Hey Guys,
I have a bedroom I’m refinishing and I’m going to pull up the carpet to refinish the oak floor.
I was informed today that there is a layer of vinyl flooring put down over the oak. (unbelievable what some people do!!)
I’m not sure if they are vinyl tiles or a sheet of vinyl as I have not seen it yet.
Any recomendations on how to strip the vinyl from off the oak flooring without hackin’ up the floor to much? They are going to be refinished so thats a plus obviously.
I’m hoping that the majority will pop off fairly easy(if they are tiles), but that’s usually not how it works out 🙂
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Mick
Edited 7/22/2009 5:11 pm ET by Mick182
Replies
depends on the age. I lifted some vinyl (or sim) tiels of an oak floor that were laid in the '30s. Lifted right off with a hand scraper. The remaining glue residue was hard and brittle and came right off with the floor sander.
Start with the least intrusive equipment 1st and work up form there.
John,
As far as a hand scraper, I stopped in at HD and Lowes and all I could find was a long handled tile scraper that was for ceramic tile.
What do you use?
it's been a while since I did that job, but anything you can find with a stiff blade that could get under the tiles popped them right off.
eta and remember, the tiles i worked were laid sometime in the 30s when the hosue was broken up into 12 different units, so it was old glue..
Edited 7/22/2009 9:01 pm ET by john7g
Never had to remove vinyl from hardwood,but have used a heat gun and a putty knife to get it off of linolium and VCT. It comes off pretty easy but leaves a tacky residue . Used solvent to get that up but probably not such a good idea with a wood floor.
Hi Mick,
Use caution more than anything. Depending on the age of it.....some of the old stuff has asbestos in it. If you suspect it's really old send in a sample for testing.....ain't worth gettin' dead for.
If it's fairly new stuff....I've had good results with a heat gun and stiff 3" putty knife. Time consuming but it worked smoothly.
Pedro the Mule - Back breaking work, worse than a saddle
Thanks for the heads up.
Honestly, I wouldn't know what asbestos looks like.
Are there any tell tale signs?
What would be considered "fairly new" as far as time goes? Is there a timeframe when asbestos was eliminated from the workplace?
Hi Mick,
Everything I've been told was that it was banned in 1978 as far as manufacturing goes but any materials left around could still be used. I don't think it was actually recalled but I'm far from being an expert on this. I headed up a project for our church years ago and had to have an abatement team come in to remove the stuff. They had a really bad mess of it on all the boiler piping "and" within the boiler itself.
Also from what I'm told it's harmless as long as it's contained/not disturbed. My personal opinion is that the way flooring is encapsulated, that if the stuff rolls right up into a sheet the way it was probably delivered, you may not have any trouble but if you end up having to rip it up piece by piece it could become airborne. I'd sure have it tested first unless the house used all new materials after the mid 80's or so.
More info - http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/reviews/asbestos-testing-lab-review-stipple-ceiling-test/
Pedro the Mule - Good Luck and spend a few bucks for testing
Pedro,
Thanks so much for the info, much appreciated
On another note, if the floor becomes a problem to strip I plan on ripping it out and replacing it with new oak.
Is there a "fast' way to get up the old oak strips? I was thinking about cutting into sections with a circular saw set just below 3/4", but don't know if this is a good idea with all the hidden nails and staples.
Any thoughts?
Hi Mick,
Is there a "fast' way to get up the old oak strips? I was thinking about cutting into sections with a circular saw set just below 3/4", but don't know if this is a good idea with all the hidden nails and staples.
Carefully cut out a section so you can gauge the actual depth that you need to cut.
Some people buy a bunch of cheap blades and toss them after a while. I've learned not to do that. Spend the money for a "Diablo" blade available just about everywhere....get mine at the HD....your profile hasn't been filled out so I'm not sure what stores you have in your area.
I've used the Diablo blade to cut old roofing and flooring. It'll hit a nail, throw the usual sparks and keep on cutting. Good time to mention long sleaves, gloves, eye protection and hearing protection. It gets nasty quick when you start hitting nails.
Once I've finally worn one of those blades out to the point it starts smoking I put in a new one and save the old one to cut metal roofing with. Once it's worn past cutting metal roofing, I flip it around and cut cementuous siding with it. After that they're only good for cutting hotdogs and using as frisbee's for really tough dogs <grin>.
Pedro the Mule - You've Nailed it when you buy the good stuff
Nice!
Thanks Pedro.
Have you had a chance to see the floor yet? In my house, they went over some hardwood floor with vinyl, but first they glued and screwed some thin plywood sheets over the hardwood floor to give the vinyl a smooth underlayment. Not so easy to pull that up.
No, have not seen it yet. Will be there Monday
If you can get a helper, two people with mattocks can really get the flooring up quickly. One gets the "blade" of the mattock in a pries and that gives an opening for the second one and then you work your way along. One person can do same thing with two mattocks--or wrecking bars will also work, but harder on the hands. You'll find the oak easier to pry up working from one edge than the other. If I recall correctly, prying from the groove side worked better because you are pulling the nails out in the same direction thay went in. You'll find out pretty quick which edge works best. With the mattock, you can stand on the pick part of it for added leverage (wear sturdy shoes (and watch your ankles when things bust loose!)).
ZYOu need to rent a floor stripper. I bought a used one for 250.00 a couple years ago & one of the best buys i've made.
Google vct stripper. I've seen them for rent at depot
"this dog may be old but he ain't cold. And he still knows how to bury a bone."
Lattimore
http://www.rehmodeling.com
Thanks Danno
We have used dry ice with success when the mastic is stubborn. They pop off much easier when the mastic isn't gooey.
Interesting.
How exactly do you go about it?