Dismantling of wooden floors, reasons and options for removing the coating, technology of work: preparation, removal of skirting boards and old timber structures. Dismantling a wooden floor is a job that involves removing the floor covering for its partial restoration or complete replacement. This rather simple process simultaneously requires accuracy and the application of serious physical strength.
Reasons for removing a wooden floor
Wood floors are very popular with ordinary consumers due to a number of their positive characteristics. Among them are high quality, environmental friendliness, long service life and aesthetic appearance of this building material. However, under the influence of time and the influence of external factors, the wooden coating deteriorates, and it needs to be replaced. There are several types of wood floors: regular plank floor, wood laminate, parquet board. Each of these coatings has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. But the nature of the origin of all types of wooden floors has endowed them with such common characteristics as lack of resistance to moisture, instability to temperature changes, risk of deformation, tendency to mold and mildew formation if the coating is not properly maintained.
In the event of fungus and rotten, deformed areas on the floor elements, it is necessary to dismantle them and partially or completely replace them. Otherwise, not only the appearance of the interior decoration of the room may suffer. Since mold and mildew are known to cause allergies, their presence in a living space can pose a serious health hazard to the occupants of the home. Especially for children and people with weakened immunity.
Wooden floors need special care, for example, a coating with special compounds that increase their water-repellent or antiseptic properties. Neglecting these measures can lead to a reduction in their service life and early failure. Ultimately, it will be necessary to dismantle the old wooden floor and replace it with a fresh coating.
In addition to the above reasons, for work on replacing the floor covering, you can also highlight:
- Severe mechanical damage;
- Errors during work and incorrect installation of the old wooden covering;
- Poor quality material;
- Destruction of structural elements as a result of the vital activity of pests;
- Obsolete wood flooring.
Important! When carrying out work to remove old wood flooring, you should take into account which type of floor you are dealing with - parquet or board.
The main methods for dismantling a wood floor
To find the answer to the question of how to dismantle a wooden floor, first of all, you should decide on how you would like to see the end result. The method of waste disposal will depend on this. If the work is not done accurately, without preserving the original shape of the boards, with a large number of small elements, it will be somewhat problematic to take the debris out of the room. Sharp edges and chips can cause splinters and wounds on the hands, even if all manipulations are carried out with gloves.
If the parts of the wooden floor are carefully removed during dismantling and sawn into several small parts, it will be quite easy to take them out of the room and deliver them to the disposal site. In addition, labor costs depend on the chosen method of removing the flooring. Much less effort and energy will be required to carry out the work in the event that the dismantling is done not just with the use of brute physical force, but by carefully separating each board. Thus, depending on the condition of the old coating, plans for the disposal of debris, as well as the construction of a new floor, the following methods of dismantling the structure are distinguished:
- Removing the old coating with maximum preservation of the shape and structure of its constituent parts … This may be necessary in situations where you plan to reuse the floorboards. For example, when partially replacing the floor covering or for using them in another room. With this option for dismantling a wooden floor, work must be done very carefully and with great care.
- Quick removal of the coating without maintaining the shape of the boards … This method is most often used in cases where the floors are severely damaged and deformed, as well as if all the component parts are attached using construction glue or large nails. Then it is almost impossible to dismantle the wooden floor while maintaining the integrity of the parts.
Advice! Accuracy during the work is required not only to preserve the elements of the old floor, but also to avoid serious damage to the base of the coating and difficulties in installing new floors.
Preparatory work before removing the wooden floor
Before proceeding with the removal of old wooden floors, there are a number of factors to consider that will accompany the work process:
- Removing floors is accompanied by high noise levels. Therefore, it is necessary to more responsibly choose the time for the work, especially if they will be carried out in an apartment building. It is advisable to dismantle the wooden floor during working hours from Monday to Friday, so as not to create unnecessary difficulties for neighbors and your loved ones.
- When the old coating is removed, a large amount of dust and small debris is lifted into the air. This is due not only to the mechanical effect on the structural elements, but also due to the dirt accumulated under the floorboards during the period of operation of the floor. For this reason, work clothes, a respirator mask, goggles, gloves and a hat should be prepared before starting dismantling work. In addition, it is necessary to create conditions that prevent the penetration of dirt into neighboring rooms, and limit the access of unauthorized people to the work site.
- Dismantling wood flooring creates a lot of debris. In order to reduce the time of the procedure, you need to think in advance and prepare a place, a method for placing and transporting old boards and debris.
- Removing wooden floors is a rather laborious process that requires the use of physical force. For this reason, it is not advisable to carry out the dismantling alone. Working in pairs, it will be much easier and faster to cope with the task.
- Any piece of furniture and decorative elements will complicate and slow down the work of removing the old wooden floor. Therefore, it is advisable to free the room as much as possible from unnecessary things.
Before starting to dismantle the wooden floor, prepare all the necessary tools. Most likely you will need: a crowbar, a hammer, a nail puller, pliers, a chisel, an ax, screwdrivers, a jigsaw or a hacksaw, polyurethane foam to eliminate cracks after work is completed.
If you plan to re-lay the boards after removing the wooden floor, you must first number each element. This is necessary in order to preserve their previous order during installation.
Dismantling technology for wooden floors
To have an idea of how to remove wood floors, you need to figure out what the steps are in this process. After preparing the premises and all the necessary tools, it is worth determining whether any communications have been laid under the covering, and their location. This must be done in order to protect yourself and avoid damaging them. You can start removing the old coating only after that.
How to remove the skirting board
Disassemble the construction of the skirting board from the end. This avoids damage to it. The dismantling process consists of the following steps:
- The location of the first hammered nail is determined. At this point, carefully lift the skirting board with a nailer (max. 3 cm).
- The same should be done at the rest of the fastening points of the structure until the entire plinth is removed around the perimeter of the room. When carrying out work, it is advisable to place the nail puller as close as possible to the place of fixation. This will prevent splitting of the skirting board and maintain its integrity.
In cases where it is impossible to pull the nail out of the skirting board without damage, you should slightly clean its surface with a chisel from the wood layer. After that, the nail must be removed by prying it by the head using a nail puller. In this case, to protect the coating from damage, it is necessary to place a small block of wood or a piece of plywood under the tool.
There are times when the plinth is so thickly covered with paint that it is impossible to visually determine the location of the nails. In such a situation, work should be started, stepping back about 10-20 cm from its beginning. If the structure is attached not to the flooring, but to the wall, the position of the nailer should be changed. In this case, the point of support should be the surface into which the fastener element enters. If the fixing of the plinth is carried out with screws, then dismantling is done with a screwdriver or an electric screwdriver.
The specifics of dismantling a wooden floor
After removing the plinth, proceed to disassembling the floorboards. If the floor structure is equipped with ventilation openings, first remove all protective grilles from them.
The dismantling of wooden floors in a house or apartment begins with the floorboard farthest from the entrance. If for some reason this cannot be done, alternatively, you can start with any other narrow board located against the wall. The technology for dismantling a wooden floor may differ depending on the method of fastening the structural elements. If the fixation was carried out with screws, they should simply be unscrewed with an ordinary screwdriver or a special power tool. And then sequentially separate the boards from each other. If nails were used as fasteners, the wooden floors are removed using a nail puller. To do this, it is inserted into the gap between the farthest wall and the first board. Further, the process of removing the floor looks like this:
- The floorboard is carefully raised by 2-3 cm. It is undesirable to raise the boards by more than 3 cm, and sharp jerks should also be avoided.
- Using a hammer, the board is tapped into place so that the head of the nail remains raised. To do this, you can put a small piece of plywood under it. If the work is done correctly, then after the board is returned to its place, the nail heads will rise 1-2 cm above it. Just as in the case of removing the plinth, a small block must be placed under the nail puller. This is necessary in order to protect the coating surface.
- After all the nails have been lifted and the board is returned to its place, a chisel must be carefully inserted into the gap between the floorboards, gradually widening the gap. Thus, the spike of the removed board is separated from the groove of the adjacent one. The first floorboard can then be removed.
- Then all the steps should be repeated sequentially, gradually separating each board and disassembling the floor.
When dismantling a wooden floor, remember that the most vulnerable point of the entire structure is the junction of the spike of the removed floorboard and the groove of the board adjacent to it. Therefore, when separating one element of a wooden floor from another, you should work extremely carefully.
If it was not possible to separate the boards from each other without damage, and a crack has formed on the spike or groove, this can cause the floor to squeak when the floorboards are reused. However, this can be avoided if, before installation, the damaged part is glued with PVA glue or fixed with a small nail. Damaged floorboards will need to be laid as tightly as possible. Dismantling the wooden floor on the joists is carried out in the same way. The only difference is that after parsing the coating, it is necessary to remove the base beams themselves. To do this, they need to be unscrewed or beaten off from the foundation with a sledgehammer.
How to remove a wooden floor - watch the video:
If it is impossible to start dismantling the wooden floors because the distance between the first floorboard and the wall is too small, you can make a small indentation in the plaster so that the nailer can be inserted freely.
