Remove Backing From Hardwood Floor

Hardwood flooring makes a welcome addition to any home but it can be daunting to deal with once it s time to remove or replace it.

Remove backing from hardwood floor.

Remove the underlying paper backing and or adhesive. For removing staples or tacks get a pair of vise grips pliers that lock in place grip the staple and slowly roll it back. To remove adhesive from a hardwood floor bring a pot of water to a boil. If you can find a long handled scraper the kind they use to remove tile it will save on your back.

Soak some old towels in the water and then place them on the adhesive. Then we discovered the floor in our son s bedroom. After letting them sit for 3 to 5 minutes wipe off as much adhesive as you can. How to remove dried latex backing from a floor.

I recently borrowed a little portable steamer from a friend to remove masking tape on wood floors. Sand off old carpet backing. Gently use a floor scraper to remove the rest of it. The results were great in our daughter s bedroom and not so shabby in the hall and the master bedroom.

To remove any remaining backing apply heat to the floor in small sections using a wallpaper steamer a heat gun or even a hair dryer. The hardwood looked fine but a different kind of rubbery carpet padding had been used in the room. The tape had been along the floor moldings i painted years ago. Rugs with latex backings can stick to your flooring leaving behind a big mess when the rug is removed.

Stripping hardwood flooring the wrong way can cost you hours of backbreaking work leave you with an enormous mess and even cause permanent damage to your subflooring. If you use rugs with latex or rubber backing. And instead of coming right up most of the padding was cemented to the floor. In many cases it may be more appropriate to remove the backing by sanding with a floor sander or a floor buffer and a 36 grit sanding screen.

09 16 2007 by leona labine. I was a bit nervous at the thought of trying it on my hardwood flooring but at this point i didn t have anything to lose. The wood floor covering association doesn t recommend putting any type of carpeting with a rubber backing on your wood floor and if you re looking for a way to get the dried latex off your floor you probably know why it doesn t make that recommendation.