Steps to Removing Laminate Flooring

Whether you need to remove glued or floating-type laminate flooring, there are two things you will need: a guide to removing laminate flooring and a dumpster rental. You might think you can toss out all the flooring in a simple trash can, but it will likely overtake your trash can very fast. Renting a dumpster gives you an easy place to toss all the trash, even if you just need a smaller dumpster rental. Of course, the size of the job will likely determine the size of the dumpster you need. Maybe removing laminate flooring is just one portion of the remodeling project you’ll be handling. When you need to remove laminate flooring, make sure you choose the right dumpster rental company for your needs. Once you have a dumpster rental on the way, you can start looking at the following quick guide to removing laminate flooring.

1. Get the Right Tools

Before you start any job, you need to choose the right tools. When you need to remove laminate flooring, you will need some tools including:

A shop vac
Good gloves and shoes
A utility knife
Side cutters
Eye protective wear
Drywall knife
Chisel
Felt tip marker
Hammer
J ended flat bar
Heat Gun
Floor Scraper

You might not need every single tool on the list, but this is a good list of tools to use for removing laminate flooring. Make sure you have good, thick gloves since the edges of laminate flooring can be rather sharp.

2. Remove the Baseboard

The first step is removing the baseboards. This stem will require you to carefully cut along the top edge of the molding of the baseboard with a utility knife. This will help to loosen up the baseboards to allow you to get the baseboards off without damaging the drywall. You can use a drywall knife to pry the baseboards off. A side cutter can also be used to clip off any of the nails stuck in the wall from the baseboard. You can also use a marker to mark the pieces as you take them off the all, so you will know where they go when you reinstall them.

3. Transition Strips

The next step is to remove the transition strips. You want to pull them up from the doorways and other areas where they are covering steams in the flooring. These pieces might also be there to help transition one type of flooring into another. just slide the flat bar’s J end under the transition strips and carefully pry them up. You might find screws holding the channels to the floor that need to be removed, as well. Be careful not to break these transition strips.

4. Laminate Flooring

Finally, you can remove the laminate flooring. Simply slide the J-ended flat bar under it and pry it up about 45 degrees. If you have floating laminate planks, this gives you enough room to separate them from each other. Glued laminate flooring will require you to snap off the plants to break the glued seams. After you’ve removed the laminate flooring, you might need to remove the foam padding found under it. You should also clean up the area and remove all old glue and other substances before deciding to install new flooring. With a dumpster rental for all the trash and this simple guide, you can remove laminate flooring easily during a remodeling project.