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Need ideas for removing linoleum

Could just hire a professional to do the job.
 
Moot said:
If the linoleum is still glued solid to the subfloor and isn't badly damaged, lifting up or crumbling...then just leave it and put your new wood or tile floor over it.
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Yeah that's what I think also - but it seems too late ...
 
Superfly said:
That’s what I’m afraid of. I’ve watched too many do it yourself shows where people struggle with those big floor sanders. Problem is, the entire first floor is hard wood and the plan is to sand and refinish it all.
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The video gives you some idea of what great fun you are in for. It gives you the impression that the shoe moulding could be left in place but that is BS (note that they did not do so). They do cover the different types of floor sanding equipment available and stress the imporatnce of using progressively finer sandpaper grit and making multiple passes over the flooring cleaning up completely between passes. When using the edger (and inside corner scraping) I recommend starting inside a closet for practice to get a feel of keeping it under control.

 
Individual said:
Could just hire a professional to do the job.
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That is probably the best idea but finding reputable contractors is not easy or inexpensive. Do not use any who promise 25% or more under the average of 3 bids or who ask for more than 1/3 of their bid price up front.
 
OldFatGuy said:
Not a good plan. Acetone solution is the answer, aka nail polish remover. Plenty of ventilation, a gas mask. Soak over night and the crap will peel off. Use a steel long arm ice remover. The ones that look like abbreviated shovels. Don't worry about scraping and scratching the wood underneath, because you're going to sand afterwards anyway. Hardware stores carry the acetone solutions in different strengths. Renovation contractors use them often. Nothing removes gunk like nail polish remover. Before sanding, buff the floor with steel wool pads for sanders. Don't push down on the sander, let the machine do its job. Just guide it. You don't need a heavy duty sander, just one that doesn't require you to bend over. Sand first with heavy duty sandpaper, clean the floor with a broom, then examine for cracks, holes, fill with putty. Let dry. Sand again. Then stain, sand with fine paper, vacuum with a powerful shop vac. You can rent one. Then finish with an oil, wax or polyurethane as you choose. If the prior two, buffer with the sander and polishing pads.

Don't be afraid to experiment with a small section, to get an idea how it works. Jumping in with two feet is a sure fire boondoggle.

I just refinished our maple butcher block dining table. Same principles. Washed it with acetone solution, took off 6 years of grime, spills, wax, coffee, beer and wine stains, whatever. A light sanding after steel wool scrub. Fresh oil rub, followed by butcher wax and a polishing. Good for another 5-6 years. It looks 6' deep and shines from the light above. A 3 day job, about 2.5 hours per day. Within a year, the wax will turn amber for a lovely patina. I re-wax and buff once a year. The table is 45 years old, looks brand new. Next the oak and maple armchairs. Each one will take about two weeks. The lathing is complex and time consuming. Must be done by hand. Then new seat cushions for our older bony rear ends. No stain, clear finish. Quick dry polyurethane spray from Minwax for the chair finishes, done outdoors. Less is more.
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Thanks! Should post a pic of your table. Sounds beautiful.
 
Moot said:
If the linoleum is still glued solid to the subfloor and isn't badly damaged, lifting up or crumbling...then just leave it and put your new wood or tile floor over it. Linoleum isn't that thick that it would make a difference under a tile or wood floor. I tell you this because thats what I did in two rooms and five years later, the floors still look good as new.
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Trying to get to the original wood floor underneath it, though. Trying to keep as much original with the house as I can. I had thought of that, though. :lol:
 
Individual said:
Could just hire a professional to do the job.
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ttwtt78640 said:
That is probably the best idea but finding reputable contractors is not easy or inexpensive. Do not use any who promise 25% or more under the average of 3 bids or who ask for more than 1/3 of their bid price up front.
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Honestly, I can't find anybody to work. I hire people, and they don't show, or they show at 9:00 at night with a toddler in tow. That's why I have my son-in-law doing it. I know he needs the money, so I know he will be here. He's not the best, but he's here. *sigh*
 
Superfly said:
Honestly, I can't find anybody to work. I hire people, and they don't show, or they show at 9:00 at night with a toddler in tow. That's why I have my son-in-law doing it. I know he needs the money, so I know he will be here. He's not the best, but he's here. *sigh*
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I good place to look for reputable hardwood flooring contractors is in places (other than "big box" stores) who sell hardwood flooring tools and supplies in your area - searching the internet for that (bolded) topic should help you locate some. Many have bulletin boards and/or local installation/restoration contactor's business cards on their sales counters and their employees will know who is who in your area.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
I good place to look for reputable hardwood flooring contractors is in places (other than "big box" stores) who sell hardwood flooring tools and supplies in your area - searching the internet for that (bolded) topic should help you locate some. Many have bulletin boards and/or local installation/restoration contactor's business cards on their sales counters and their employees will know who is who in your area.
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Thanks, and thanks for that video. I will see if we have anything like that. I live in a pretty small town, but am surrounded by other towns, so surely someone has some info. The kitchen is currently gutted. Nothing in there but the sink and the cabinet it sits on. I so want to keep the original flooring, but just don't know if it's realistically the best way to go. Right beside the kitchen is what we call the "old dining room." Once the wall came down that separated the two, the "old dining room" became part of the new, extended kitchen. The "old dining room" has beautiful hardwood (well, it will be). I'd love to carry that on through the kitchen. My cabinetmaker is coming today to do a final measure on our cabinets before he gets started, so I'd like to have the flooring finished before he gets finished with the cabinets.
 
Superfly said:
Thanks, and thanks for that video. I will see if we have anything like that. I live in a pretty small town, but am surrounded by other towns, so surely someone has some info. The kitchen is currently gutted. Nothing in there but the sink and the cabinet it sits on. I so want to keep the original flooring, but just don't know if it's realistically the best way to go. Right beside the kitchen is what we call the "old dining room." Once the wall came down that separated the two, the "old dining room" became part of the new, extended kitchen. The "old dining room" has beautiful hardwood (well, it will be). I'd love to carry that on through the kitchen. My cabinetmaker is coming today to do a final measure on our cabinets before he gets started, so I'd like to have the flooring finished before he gets finished with the cabinets.
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One thing that I don't remember being covered in that video was making sure that no nails used to secure the flooring are at or above the surface. Most of the flooring (assuming it's tongue and groove) is edge/angle nailed but the boards nearest the walls will be face nailed so keep an eye out for them.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
One thing that I don't remember being covered in that video was making sure that no nails used to secure the flooring are at or above the surface. Most of the flooring (assuming it's tongue and groove) is edge/angle nailed but the boards nearest the walls will be face nailed so keep an eye out for them.
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No, it's a 100 year old house. There are nails and brads sticking up all over the place. They are going to have to be dealt with.
 
Dick Tornado said:
***** I read some suggesting acetate or some form of solvent across the whole floor and to let it sit, this is WAY DANGEROUS.*****

This leaves the strong potential for an explosion, fire or both.

A flame, spark from a light switch or fan motor could cause unrepairable damage and life threating issues that could be uninsured events.
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Acetone solutions are water based. They don't burn. No worse than hanging out at beauty parlor for a day of preening. Many scrub soaps have acetone as an ingredient, especially those we all use for our laundry and dishwashing. Acetone is not an acetate. Don't let the similar names fool you. Acetone is an animal based byproduct, bones. Acetates are a petroleum based product which can also be made from bamboo, sawgrass and other alternate fuel sources. Acetate from bamboo is the basis of rayon aka microfiber when mixed with polyester.
 
OldFatGuy said:
Acetone solutions are water based. They don't burn. No worse than hanging out at beauty parlor for a day of preening. Many scrub soaps have acetone as an ingredient, especially those we all use for our laundry and dishwashing. Acetone is not an acetate. Don't let the similar names fool you. Acetone is an animal based byproduct, bones. Acetates are a petroleum based product which can also be made from bamboo, sawgrass and other alternate fuel sources. Acetate from bamboo is the basis of rayon aka microfiber when mixed with polyester.
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The liquid you rub over your fingernails is composed of acetone, which is highly flammable. Recently, in Cypress, Texas, a woman's body caught fire when a nearby candle ignited her nail polish remover.

While it is a widely used product, and is even made in our bodies, acetone is considered a hazardous waste material and needs to be handled and disposed of properly. Acetone is a clear, colorless liquid that is highly flammable.

Acetone is a serious fire hazard and can ignite with only a 2.6% concentration in the air. Water used on an acetone fire should be in the form of a spray or fog in order to prevent spreading the fire.

The most hazardous property of acetone is its extreme flammability. At temperatures greater than acetone's flash point of −20 °C (−4 °F), air mixtures of between 2.5% and 12.8% acetone, by volume, may explode or cause a flash fire. Vapors can flow along surfaces to distant ignition sources and flash back. Static discharge may also ignite acetone vapors,

acetone1.jpg

acetone2.jpg​

Panama City Beach structure fire destroys local business | WMBB - mypanhandle.com

According to the fire department investigators, Martin had been cleaning the paint rollers with a wire brush when the brush sparked, and that spark landed in the acetone. This started the fire, which quickly progressed into a large blaze; Martin left the building and called 9-1-1.
“Upon arrival which was a minute and forty five seconds after it dispatched, we had a fully engulfed structure,” said Gabriel Moschella, a captain with Bay County Fire Rescue.
The fire required four engines, two ladder trucks, help from neighboring departments and hours of fighting to get it under control.
 
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Superfly said:
Trying to get to the original wood floor underneath it, though. Trying to keep as much original with the house as I can. I had thought of that, though. :lol:
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file:///C:/Users/The%20Great%201%20Al/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/WKS-17-asbestos-removing-asbestos-containing-flooring%20(1).pdf

Floor tiles and linoleum, or lino, may contain asbestos. They may also have asbestos paper backing, or be fixed with asbestos containing mastic.
This sheet from the above web page describes good practices to follow if you need to lift a small amount of flooring that could contain asbestos.
 
Dick Tornado said:
The liquid you rub over your fingernails is composed of acetone, which is highly flammable. Recently, in Cypress, Texas, a woman's body caught fire when a nearby candle ignited her nail polish remover.

While it is a widely used product, and is even made in our bodies, acetone is considered a hazardous waste material and needs to be handled and disposed of properly. Acetone is a clear, colorless liquid that is highly flammable.

Acetone is a serious fire hazard and can ignite with only a 2.6% concentration in the air. Water used on an acetone fire should be in the form of a spray or fog in order to prevent spreading the fire.

The most hazardous property of acetone is its extreme flammability. At temperatures greater than acetone's flash point of −20 °C (−4 °F), air mixtures of between 2.5% and 12.8% acetone, by volume, may explode or cause a flash fire. Vapors can flow along surfaces to distant ignition sources and flash back. Static discharge may also ignite acetone vapors,


Panama City Beach structure fire destroys local business | WMBB - mypanhandle.com

According to the fire department investigators, Martin had been cleaning the paint rollers with a wire brush when the brush sparked, and that spark landed in the acetone. This started the fire, which quickly progressed into a large blaze; Martin left the building and called 9-1-1.
“Upon arrival which was a minute and forty five seconds after it dispatched, we had a fully engulfed structure,” said Gabriel Moschella, a captain with Bay County Fire Rescue.
The fire required four engines, two ladder trucks, help from neighboring departments and hours of fighting to get it under control.
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Acetone solutions are 95-98% water. Buy some and put a match to a sample. Nothing happens.
 
Truckstop said:
Save your back.

View attachment 67263455

Rent it, totally worth it.

You can get them at any Home Depot here.
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If it’s a hardwood floor, and you want to refinish it, you’re going to wind up scraping up all the linoleum, use a heat gun to soften the adhesive and scrape as much of that up as possible.

A belt sander will NOT take the adhesive up. It will simply gum up the sandpaper. Zip Strip and knee pads are the only solution....
 
TomFitz said:
If it’s a hardwood floor, and you want to refinish it, you’re going to wind up scraping up all the linoleum, use a heat gun to soften the adhesive and scrape as much of that up as possible.

A belt sander will NOT take the adhesive up. It will simply gum up the sandpaper. Zip Strip and knee pads are the only solution....
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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but my home used to be a doctor’s office, and all the hardwood was covered with indoor/outdoor carpet glued down to the hardwood. It took me three months to get the old stuff up,.

The finished job turned out to be worth it. I used marine varnish, not the stuff you get at HomeDepot, and tree coats of that give a nice finish that still holds up ten years later!
 
Superfly said:
Demoing my kitchen and the former owner had carpet in there. We took up the carpet and there is linoleum underneath the carpet. So it’s hardwood, then linoleum, then padding, then carpet.

The carpet is up. The padding is partially up. What we are struggling with is the linoleum that is stuck to the hardwood. It won’t come up. We are trying to scrape it up, but it’s flaking off in like dime-sized pieces.

Any ideas? I’d love to save the floor underneath all this, but I can’t get the stuff up.
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I also have just removed the lino from my kitchen floor. A steam gun used for taking off wallpaper will do the trick as well. Softens the glue and allows you to peel the lino back.

To tell if your lino has asbestos look at the underside of the lino. If the pattern on the top side is visible on the bottom then that is how they made asbestos lined lino. Lino that is not asbestos has the pattern only on the top side.
 
soylentgreen said:
I also have just removed the lino from my kitchen floor. A steam gun used for taking of wallpaper will do the trick as well. Softens the glue and allows you to peel the lino back.

To tell if your lino has asbestos look at the underside of the lino. If the pattern on the top side is visible on the bottom then that is how they made asbestos lined lino. Lino that is not asbestos has the pattern only on the top side.
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Interesting! Thanks for the tip!
 
TomFitz said:
If it’s a hardwood floor, and you want to refinish it, you’re going to wind up scraping up all the linoleum, use a heat gun to soften the adhesive and scrape as much of that up as possible.

A belt sander will NOT take the adhesive up. It will simply gum up the sandpaper. Zip Strip and knee pads are the only solution....
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You do understand that the machine pictured is literally made to take up linoleum. I have done several remodels and the machine works great and is very affordable to rent. NO knee pads for this guy.

No idea why you are talking about belt sanders.
 
Superfly said:
Demoing my kitchen and the former owner had carpet in there. We took up the carpet and there is linoleum underneath the carpet. So it’s hardwood, then linoleum, then padding, then carpet.

The carpet is up. The padding is partially up. What we are struggling with is the linoleum that is stuck to the hardwood. It won’t come up. We are trying to scrape it up, but it’s flaking off in like dime-sized pieces.

Any ideas? I’d love to save the floor underneath all this, but I can’t get the stuff up.
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Wow carpet in kitchen, almost as bad as having it in bathroom. Makes you wonder what some people think is hygienic. Good luck with your DIY project.
 
Truckstop said:
Save your back.

View attachment 67263455

Rent it, totally worth it.

You can get them at any Home Depot here.
Click to expand...

I was head of a remodel of a building and this is what the carpet installers recommended. I'm not sure but the glue might be dried out and old enough to be sanded off with the floor sander. I wouldn't use any chemical solvent to dissolve the glue until it was established that it couldn't be sanded off.
 
Ikari said:
carpet in the kitchen!!??
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cushions the fall for old people I would guess. I just put carpet in my kitchen albeit not a permanent thing. I have an old dog whose feet slides out from under her on the tile but she does okay on carpet.
 
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