Fortunately, removing vinyl flooring can be done yourself or you might replace it with another floor covering.
Removing old glued-down vinyl flooring has its challenges.
In addition, liquid strippers often do not work as well as promised.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Holding a heat gun too close to flammable materials can ignite them.
you might also remove vinyl flooring planks with minimal damage if they were installed as a floating floor.
Chances are you won’t be able to reuse any part of removed vinyl flooring under any other circumstances.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Gently pry off the quarter-round with the flat end of the pry bar.
However, it’s more common for the baseboards to be installed over the top of the flooring.
To start, place a wood block against the wall a few inches above the baseboard.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Put the flat end of the pry bar on top of where the trim and wall meet.
A swift rap with a gloved hand should be enough to force the bar under the trim.
If not, rap the pry bar with a rubber mallet or hammer.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Gently pry the trim away in stages, proceeding along the wall.
verify to take your time and go slowlyprying back too quickly may snap the trim.
Baseboards often get damaged during trim removal.
Lee Wallender
Keep your cut parallel to the walls, and see if the center of the flooring pulls up easily.
Removing vinyl flooring from concrete may prove more challenging than removing it from wood.
The floor is likely glued to the concrete so you will need to scrape it away or use chemicals.
The Spruce /Kevin Norris
Cut off the length only when it gets unwieldy and in your way.
Keeping the strips narrow will benefit you later when you dispose of the old flooring.
It can be tempting to start pulling back or rolling up large sheets of vinyl flooring at a time.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
However, this is not recommended, as the sheet vinyl can become heavy and difficult to manage.
Because the pry bar is blunt, it will work only if the vinyl is lightly glued down.
Force the end of a freshly sharpened 5-in-1 tool between the vinyl and subfloor.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Use sharp, jabbing strokes.
As you chisel, use your other hand to keep peeling back the vinyl.
confirm that you are removing the full thickness of the flooring as you chisel and pull.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
This gives you greater pulling power.
A heat gun also works well when you are removing glued-downvinyl tiles.
You’ll need to force them a bit to snap them into a fold.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
This may involve taking the flooring to a specified waste disposal site.
It’s not recommended.
Resilient flooring isn’t idealunderlaymentsince it can shift and cause grout problems.
The Spruce /Kevin Norris
That depends on the installers and the condition of the old vinyl floorings.
That is why you sometimes see a few layers of flooring in anolder house.
The builders and installers simply left the old floor down.
