Cleaning and preparing subflooring
#1
08-01-01, 08:55 AM
I am remodeling my kitchen and have run into a snag on removing the old laminate flooring. Just the top layer is coming off and it is leaving a sticky paper backing behind which so far I have been scraping with a putty knife. Is there an easier way to do this without ruining the existing subfloor?
#2
08-02-01, 07:58 PM
Member
Removing adhesive from subfloor
Most folks use a scraper to remove the backing & adhesive. It takes patience. If it's impossible, a chemical stripper can be used. If you do this you need adequate ventilation. Read and carefully follow all directions. There are more environmentally and physically friendly strippers, but they take longer.
#3
08-14-01, 01:49 PM
We just went through the same thing. What a pain in the butt!!! We did, however, find a better solution than a putty knife (that must be taking quite a toll on your back)!
We rented an electric "floor scraper" from a local hardware store. We completely saturated the floor and then left it alone for about 30 minutes. We went over it with the scraper (actually my husband did) and it came up fairly easily then. The person opertaing the scraper needs to have some weight and strength to control it and to apply the additional pressure needed. My husband is about 215 and it's all muscle so perhaps that was why it was easy for him!
Good luck with it - it's a really crummy job.
We rented an electric "floor scraper" from a local hardware store. We completely saturated the floor and then left it alone for about 30 minutes. We went over it with the scraper (actually my husband did) and it came up fairly easily then. The person opertaing the scraper needs to have some weight and strength to control it and to apply the additional pressure needed. My husband is about 215 and it's all muscle so perhaps that was why it was easy for him!
Good luck with it - it's a really crummy job.
