Tips on how to remove vinyl flooring with your own hands to make the process itself faster and more pleasant.
Even if the floor is in perfect condition, nevertheless, there are some cases when it is not to do without complete disassembly. For example, when moving to another office, another apartment, etc. Let’s talk on how to remove vinyl flooring in a proper way.
There are other reasons why it is necessary to remove old vinyl flooring. Among them are:
- flooding
- chips
- deep scratches
- cracks
- getting too creaky
A reasonable consumer thinks about a possible replacement or removing while buying the material. Therefore, pay attention not only to adhesive used for the material, but also on the possibility of replacing.
Reasons for removing some piles only:
- small cracks
- small holes
- small chips
Of course, one should not think that the defects on the vinyl flooring can be corrected by grinding the top layer, as it is usually done with hardwood floors or marmoleum. It may well be restored thanks to other methods. It is possible to restore some small cracks using a wax pencil or other means of repair (special putty, sealant, etc). There are more and more new tools for restoration of this popular new flooring type – mastics, special paints, etc. To fit the color, the best option is to buy two paints, of lighter and darker shades, to experiment and to achieve the desired shade.
If all the means described above can not help in the restoration of the flooring, it is time to think of its removing.
Partial dismantling
Sometimes repairs can be done by resorting to the replacement of several piles – one or more, depending on the damage. The order of works is the following:
- Using markers, identify the site where it is necessary to dismantle the damaged vinyl pile.
- Jigsaw the marked areas (it is necessary to depart from the docking places for about 5 mm).
- The cut piles are extracted from total webs and removed. This should be performed SUPER carefully not to damage the adjacent piles.
- The ends of the pile are stripped.
- To remove vinyl flooring glue use a spatula or chemical solutions produced for such type of work.
Complete dismantling
Let’s talk on how to remove vinyl flooring from concrete floor or other subfloors (from plywood, from wood, etc) completely. Spoiled plates, of course, are thrown out to the scrap. This is the case when to break is more easily than build. It you don’t want to use the plates somewhere else (in your summer cottage, for example), you do not need to care of the gentle removing. But if you want to use the old coating somewhere else, then it is necessary to disassemble the floor gently. But let’s be honest: fragility is the main disadvantage of the vinyl flooring, so a few will be able to do this.
Most often the vinyl flooring is laid on a very strong adhesive. This hardens the process in a great way.
You will need:
- pencil by which the applied piles are marked;
- a chisel, simplifying recovery of the dice;
- a screwdriver to remove the skirting boards;
- a mounting bracket, which facilitates the capture elements on hard to reach areas;
- vacuum holders;
- a hammer.
The order of works
- You will need a pencil to mark some piles that will be necessary for you for any reason.
- To remove the baseboards use screwdriver.
- A chisel and vacuum holders are the best ways to remove vinyl piles.
- It is necessary to use the grinder and cut the rotten plank, making the indentation of about 5 mm. The rest of the piles are removed with a chisel or with vacuum holders.
- It is best to start removing the piles away from the wall, because there are expansion joints, so you can easily pick up the piles of the vinyl flooring. All items should be removed very carefully, not to create the fountains of the cracked material – it will make the entire process very time-consuming and dirty.
Of course, the complete dismantling of vinyl piles and the adhesive that had fixed it will lead to the complete damage of the piles, so to use them in the future you will not succeed. It should be noted that endless process of making up of genius ways of removing it without consequences, unfortunately, does not work. Even the most solid attachment will lead to losing the piles’ shape, although modern manufacturers sometimes can cope with it.
We hope this report helped you to learn how to remove vinyl tiles from concrete floor or other subfloors with your own hands.
