# Suggestions please. Need easiest way to remove Linoleum?



## user17661 (Oct 14, 2007)

I am trying to remove a 6' x 11' solid sheet of genuine Armstrong Linoleum, glued directly to a concrete subfloor, which my father installed in his Kitchen 20 years ago. My dad was a stickler for 'going the extra mile' to ensure items he installed would last a lifetime. The trouble is, this canary yellow brick-patterned linoleum's mop & glo finish 'got up and went' a long time ago. My dad spent his lifetime selling flooring, so the glue he used must have been the best he could buy because I'm finding it very difficult to remove.

I've read all the posts here at Contractor Talk regarding linoleum disposal but the only removal tip I've seen is 'hot water and a good quality scraper.'

Currently I'm hammering small pieces up using a 1" chisel (which is slow going as you can imagine), but I haven't tried the hot water/scraper method... is that the best route? I'd like some input before I spend money on a scraper. Thanks in advance!

:thumbsup:


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## Double-A (Jul 3, 2006)

Thread was closed and reopened. I may have gotten a bit trigger happy.


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## user17661 (Oct 14, 2007)

*Electrician needs help from flooring Pro. I need to remove Linoleum.*

I hope this thread will be allowed to remain open, because a moderator shut down my first attempt to have this question answered. With all due respect to you, Mr. Moderator, you should be aware that I'm not a 'do-it-yourself'er, I am an electrician/remodeling pro and I need help from a flooring pro. I don't do floors, but I've been hired by my mother to gut and remodel her kitchen.

As per your instructions, I have sought an answer to this question at DIYtalk, but I have failed to find a professional answer there. At present, the registration pages at DIY is failing to allow new registrations (the security image for verification isn't presenting itself properly) so I'm caught between a rock and a hard place.

QUESTION:

What is the best METHOD for removing a 20 year old solid sheet of Armstrong linoleum flooring which has been thoroughly glued to the concrete subfloor?


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## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

barrywjrobb said:


> QUESTION:
> 
> What is the best METHOD for removing a 20 year old solid sheet of Armstrong linoleum flooring which has been thoroughly glued to the concrete subfloor?


ANSWER:

A heat gun, a scraper, time and patience.

Optional(but should be mandatory): Radio or mp3 player.


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## Celtic (May 23, 2007)

Same question here?
Electrician needs help from flooring Pro. I need to remove Linoleum.

Here's my answer from that thread:


Celtic said:


> ANSWER:
> 
> A heat gun, a scraper, time and patience.
> 
> Optional(but should be mandatory): Radio or mp3 player.


Why buying a scraper is a concern eludes me _(I'd like some input before I spend money on a scraper.) _The scraper is not a skyscraper...it's a blade on a stick....you could use an ice scraper...this one is $20 @ amazon:








http://www.amazon.com/Ice-Bully-Steel-Sidewalk-Scraper/dp/B000PAQEKU

A few putty knives, maybe some knee pads, a bucket of water to clean yourself/tools up as you go, etc.

Using a 1" chisel and a hammer is an exercise in frustration ~ don't you have a teenage child that needs to be taught a lesson ?:laughing:


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

Read this thread from post #17 beyond:
http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?t=33346


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## Bud Cline (Feb 12, 2006)

> I've read all the posts here at Contractor Talk regarding linoleum disposal but the only removal tip I've seen is 'hot water and a good quality scraper.'


I'm afraid that, short of renting a machine that's the only way. I've never tried the water thing.

We use the 4" wallpaper scrapers with the 18" (or so) handles and go for it.

We also have the 8" floor scrapers with the telescoping handles but that doesn't seem to matter to the floorcovering, it's still a bear at times. Turn the scraper over every four or five strokes to keep the blade sharp. No one ever said it was easy, but have never found one that couldn't be removed from concrete.


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## Bud Cline (Feb 12, 2006)

_Threads merged, edited to remove circular link.

Sorry for the confusion. <Waves hand lazily> "Continue" 
-- Double-A_


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

double post


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## user17661 (Oct 14, 2007)

*great post*



angus242 said:


> Read this thread from post #17 beyond:


Thanks! Great info! And thanks for opening my first post, too.


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## voyager8019 (Feb 6, 2008)

barrywjrobb said:


> I hope this thread will be allowed to remain open, because a moderator shut down my first attempt to have this question answered. With all due respect to you, Mr. Moderator, you should be aware that I'm not a 'do-it-yourself'er, I am an electrician/remodeling pro and I need help from a flooring pro. I don't do floors, but I've been hired by my mother to gut and remodel her kitchen.
> 
> As per your instructions, I have sought an answer to this question at DIYtalk, but I have failed to find a professional answer there. At present, the registration pages at DIY is failing to allow new registrations (the security image for verification isn't presenting itself properly) so I'm caught between a rock and a hard place.
> 
> ...


 
Use a heat gun!


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## Bud Cline (Feb 12, 2006)

> Bud Cline
> Tile Contractor
> Trade: Building Trades-Specializing in Ceramic Tile
> Join Date: Feb 2006
> ...



Looks as if I've been typing but my fingers never moved. It's magic!!!:thumbup:


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## Double-A (Jul 3, 2006)

Bud Cline said:


> Looks as if I've been typing but my fingers never moved. It's magic!!!:thumbup:


Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!:shutup:


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## Bill_Vincent (Apr 6, 2005)

Believe me when I tell you-- the machine that Bud mentioned-- a power vinyl scraper-- it's about the size of a lawn edger, and the most work you'll do with it, other than standing behind it, is to lift it in and out of your vehicle. It's that easy to use.


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## Bud Cline (Feb 12, 2006)

Bill I didn't dwell on the power scraper rental thing and here's why.



> *Currently I'm hammering small pieces up using a 1" chisel *(which is slow going as you can imagine), but I* haven't tried the hot water*/scraper method... is that the best route? I'd like some* input before I spend money on a scraper. *Thanks in advance!


I gotta tell ya Bill.........:wallbash:

Oh hell nevermind.


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## MattCoops (Apr 7, 2006)

The easiest way to remove linoleum is cut a line down it from wal to wall, and another, then peel it up and pull with your forearms. Now pull and roll it as you go.

Send the roll to Schluter Systems Inc.
They use these to make their Ditra products out of.

If there is 1/4" luan under the linoleum. Please mail it to me. I use it to make canoe surfaces and hockey sticks.


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## user17661 (Oct 14, 2007)

ok guys, thanks for the laughs and tips. I broke down and went to home depot's tool rental center. I rented a very large Hilti hammer action scraper with a 6" floor blade (the vinyl floor scrapers were gone). the job was wrapped up in just over two hours. I'll post pictures later tonight. thank you again for your help.


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## Bud Cline (Feb 12, 2006)

NOW your talkin'.


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## MattCoops (Apr 7, 2006)

And how much did you pay for a tool that you had to give back to daddy?


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## user17661 (Oct 14, 2007)

MattCoops said:


> And how much did you pay for a tool that you had to give back to daddy?


my father passed away 14 years ago smartarse, but if you mean home depot is my daddy, then you should know I paid $60 for use of a tool that retails for $1250.00 plus the cost of the bit and blades. pretty sweet deal... especially when compared to using a hammer and a 1" chissel (which by the way was the only tool that was removing the linoleum with the paper backing all the way to the concrete in one step). Thanks again for the suggestions.


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## MattCoops (Apr 7, 2006)

barrywjrobb said:


> my father passed away 14 years ago smartarse, but if you mean home depot is my daddy, then you should know I paid $60 for use of a tool that retails for $1250.00 plus the cost of the bit and blades. pretty sweet deal... especially when compared to using a hammer and a 1" chissel (which by the way was the only tool that was removing the linoleum with the paper backing all the way to the concrete in one step). Thanks again for the suggestions.


wow, it took up the linoleum and the backing. By the backing you mean adhesive AND the 1/4" luan underneath right?
by the way,
you spelled chisel with two ss's.
I resent that, my daddy was a chiselr.


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## user17661 (Oct 14, 2007)

MattCoops said:


> wow, it took up the linoleum and the backing. By the backing you mean adhesive AND the 1/4" luan underneath right?
> by the way,
> you spelled chisel with two ss's.
> I resent that, my daddy was a chiselr.


the extra 's' was an accident. What exactly is luan? Sorry about your daddy.


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## neolitic (Apr 20, 2006)

barrywjrobb said:


> I am trying to remove a 6' x 11' solid sheet of genuine Armstrong Linoleum, glued directly to a concrete subfloor, which my father installed in his Kitchen 20 years ago. .......
> :thumbsup:


Post #1


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

barrywjrobb said:


> What exactly is lauan?





MattCoops said:


> By the backing you mean adhesive AND the 1/4" luan underneath right?
> by the way,
> you spelled chisel with two ss's.


And you spelled lauan with only 1 "a".

Lauan is a thin, plywood-like material that is typically used as an underlayment when laying vinyl flooring over a wooden subfloor. The lauan is stapled to the subfloor and the vinyl is glued to the lauan. The theory is lauan is a smoother surface than OSB (or similar material used for subfloor) so you don't have a rough finish under the vinyl.

And since things have gotten so testy around here over the past day, I'M NOT STATING THIS IS THE CORRECT WAY TO LAY A VINYL FLOOR. I am simply mentioning a typical use for lauan...right or wrong.


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## Bud Cline (Feb 12, 2006)

> Angus: "And since things have gotten so testy around here over the past day, I'M NOT STATING THIS IS THE CORRECT WAY TO LAY A VINYL FLOOR. I am simply mentioning a typical use for lauan...right or wrong."



Angus,

What you have been witnessing here in the past many hours is what is known as the *"Dunning-Kruger Effect."*

This (in my estimation) is exactly the case with one or more posters here lately. See if you agree.




*The Dunning-Kruger Effect* is the phenomenon wherein people who have little knowledge think that they know more than others who have much more knowledge.

Dunning and Kruger were awarded the 2000 Ig Nobel prize for their work.[1]

The phenomenon was demonstrated in a series of experiments performed by Justin Kruger and David Dunning, then both of Cornell University. Their results were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in December 1999.[2]

Kruger and Dunning noted a number of previous studies which tend to suggest that in skills as diverse as reading comprehension, operating a motor vehicle, and playing chess or tennis, "ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" (as Charles Darwin put it). They hypothesized that with a typical skill which humans may possess in greater or lesser degree,

Incompetent individuals tend to overestimate their own level of skill. 
Incompetent individuals fail to recognize genuine skill in others. 
Incompetent individuals fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy. 
If they can be trained to substantially improve their own skill level, these individuals can recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill..... 

Here's the rest of it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning-Kruger_effect


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## Bill_Vincent (Apr 6, 2005)

IOW, troll.

Yep.


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## MattCoops (Apr 7, 2006)

OSB?

Obscure **** Behind?


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## Double-A (Jul 3, 2006)

And that's our show... thanks for coming. Hope you had a good time. Drive safely, God bless you. Goodnight everybody.

Be sure to catch us at our new time next week. Stay tuned for your local news.

<closes thread>


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