I am attempting to remove the old flooring in my spare bathroom. There is linoleum over 9″ square asphalt-looking tile. Neither wants to come off easily. It looks like I am going to gouge the heck out of the plywood trying to remove the existing layers. I am OK with that, unless there are some suggestions as to how to easily remove the flooring without destroying the plywood… Also, since I think the plywood is going to be ruined, I am thinking of replacing the plywood with cement board and placing ceramic tile on the floor. Any experience with this product? How thick of subfloor is really required for the floor to last? I currently have a layer of 1x under the 3/4″ plywood. If I do it right, I hope to not raise the floor elevation. Thanks.
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Set the depth on your circular saw so that it will cut the linoleum, the tile, and the plywod -- but not the 1-by subfloor. Use the circ saw to cut the floor into manageable pieces.
Then pry each piece up using whatever prybar you need to use.
When you're done, use new tongue and groove plywood subflooring to cover the old 1-by. From that point, you should be able to use just about any flooring product that you'd like.
But note that if you are serious about a ceramic floor, you should check the size and span of your floor joists, in addition to the thickness of the subflooring and ply. You need to assure yourself that the floor is very rigid. It needs to flex less than 1/360 of its total span.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
Thanks for the help. Believe it or not I was thinking that the circular saw was going to be the best way to remove the floor. I'm glad to see I was finally thinking along the right track. I was not able to get a confirmation on the circ. saw method until your post. Someone did mention that the old square tile may contain asbestos. House was built in the mid 50's, any concern? Thanks again. I think plywood and sheet vinyl may be the way to go to eliminate hose elevation changes at the doorway.
Someone did mention that the old square tile may contain asbestos. House was built in the mid 50's, any concern?
Probably....depends on lots of different things. Are yo a pro or a DIYer? Is this (home improvements) something you do more than once in a while?
The health threat from asbestos is real, but it is not as serious as once thought. The asbestos in floor tile is generally encased/covered with the plastic. But since you'll be sawing through it, it could become airborne. And airborne asbestos is not a good thing.
As an alternative, you could try to find the edges of the existing plywod. Then just try to pry up entire sheets. Theoretically, the tiles will break, but that is not as bad as gringing them up with a saw blade.
Just be sure that you have a really big prybar, and maybe even some help to tug on it.
Other than that, the only options are to pay an asbestos removal company huge sums, or to put up with the differences in floor height.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
Yes Ma'am, I am a licensed residential contractor, but don't work at it full time. (I have too many debts to quit my regular job). Plan to go full time in a couple more years. I am remodeling my home, and do some work for charity, school, and family. I have several years experience and am fair enough in most trades to hold my own. Not in it for a living, I can take the extra time to get everything "just right". I am going to try your idea of sawing the plywood. I will play it by ear as far as dust is concerned. (exhaust fan, mask etc.). I will also minimize the number of cuts. It is a small room, so maybe I will get lucky and only need one or two cuts. I tried to pry the whole sheets off, but I can't get a good "grip" on the sheets. Hope business is going well! Thanks again.