@@ HARDWOOD FLOORING – Demo – tips??
Looking for tips for the most efficient way to demolish/remove/rip up hardwood flooring. Have never done this before.
Any suggestions? Run a circ saw down the floor in lines and start prying?
The ToolBear
“Never met a man who couldn’t teach me something.” Anon.
Replies
That's it. We do have 5' pry bars so one can stand up and work. GW
Be very careful when pulling up nailed down flooring. It can spring up with great force and hurt you. My uncle just went through major eye surgery because of this. Keep control of the strips as you pry them loose and pull nails from the floor as you go.
If it's blind nailed through the tongue (most likely) once you get the first layer up on the tongue side it's a piece of cake. Slip a flat bar under the tongue near the nails and pop - your done.
Just make sure you are exposing the tongue side, not the groove side, as you remove each course. If it's blind nailed, and you're having trouble prying it up, or you find that you are destroying it in the process when you are trying to save it, you can use a nail set to punch the nails on through the tongue to release each course with very little prying, but it's slow and tedious and leaves a lot of follow up nail setting or pulling before the new floor can be installed.
Tool,
WonderBar and a 3lbs. (18") sledge hammer, working from the nailed (tong) side. Whack the bar under and pry it up. Whack the bar if it's stubborn. Remember properly done floors have the nails shot into the joists, so you want to place the bar over them or you will damage the subfloor.
WSJ
>> ... properly done floors have the nails shot into the joists ...First I've heard of that. The rule I'm familiar with is 2" from the ends and every 10" in between.
And most T&G flooring nails are too short to really get to a joist. I thought of posting the same as you, but WSJ and I tend to disagree to easily, I thought I'd see if someone else busted him...LOL
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Yeah that too, also waited till someone else mentioned it :-)
A third point is, it is not always the case that the HW strips run perpendicular to the joists. In older homes with 1x planking subfloor, it is equally likely that they run parallel to the joists, perpendicular to the 1x subfloor. in this case only one strip in a 16" span will be fastened to the joists :~)
but WSJ and I tend to disagree to easily, I thought I'd see if someone else busted him"
Sphere,
My experience tearing up hardwood floors is limited to two houses, both 20's construction, with 1 x 6 subfloors laid down at a 45 degree angle to the joists. Both had the t&g flooring perpendicular to the joists, and nails spaced at 8" OC and every other nail penetrating the joists by a good 3/4". Maybe it's an old time Wisconsin thing, but why would one not want to do it that way?
Jon
"Maybe it's an old time Wisconsin thing, but why would one not want to do it that way?"Production, producction, production..LOLThem new flooring nailers nails are too short, they only penetrate the subfloor. Ever watch a floor guy scoot along, whack, whack, whack..? in the time it took me to type that he'd a nailed a 8' length, and never gave the joists a second thought.Hey, tho'...in my crib the 1x6 IS the fin.floor AND subfloor..all Cutnailed to the 3x8's.We be cool bro.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
I ripped up quite a bit. I used a crow bar....good leverage and I was away from the boards springing up at me cause they do!
I stood lightly over each spot I pryed and when they get a lil' loose I take my foot off and went the rest of the way.
Be well
andy
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Home depot sells a 36" gorilla bar. It has tremendous leverage.
The 5' bar that was previously mentioned is also part of my tool box. It works wonders on some stuff, but the gorilla bar is the one that gets tried first.
blue
Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. Although I have a lifetime of framing experience, all of it is considered bottom of the barrel by Gabe. I am not to be counted amongst the worst of the worst. If you want real framing information...don't listen to me..just ask Gabe!
Gorilla Bar?!!!
Brand name.
blueWarning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. Although I have a lifetime of framing experience, all of it is considered bottom of the barrel by Gabe. I am not to be counted amongst the worst of the worst. If you want real framing information...don't listen to me..just ask Gabe!
Blue and gang -The real oak flooring has gone to the garage, headed to the foreman's fireplace.I am up in the tower with an X million $ view of the ocean and a private terrace - and some really nice wood laminate flooring - glued down.Very well glued down. Ain't no Pergo here. I parted the veneer from the base with a square nose shovel or, after experimentation with all my bars and such - the claws of my 14oz Stil. hammer.This leaves the base and this stuff is mostly breaking apart along the grain lines. The glue lines remain intact. What works is chunking it out with the baby Gorilla bar. Dig the claws in, then let it float along the glue line (you wish). Today - we try a heat gun. The subfloor is going to look like craters of the moon. It was suggested we just cut it out and replace it. Like that idea. Otherwise look for a lot of filler and sanding back - which will probably turn the glue to a gooey mess. Ideas, anyone.The ToolBear
"Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.
Blue,
I have the baby gorilla, the mama gorilla, but no papa gorilla. On the list. Works better than my old crow bar.
Chunking this floor out went best with the mama G. What would really work would be something like a large nail puller, with a wide hoe-like head. Tap it along the glue line and take up a whole section.The ToolBear
"Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.
A roof tear-off shovel is what ya need there.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
I wondered about those as I sat on my bucket, tapping away.
Turns out all the nice oak nail down flooring was demoed. They saved the glue down laminate stuff for moi. Must say the glue line between floor and plank was great.
I got the top layer off with a square nosed shovel, well sharpened. The rest was tougher. Found that what worked best - and I tried every pry bar and even a Pulaski and a heat gun (NO), was the baby gorilla - when you got the claws to run along the floor glue line.
The flooring subs came in to measure and told me to leave it to them. No arguements.The ToolBear
"Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.
Tool, I love my gorilla bar. It is by far the most useful bar that I've ever used or owned and I've tried them all. The leverage generated using the claw end is usually enough to raise the heaviest walls enough to slip a 2x4 on edge...working alone.
The key phrase is "working alone".
blueWarning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. Although I have a lifetime of framing experience, all of it is considered bottom of the barrel by Gabe. I am not to be counted amongst the worst of the worst. If you want real framing information...don't listen to me..just ask Gabe!
Blue,
The 36 is on the list for tomorrow. Then I will have the whole set. I've been borrowing the 36 and if I do that several times, there is a demonstrated need to own another tool.The ToolBear
"Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.
Circ saw down the middle of one board near the edge of the field. Sometimes a second cut at 10º to the first. That way both sides of the board are free to move and show which is the tongue side. After that, pry up in reverse order of laying.
Define the limit cuts inside of where the new threshold/joint will be. Far easier to deal with 6" or 12" short ends while trying to get a cut right up to the door jambs or an existing wall.
If you are salvaging the boards it's about the same to pry nails as you go as taking them out later. Later is better, as you can have a helper pull nails over a bucket. Later is worse, 'cause the helper will almost certainly draw blood off a nail hauling the boards away to be denailed. But then, taking a nail hit is a risk with floor demo anyway.
circular saw cuts through the flooring against the grain
cuts every 3'-5'
post hole (digging) bar
sweat, sweat, sweat.....
carpenter in transition