").

• If asbestos is found in your floor, hire a flooring contractor specially trained to handle removing asbestos flooring. You family's health is well worth the cost of proper removal.

• You can install new flooring directly over old flooring containing asbestos (you don't need to remove the old floor).