Hardwood Floor Removal
A properly installed and cared-for hardwood floor can last for the life of a house, and even when it has become battered beyond repair, it can still provide a substrate for a new floor covering. In cases where deterioration or a major remodel requires its removal, it's best to approach the job with care. Old hardwood flooring boards can be valuable if they are in reasonable condition. Does this Spark an idea?
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When to Remove a Hardwood Floor
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If a hardwood floor hasn't been installed on a proper subfloor, there usually isn't an alternative to removal if repair to the subfloor is necessary. Moreover, if the wood has buckled because of the absence of a moisture barrier, sanding and refinishing is a temporary solution. Removing the floor and laying a new one with a moisture barrier is a better alternative. Removal of the hardwood sometimes becomes necessary when a new design includes tiles or new hardwood that would raise the surface of the floor too high to tie into floors in adjoining rooms.
Alternatives to Removal
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No matter how bad the condition of a hardwood floor has become, you can always sand it flat with a floor sander. If the subfloor and moisture barrier are sound and the room can accommodate the extra height of new flooring, you can lay another hardwood floor, carpeting or tiles over the existing hardwood. You can get new life from a worn hardwood floor without raising the height of the floor by filling gaps with wood filler and painting the floor with floor enamel, or laying linoleum or a floating laminate floor over the hardwood.
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Removal Procedure
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To preserve as many of the hardwood planks as possible, pry each one off the floor individually. This isn't as hard a job as it sounds. Once you've determined which way the tongues are facing, cut or chisel away one or two courses along the wall running along the tongue-side of the boards to expose the tongues of the next course. Pry up the tongue side of each board with a pry bar, working it under each cleat and forcing the cleat upward. Lift the board off the floor when all the cleats are free and remove the cleats later.
Considerations
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If you have determined that none of the wood in the floor is worth saving, a quicker method for removal is to make several cuts across the grain of the flooring with a circular saw, from one side of the room to the other, and pry the flooring up in sections. You may have some success with this technique if you have to remove boards that are glued to concrete, but you must carefully adjust the saw blade depth so it doesn't cut into the concrete. Removing glued-down hardwood is especially difficult, and laying a new floor over it or painting it may be preferable alternatives.
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References
- Photo Credit WINDOWS TO THE PAST image by LADYBUG from Fotolia.com
