Old flooring removal

Before laying laminate, tiles or new carpet, the old floor covering has to come up down to the subfloor. Removing old carpet, lino or vinyl looks like simple work, but the adhesive decides whether it goes quickly or the floor has to be scraped centimetre by centimetre.

What removal covers

• taking off skirting boards and threshold strips;
• cutting the covering into strips and pulling it up;
• scraping adhesive and underlay residue off the floor;
• rolling and bagging the waste and sweeping the room.

What makes it harder or easier

Loose-laid or taped carpet comes up in a few minutes per room. Fully glued lino and vinyl can hold on hard, and old coverings with a foam backing leave a thick, crumbling layer on the concrete. Then the handyman uses a long-handled scraper or a powered floor stripper.

In older buildings you sometimes find old vinyl tiles and black bitumen adhesive under the lino. Such layers are never dry-sanded, as the dust can be harmful. If you suspect the floor is several decades old, mention it in the job.

What happens to the floor next

Once the covering is up, the handyman assesses the subfloor. Often it needs priming and a self-levelling compound before laminate or tiles go down. These are separate services, but it makes sense to plan them in the same job so nobody has to come back twice.

Common questions