I met with a friend of a friend today who has a problem with his kitchen floor.  His house is new, he laid Bruce pre-finished hardwood flooring directly over the first floor concrete slab and glued the flooring down.  A week or so after the put the flooring in, his kitchen sink started leaking while he was out of town.  Thus, water sat on an area directly in front of the kitchen sink for a week or so, and the flooring in that area has cupped.

He would like for me to pull the flooring up and replace it.  My concern is that the glue might be stronger than the flooring, leaving a mess when I’m finished.  I thought about simply sanding the affected area, but (1) the edges are micro-beveled and the spot would look different from the rest of the first floor, and (2) he does not want to sand down part of the floor (he wants to “save” his one “refinishing” so that he can refinish the entire floor down the road, if need be.)

Does anyone have any experience removing glued-down hardwood flooring?  How difficult was the removal process?  How smooth was the sub-floor (the concrete slab, in this case)?  Any and all suggestions most appreciated.

ChrisA