| Although hardwood floors should last about 40 years, | | | | If you aren't trying to preserve the wood, do some |
| in the real world things happen to damage it over time | | | | pre-cuts with your circular saw to make it easy to get |
| and sometimes it becomes necessary to remove | | | | started. These should be 1-2 feet areas. If you were |
| hardwood floors. Whether you are interested in | | | | not sure how the floor was laid before, you should |
| removing few pieces without damaging it or to go for | | | | know after doing this. Make sure you don't cut down |
| hardwood flooring demolition, it will depend on a few | | | | into the foundation. |
| factors such as the following: | | | | - Steps removing hardwood flooring |
| - Was the original installation done well? | | | | 1.Hit each area of the floor with the sledge hammer |
| - Is it a floating hardwood floor or a hardwood floor | | | | enough to break things loose, but not so much as to |
| that is glued down? | | | | break the foundation. |
| - What type of floor will you be installing after | | | | 2.Use your pry bar to lift the panels and panel |
| removing hardwood flooring? | | | | fragments up off of the foundation. You may find that |
| - List of Tools | | | | it is easier if you use the tongued areas of the panels |
| Circular Saw - You'll need a circular saw for when you | | | | to pick them up out of the floor. Also, if you pull the |
| need to cut into the floor. | | | | panels out individually and stack them as you go, you |
| Chisel - You never know when you'll need to get into a | | | | will save a of of cleanup time and may leave the |
| tight groove or push through some glue. | | | | surface area better preserved for installation of the |
| Claw Hammer - When floor panels are stuck up next | | | | next floor. |
| to a wall area, you'll need a claw hammer to grab, pull, | | | | 3.If there is glue stuck beneath where the panels were, |
| and rip them out. | | | | you need to scrape it up with the flooring scraper and |
| Flooring Scraper - The only way you'll get through a lot | | | | the chisel as needed. |
| of glue is with the flooring scraper. | | | | If the floor you have removed was glued down, it may |
| Pry Bar - These are a necessity when it comes to | | | | be quite a task for you to get your mess cleaned up |
| picking up floor panels that are stuck. | | | | adequately. In this case there will be glue fragments |
| Sledge Hammer - When nothing else will get through, | | | | and stuck pieces of glue that could take hours to |
| you can always count on your sledge hammer to bust | | | | clean. |
| things. | | | | Saw dust and tiny pieces of wood are usually |
| Before removing hardwood flooring It is important to | | | | everywhere. If you have a sturdy vacuum you can |
| understand what kind of flooring was used and how it | | | | save some time, but you'll likely be finding things to |
| was installed before you begin removing it. This will | | | | clean up manually that will take you quite a few hours |
| help you choose the right tools for the job. | | | | to complete. |