how do i pull up a linoleum square floor?

Question

in 2002 the old owners of our house had a linoleum floor put down by professionals. it's the linoleum square type, not sure exactly what they are, it's supposed to look "vintage". the old owners told me it's put over 2 1/4" heart of pine floors. (yeah, why??) we'd like to see if we can salvage the wood floors underneath. help!?! (we would prefer to do the work ourselves...)

it is in a kitchen and the floor is raised about 3/4" above the floors of adjacent floors so i think there is an underlayment. we are gutting the kitchen, planned on putting a new wood floor in but would like to keep the original floor if possible.

Answer 1

if the floor was put down by professionals, they most likely put an underlayment down first. that is like 1/4-3/8" plywood, and will be glued and screwed down. if were professionals, and that was done, you won't have a very nice surprise when you get the flooring up. there will most likely be screw or nail holes all over the old pine floor. also, pine is a very soft wood for floors making them subject to extreme wear. this would happen in front of the sink, stove, and fridge if this is a kitchen. most good floors are oak or other hardwoods. you should be prepared to have to put in brand new flooring. that will entail removing everything in that room, and the flooring all the way down to the sub floor. if you can see the bottom of this floor from downstairs, check for a lot of new shiny nails sticking through the sub floor boards. this will indicate they put underlayment in. then if you still think you want to proceed just uncover an out of the way corner first. if you could uncover a closet or such, do that. no sense in making a hole in the good floor, only to find you need to totally rebuild the whole floor. good luck, hope this helps.

Answer 2

Hi there,

You will have to score the squares making a letter X but do NOT make the X all the way to the outer corners. After this is done gently from the CENTER of the X start gently lefting them up using a sharp utility knife.


One thing to keep in mind however is you don't know what type of adhesive or backing is under the tile. Also you have to be very careful cutting the X because you DON'T want to damage or cut the wood floor under the tile.

Good luck.

Twila

Answer 3

Id deffinitly get a floor scraper, and once you remove all the old tile I would get a floor sander and sand down the old wood floor before applying stain and urethane.

If there is alot of nails in the wood floor, you might want to consider putting down a wood laminate floor over the pine floor if you cannot salvage the old foor.

Answer 4

Very slowly and chances are even if you do get the linoleum up you probably will never be able to get it back to original condition. Give it a Shot with a floor scraper and a stiff putty knife. If you get sick of it cut it out or get it cut out and start over at the sub floor. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Lay whatever kind of heat you can on top to soften the adhesive and release the tiles so you can pull them up. After that, you may have to do some heavy scraping. I've done that and it isn't pleasant, but it eventually gets what you want. A good solid scraping tool and a heat gun are good tools to have. A propane torch with a flame spreader tip works good, but don't go wild with the flame. You only want to soften things, not bubble up the adhesive and light the fumes.

Answer 6

I have done this on a commercial level (Large floors) and once you get it started (that is two or three tiles). There is a floor scraper that makes short work of removing the rest. It has a long handle. Rent it.

Answer 7

You might just try getting under one edge of a square with a putty knife and see how stuck they really are. Hopefully not too bad:) Use pliers to help you get a grip and pull them up. Heat will also help to loosen the adhesive backing. Try using a blow dryer on high..tile by tile..and holding it so it blows under it the more you pull the tile up. I hope you have what you think you have under there:)
Best of Luck!!

Answer 8

you need a heat gun. its kinda like a rerally hot blowdyer. youll find one at like home depot or lowes. you heat the glue and then pull the tiles up with a scraper. then you have to clean the glue off with an adhesive remover. then you might have to refinish the floors. hope it comes out real nice

Answer 9

try "freezing" tiles with a bag of ice then use a good toilet plunger to pull them up. It works well most often,try pulling near a corner but not over seam. Good luck