How to Remove Hardwood in Your Home

Whether you’ve just moved into a new home or decided it’s time to renovate, you’ll save a ton of money by knowing how to remove hardwood floors yourself. The wood floors in my sister’s home were old, worn, and needed to be replaced. She’s an aspiring interior designer, so there was no hesitation in the decision to pull the floor up and install newer and more tasteful wood. Of course, I worked with her on planning the entire removal and replacement of her beloved floors, or else I would never hear the end of it.

All said and done, the project came out a success, and it wasn’t as difficult as we initially expected. The preparation and tools were essential to making the process as smooth as possible. If you are looking into removing a section or your entire hardwood flooring, use this guide to make your job easier.

First, let’s go over the essential hardwood floor tools you’ll need to get the job done.

Tools:

Hammer

Pry bar

Circular saw (w/ extension cord)

Floor chisel

Large handheld magnet

Painter’s tape

Tarp

Garbage bin

Safety Gear:

Safety glasses

Thick gloves

Kneepads

Dust mask

Noise protection

Those are the bare necessities to remove your hardwood floors. In the rest of the process, I’ll mention some additional tools that will make the process even easier. But first, let’s look at the preparation you’ll take before the floorboards actually start coming up.

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77GXx1NdOCw&ab_channel=MrYoucandoityourself]

Preparation:

Mark the Area

If you are only removing a section of the floor, you’ll want to measure and outline the area. You know the old adage, “Measure twice, cut once.” Marking doesn’t matter so much if you are removing the entire floor in a room or house, unless you feel the need to segment your work.

Clear Space

Unless you have experience removing hardwood floors before, you would not expect the amount of sawdust that will cover you and anything else in the room. That’s why you should have a mask and glasses to protect yourself, but don’t forget to protect your stuff as well! Clear out the objects in the room, and anything that can’t be moved should be covered in tarp and tape. Any electronics should be completely moved out to avoid possible damage. Cover any floor, wall, or ceiling vents. Basically, cover everything. It will make clean-up way easier as well as keep you and your property safe.

Baseboards

You’re not going to want to overlook this step when you’re removing hardwood floors because you could unintentionally damage your walls, and they never did anything wrong. Run a razor blade along the top of the baseboard, being sure to cut through the layers of paint. From here, you can use your pry bar to pull the baseboards out, but a trim puller is made specifically to apply broad and even pressure to avoid breaking the board. This is important if you’re planning to keep your baseboards.

[Link: https://jenwoodhouse.com/how-to-remove-hardwood-flooring/]

Getting Ready to Cut

The easiest way to remove your wood floor involves cutting the floor panels into smaller sections. If you are looking to reuse the hardwood flooring, smaller sections ensure the panels don’t snap and splinter as they are pulled up. Even if you are planning to toss the wood in a dumpster, splintered wood makes the project much more dangerous. Another piece to keep in mind is setting your saw to the correct depth so you don’t damage the subfloor underneath the wood. For example, if your floor panels are 5/8-inch thick, you should set your saw to 5/8-inch height.

Alright, so we’ve got our area clear and ready. The scene is sealed off, and baseboards are safely removed. Our safety gear is on, and tools are ready for use. Now, let’s look at the fastest way to remove hardwood floors.

Removing the Hardwood

Step 1: To get started, we’ll cut the panels into smaller sections. Cut perpendicular to how the panels are laid, in sections between 1-2 feet wide. Smaller boards mean less effort to pull them up, less breaking, and higher quality for reuse. Don’t cut the entire floor in case you don’t finish in one go. Cut a few sections at a time and work your way through the room.

Step 2: Wedge your pry bar under the cut boards and leverage against the floor to get them loose. Don’t pull directly up until it’s loose, or you’ll wear out your back pretty quickly. Removing hardwood floors glued to the subfloor is a bit easier, because there are no nails to fight against, but the rest of the process is pretty similar.

Step 3: You may want to hammer down any nails sticking out of the removed boards for safety. Also, if planning to reuse boards, separate the good quality from the bad or rotten wood. Wood with rot or mildew is unhealthy and not fit to use.

Step 4: Once the section you’ve cut up is removed, you may want to clean up a bit before moving on to the next section. If your boards are nailed and stapled in, you’ll need to remove any stragglers from the subfloor. You can use the fork end of a hammer, but a nail puller works well, especially for any broken nails or staples. Here the handheld magnet is a lifesaver for picking up all the stray metal pieces on the ground.

[Link: https://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Hardwood-Floor]

Step 5: If your boards are glued down, there will be a leftover adhesive that needs to be removed. Use a floor chisel with a handguard to scrape the subfloor clean for the new floor you’ll install. Sweep or use a shop vac to clear up the space, and you’re ready to move on to the next section of the floor.

Start again: Cut up the next section, pull the boards up, and clean as you go. Just repeat the process until the designated area of the floor is pulled up. Once the floor is clear, hit it with one more sweep with the magnet and shop vac to give it another cleaning. Throw away the wasted material and keep the good stuff. Grab a lemonade and take a break. You’ve earned it!

Final Hardwood Removal Tips

Now that you know the process of removing a hardwood floor, whether it’s glued or nailed down, you can start planning your own project. Here are a few things to keep in mind before you set off to tear up your flooring. Don’t push yourself to complete the project in one day if it makes more sense to split it up into several days. My sister’s project was 600 square feet. We worked about 2 hours a day and finished the job in 5 days. Also, use a bag when collecting your wood and nails so the disposal is quicker, and there is less chance of being poked or cut. You may end up with more debris than initially anticipated, so think about renting a small dumpster to make cleaning up one easy step.

With all of that in mind, I think you’re ready to remove a hardwood floor.