Removing Wood Flooring

Think twice before tearing out a wood floor. You can easily replace a few badly damaged boards, sand away wear and scratches, and apply a shiny new finish – for a fraction of the cost of new flooring. And if you want to install a different material, you can save time and effort by putting down underlayment and laying the new flooring on top of it. That said, here's how to proceed.

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Step One

Before prying up plank flooring, bore out any screw plugs, and remove the screws underneath. With some plug flooring, the plugs are merely decorative, and nails are the only fasteners.

Step Two

Insert a pry bar under the first floorboard and force it up. If there's not enough room for the pry bar, cut out a section of the first board with a circular saw. Remove the cut section. Then insert the pry bar into the opening, and pry up the rest of the board.

Step Three

Proceed across the floor, prying up one board at a time. Work down the length of each board, placing the bar directly under the blind-nailing positions. If the wood has been glued down, use a chisel to cut through to the bottom of each piece, and tap it loose with a hammer.

Steps 1 - 3 of 3

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Removing Wood Flooring

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