Removing laminate flooring

[bobbydj]

Just a hypothetical question, really.

Let's say you're in the position of putting together a live room. You have a budget for flooring that's not too small, but by no means massive either.

The live-room-to-be that you're working with currently has concrete floors. There are no nice wooden floor boards that you can renovate and polish. Ideally you'd like to lay wooden floor board planks down over the concrete, but your budget is pretty low. Plus also you need to get moving on this thing. You conclude that laminate flooring is not such a bad idea - after all, it seems to offer a lot of the sound qualities of wooden flooring, but is sssooooo much more affordable.

Nevertheless, you're hoping that in a few years time you may be able to afford something that's both more aesthetically pleasing, and might sound better too. In short, you're thinking that 'real' wooden floor boards will be an option in the not too distant future.

Thing is, how much trauma would you confront if you had to take up your laminate flooring?? As y'all'll know it's pretty much a tongue and groove type arrangement, usually with each strip being glued together.

So, once a floor is covered, you're effectively left with one large piece of flooring.

Has anyone removed this kind of flooring? Do the separate pieces pull apart fairly easily (despite being glued)? Succinctly, how the fuck do you tear this shit up?? I mean, I know there are worse quandaries in life, but still. Is this a nightmare waiting to happen?? Worse case that I can think (with my avowedly non-carpenter's bwain) is that you would somehow have to saw the shit up into removable chunks whilst it was still on the floor!! How the eff would that work?? What kind of a saw would do this job?? Some kinda band saw where you could adjust the cutting depth to around 5-10 mm or what??

I'm just trying to anticipate problems - and possible solutions - here. Btw for better or worse assume total commitment to the short-medium term laminate flooring decision.

Cheers.

[joeysimms]

I'd leave the concrete alone and just get some throw rugs.

[Mark Alan Miller]

Outdoor porch & patio paint can be cool.
Or something like "Skimstone".
Then, like mentioned above, nice area rugs.
Roll up the rugs for a live sound, or toss more down to quiet down the room.

But sorry, no experience here in pulling up laminate floors.

[signorMars]

i actually just put laminate floor into my music room a month ago. there actually was no glue involved. you lay down sheets of moisture barrier and tape them together, then you lay the floor on top of that with a 1/4" space at all the walls, then you put the trim on the walls to cover the 1/4" space... so to remove the floor you would just have to pull off the trim, which could be a bit of a pain in the ass, and then disassemble the flooring, which would be easy.

the laminate flooring sounds faaaar better than either the carpet or the concrete floor did.

[bobbydj]

Yeah - I actually prefer the sound of concrete. I mean, I really do.

But indulge me - what's the best way to get this laminate stuff up??

[signorMars]

i think it should just be like assembling it only backwards. just pull each chunk out. the brand we used (armstrong) didn't require glue.

[jp76]

You can do it, but I've heard it's a really big pain in the ass. I think it just takes a lot of time to yank it up and then you have to use some really toxic shit to get the glue off. People do it all the time, though.

[blappo]

laminate flooring is easier to take out than to put in. you simply leave a bit of space around the edges, get some sort of tool in there and lift. most laminate floors do not require glue, so the pieces come apart quite easily. good luck.

[bobbydj]

Thanks all.

Anymore suggestions or experiences'll be greatly received though.

[black ark]

What kind of a saw would do this job?? Some kinda band saw where you could adjust the cutting depth to around 5-10 mm or what??

you can adjust the depth that the blade cuts in any circular saw. if the floor is glued together, just cut out 4 foot sections and remove with a crowbar and hammer. IF the floor is glued to the concrete with construction adhesive it WILL be difficult to remove, but not impossible...

-paul m.

[bobbydj]

Thanks Paul.

Btw look out for something quite soon. Cheers.

[wardshorsehead]

hi...

i think there is some confusion here as in the states, laminate flooring can refer to tongue and groove faux wood flooring like armstrong and pergo which requires no adhesive, or sheet based linoleum or vinyl flooring which is glued.

i'm assuming that your talking about tongue and groove ala pergo or armstrong. in that case, it is a moisture barrier and edging situation. no adhesives. as easy to remove as it is to install. if the area is a basement (just a guess given that it's concrete) or a converted garage, you might actually prefer the laminate flooring as it seems to withstand temperature and moisture variations better. it's durable as ever, and a doodle to take care of. sonically, i think that you'd get quite a bit of the benefit of wood as well, in terms of it's reflective properties.

good luck!

frank

[dMiurge]

Forget the wood floors, if laminate is all that you can afford then go for it. That stuff is great! I install it all of the time and it's a lot nicer than you would imagine for the price. Of course, wood is a bit nicer, but I don't think you should see the laminate flooring as a temporary solution. If installed correctly, the stuff looks fantastic. I get compliments on it all of the time. It's fairly easy to install, and would be a breaze to rip out if you wanted to put in something else later. Just don't get the glue together kind!. The snap together, glue-less stuff is only a little bit more expensive, and it literally takes a quarter of the time to install. Go for it man! For how cheap you can get that stuff now, it's a no-brainer. Look around for the best prices. A lot of places around here will go as low as $1.35 sq. ft. if you haggle with them.

[stuntbutt]

Laminate floors are not glued to the sub floor so they are very easy to remove. However, laminate floors do no sound anything like hardwood. They float on layer of foam. The don't give that lively yet mellow reflection that hardwood does. I would stick with with the concrete.

[Ronan]

I am not really answering the question, but chiming it. Laminate flooring is actually very cool. It has acoustic properties VERY similar to wood and sounds much better than concrete (at least to my taste). In my studio I have fake slate in the live room and fake wood flooring in the control room. The floors sound really good and most people are actually fooled into thinking its real.