How do you remove glued on linoleum?

Question

I want to replace a linoleum floor with hardwood. The linoleum is glued down and I can't put the hardwood on top of it because it is torn in many places.

Answer 1

go to a carpent;/lino house and rent a scraper...it's hard work, but that's what it takes.

the web site has some additional ideas I hav never used.

good luck

Answer 2

The ice suggestion makes the glue more brittle and perhaps easier to break with the suggested scraper. The thing is, the way I remember the technique, regular blocks of ice may not be cold enough. I remember an uncle of mine getting a large block of DRY ICE from a local ice plant, and sliding it around as the scraper worked under the tiles.

The cautionary advice about this is 1. Dry ice can harm the skin, so use thick gloves to handle it, and, 2. The carbon dioxide vapors will collect in low areas, so don't let kids or small pets play around where the clouds collect. They can SUFFOCATE. The vapors dissapate quickly, so you don't have to worry much.

The other technique mentiones is applying heat to the tiles. This method softens the glue, and, supposedly easing their removal. Again, the method I remember is that a lot more heat was required than what was provided by a hair dryer. A home improvement show I recall used a blow torch to provide the heat. You can well imagine the risks implied in such a technique. (I am certainly not advising you to do this) The problem with a hair dryer is, not only the limited degree of heat, but in how much flooring you can do with the hairdryer. Just how large an area do you have to lift? I have an alternative. I used to work in electronics assembly and we used to apply a shrink wrapped insulation around bundles of cables. We use a device that resembled a heavy duty hair dryer, but produced a tremendous amount of heat. It could actually scorch and brown paper. Perhaps this device could be found at a tool rental business.

Good luck with your project. I'm sure there IS a professional technique that works. A pro is not going to sit around picking, bit by bit at a large surface to lift tiles.

Answer 3

"With a chisel and a hammer, I started chiseling away. Matt joined me and then 5 hours later we got about 20 tiles off. My hand was in a permanent cramp and my forearm muscle puts me in contention for the next body building competition. At midnight, we did nothing but pass out muscle cramps and all.

The next morning, my dad came over, shook his head --"oh kids" -- and showed us how it's really done ... by turning the chisel over, no hammer was needed and the floor was removed in about an hour!! "

Answer 4

with a spatula (Preferabley a metal one) and a heat gun (like ahigh powered blow dryer) get them at the Home Depot.

the heat gun turns the glue underneath to liquid and the linoleum comes right up...done it myself....Very easy, just wear latex gloves.

Answer 5

might want to take ice cube and rub over area or just let the ice sit over area for a few minutes then carefully use a butter knife to lift it off

Answer 6

go to home depot and get a glue remover for floor glue. It works very well,.

Answer 7

Use a hair dryer and a scraper. Makes it easier.

Artists do everything!

Answer 8

it dependends if it has asbestos in it