| How to remove vinyl flooring |
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Before you decide to remove linoleum or vinyl flooring, make sure you have explored all the options. If the floor is still largely intact, and held solidly, you may be better off filling any holes with material you can buy at the hardware store, and laying your new floor right over top. Not only does it save all the removal work, but it insulates the floor.
The two alternatives to just covering the old floor, are to lay a fresh floor of plywood, or a layer of self-leveling cement, which is usually about 1/8" thick. Remember however, that this difference in the floor depth of one room, can cause problems at the point where floor levels change, causing people to trip and fall.
How "easy" removal will be depends on how the floor was originally installed. Sheet flooring is installed two different ways.. full bonded or perimeter bonded. Full bonded means that the entire subfloor was coated with adhesive before the floor was laid. Perimeter bonded means that only the edges of the floor and seams are glued down... the rest of the floor floats over the subfloor.
The first step is to get a sharp utility knife and cut the floor into manageable strips, from 6 to 12" wide usually works well. Use a flat 3 to 5" putty knife to start lifting the floor, and then tear the rest off, strip by strip by strip by strip. You may have to use the putty knife underneath the flooring if it is particularly stubborn.
Alternative Approaches - How to remove vinyl flooring
One common alternative to removing old linoleum or vinyl floors is to put a new one right over it. If the existing floor is still smooth or can be smoothed with a few patches of FixAll, then the new floor can be laid directly on top of the old.
In some cases, a layer of 1/4-inch plywood is laid over the old floor to provide a smooth base and then the new resilient floor is laid on that. In still another approach, the old floor is floated with a self-leveling concrete that is about 1/8-inch thick when dry. The new floor is put on that.
Steps- How to remove vinyl flooring
In either case you still need to get it off. So what you first have to do is, with a work knife, slice the floor into workable sections. What you then want to do then is use about a 5 inch putty knife and begin to wedge it underneath the incisions, lifting up the floor as you go. From here you can try and peel it off one section at a time.
Left behind will be the backing and traces of the original adhesive. To completely remove the vinyl flooring you will have to use a wall scraper from here on. It is tedious work but unfortunately it is work that has to be done.
It is possible to come across patches that are just completely stubborn and you might have to resort to using a chemical stripper which uses substances such as methylene chloride. The fumes from such products can be hazardous, so ensure the room has a flow of air through it.
Note- How to remove vinyl flooring
Use a floor scraper to dislodge remaining fragments of flooring and adhesive. Sweep thoroughly. Then finish using a wet/dry shop vac to vacuum up all minute debris. If any glue remains, soften with soap/water solution, scrape and vacuum. Note: If you have any damaged sections of underlayment (look for mold, rot and deep gouges) they should be fixed or replaced. If you feel comfortable replacing them yourself, do. If not, hire a professional to come in and do it—it is a quick job and easy for a pro with experience, and should be relatively inexpensive.
In this article How to remove vinyl flooring we have gone through all the process of removing vinyl flooring
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