What is the best way to remove laminate flooring?
We are removing the laminate and sub-flooring over Oak hardwood floors, what is the best way to pull it all up without damaging the hardwoods underneath in order to refinish it?
Answered by TrustATrader
The laminate flooring can be removed easily once you get a corner as it should snap out like a puzzle. If the sub-floor was screwed in place then carefully remove them, if they have been nailed buy a cats paw and a wonder bar from your local hardware store to remove them.
Moving onto the secondary layer, hopefully they didn't use an adhesive on the sub floor otherwise you will have a base that may require a lot of slow sticky removal.
Aim to scrape as much dried adhesive from the subfloor as possible using a metal floor scraper. Much of the glue will hopefully flake or crack off. Soak the remaining glue in a solution of 50/50 warm water and dish soap. Let the solution sit for a few minutes to soften. Then, use the floor scraper to scrape off the remaining adhesive.
Once you have the sub-floor stripped you might consider calling a flooring company to assess the situation if required. They have a lot of tricks to help provide a professional finish.