The favorite tool for any budget-conscious home renovator is the use of laminated flooring on every surface that has had its carpet or tile removed. (Related: The Best Types Of Kitchen Flooring For Your Needs) However, laminated floors are known to age quickly, and you may want to replace them with new laminate floors or a solid floor, which requires some work.
Starting from the laminate baseboard that has been nailed into place, you will have to start prying the laminate flowing up. Glued laminate flooring can be removed from the wall or the side, removing one piece at a time, taking care not to damage the floor beneath the laminate.
You will have to understand the intricacies of laminate flooring and how to tackle every type of laminate flooring you may face. There are several ways to attach laminate flooring, each one requiring different work to remove properly when you need to remove them.
Tools Needed To Remove Laminate Flooring
Before we can start to remove your laminate flooring, you will have to get everything ready, get all the tools ready, and even purchase a few things. Many people assume that they can only use the basic tools that they already have to remove laminate flooring; however, this is not always true.
You may not already have a few things that are required to remove laminate flooring with absolute ease. Many times, the people struggling to remove their laminate flooring are trying to do it with only a hammer and a pair of pliers that are nearly as old as they are.
Steps To Remove Laminate Flooring
We can start the process now that we know what tools you will need to remove the laminate flooring throughout your room or your entire house. There are several things that we recommend getting ready before you start ripping into the laminate flooring, no matter its condition.
We have seen several people that start ripping into the floor long before they have the time or the chance to do everything properly. Knowing how to remove the laminate flooring and going through every necessary step before starting will ensure everyone knows exactly what to do.
- 1Prepare the room: This should always be your first step, and it starts with removing everything on the floor. Chairs, carpets, tables, everything needs to be removed from the room to be empty and ready to be worked on.
- 2Put on Clothes: Now that the room is ready, you need to get yourself and your friends ready to start the task. Putting on your work clothes and something to protect your feet, knees, and hands is next to ensure you can fearlessly tackle the removal.
- 3Pry Open Base Board: At the sides of the laminate is called a baseboard; this board is not the same as the rest of the laminate flooring. Removing this first is important as it helps all the other boards stay in place throughout the flooring in the room.
- 4Cut Nails: As you lift the boards and cut through the glue with your knife, you need to reach in with the side cutter to cut through the nails. This process starts at the baseboard and will be the same for every board you remove.
- 5Remove all the boards: Now that you have the basics of removing a board, you need to repeat the process throughout the room. Removing each board one by one and then disposing of it all a pile that will not be in the way.
- 6Remove the Nails: As you are removing each board, we recommend that you or someone else come in and remove the nails from the floor. This will ensure that no one accidentally steps on one of the nails or scrapes their knees on the nails as they are moving.
- 7Scrape the Glue: Once all the boards have been removed, get your floor scraper and start to remove all the glue. For the next floor to be perfect, you need to ensure no glue is left on the floor for everything to be flat and even.
- 8Vacuum Everything: Once the floor has been scraped and there is nothing left on the floor, we recommend that you vacuum everything up to get rid of everything. A dirty floor will not accept new glue; it will cause the rest of the house to be dirt and is just a problem to work with.
Conclusion
Removing laminate flooring yourself is not one of the hardest tasks to do as it can easily be lifted and removed. Many people assume that laminate flooring will be just as hard to remove as tiles or carpet, but this is rarely true and can be completed with only a few basic tools you can buy.
Always remember, a nail in the ground will eventually be a nail in the foot!