There are a lot of tasks that are difficult to accomplish, and will require patience and care to complete. Removing linoleum flooring is one of these tasks but quite easy if you prepare the flooring area appropriately.
Before you Begin the Removal Process
Prior to doing anything else, you must make sure that you know just what type of flooring you have underneath the linoleum. For the most part, a concrete floor will make the task of removing the linoleum a lot easier, whereas, a wooden floor needs to be treated with a lot more care and attention. In order to check which type of flooring you have, you should remove the baseboard and lift up a corner of the flooring.
Removing Linoleum from a Concrete Floor
In order to remove linoleum underlayment from a concrete floor, all you will need is a utility knife and a heat gun. To start with, you should cut the linoleum in to strips of no more than 6 inches in width then you apply the heat gun to soften the fixing glue underneath. When the glue becomes hot it will be easier for you to pull up. Once you have lifted the last strip, you can remove the more stubborn excess glue with the heat gun and a scraper.
Removing Linoleum from a Wooden Floor
The very fact that wood is a much more porous material makes the removal of linoleum much more difficult, due to the fact that the glue will have created a stronger bond. If you discover that the subfloor is made from plywood, it is worth thinking about removing the subfloor as well and replacing it with a new one.
In order to remove the linoleum without removing the subfloor, you can use the same steps as we explained above with regards to removing the linoleum from a concrete floor. However, there will be one or two slight differences between the two techniques. The first thing that you need to do is to make sure that when you cut the linoleum in to strips, that you cut them in the same direction as the grain in the wood, as this will help to reduce damage. You still use the heat gun to soften the glue, however, in order to prevent damage to the floor underneath, instead of using a scraper to remove excess glue, it is advisable to remove it by making use of a floor sander.