I am putting hardwood floor in my kitchen and dining room. It currently has a cheap laminate laid over vinyl. Are there any tricks to getting the vinyl up? I have never removed vinyl before.
I haven’t removed much vinyl John but I’m sure its work, do you absolutely have to pull it up, why not lay the new wood floor over it if you can. Probably ends right at a doorway between two rooms and theres a height diffrence, right?
Leave vinyl. I been in flooring for 15 years. Otherwise use 4I inch scraper and alot of man power
I’ve done the same before. Leave the vinyl there. Nice flat even surface to start from.
ET 
If you can save the old vinyl I would keep it!!! I tore up about 4 feet and then realized that it was gonna take a ton of time, but by then I had a low spot already, and my vinyl tore off, and left the stick part with alot of crap on it. I put 55 hours into removing it all 
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I haven’t removed much vinyl John but I’m sure its work, do you absolutely have to pull it up, why not lay the new wood floor over it if you can. Probably ends right at a doorway between two rooms and theres a height diffrence, right?
The transition from the dining room to the living room is open, and the edge of the vinyl will run the same direction as the planks. I was concerned it may create a problem having a lip under one board. I would rather not remove it if I don’t have to. I am also putting wood in the living room which is carpet. I am concerned about the transition between the rooms, but I don’t think the vinyl is very thick. Having no experience with flooring I figured I would get some input from some people here. The company installing the floor wasn’t very clear on if the vinyl had to be removed.
The transition won’t be a problem because the new flooring its 3/4″ thick and will bridge anything and any transition below it. If its going to be 3/4″ thick flooring they staple or nail it down with alot of staples or nails. Heres some advice for other folks. If its the composite flooring, and theres diffrents types, they will lay an 1/8th” foam underlayment befor they lay the flooring ontop of it. This type of flooring floats and they run it to the edge of the baseboard and then put base shoe, (it looks like quarter round but a 1/4″ taller) ontop of it and nail it to eigther the exhisting baseboard or down into the floor, eigther way is ok.
If your floor is fairly level you’ll be ok with eigther flooring material. 3/4″ flooring thats already tounged and grooved is the best. Ever though about going to Menards and buying it and doing it yourself, its not that hard and easier then a person may think. I think here in town you can get a red or white oak flooring for about $2.50 a sq. ft.. The rental places rent staplers especially desighned for stapleing the flooring through the tounge side. Cut it for length, tap it into place and just put the stapler into place and staple it down, then just go to the next piece until you hit the baseboard. Then just start another row until its done, its really not that hard to do.
They do make an air chisel for this… I rented the chisel and a compressor one night after work, I removed it from the breezeway in our old place, probably a 10×12 room in about 2 hours. Just makes me feel better, knowing I am not leaving “crap” in my house… 
(I also will tear off 1 layer of shingles) That’s just me 
If you have some type of underlayment under your vinyl like luaun or birch (common practice for vinyl installation over a wood sub-floor) you need to take it up or take the chance of your new wood floor squeaking. Set the depth of your skill saw to just go thru to your sub floor and then grid cut the area. take a pry bar and pop up.
If its just vinyl over sub-floor you could just skin the top wear layer and leave the felt. They will drop some sort of rosin paper down under your wood.
So, after pulling pulling the carpet in the living room and the laminate in the dining room and kitchen, it became apparent that I needed to remove the 1/4 inch subfloor under the vinyl.
Thanks to Empty Stringer for the skill saw idea. I cut the flooring into 2 X 2 squares and popped them all up. I did go through about 5 blades though due to hitting staples. I tried to grid it out so that I ran between staples, but it seemed every sheet was a little different line on the staples. Good thing for cheap circular saw blades. I also needed to get a toe-kick saw as the sub floor and vinyl was put down before the cabinets. I highly doubt I will ever use the saw again, but it was only marginally more expensive to buy one than rent one. I also couldn’t find a place close that had one to rent. So, after a couple days of work, 4 rooms of flooring have been removed along with what seemed like 1000 staples from the subfloor.
If anyone ever needs to borrow a toe-kick saw, let me know.
Hickory floor gets delivered on Monday and after a few days to acclimate, installation starts on Friday of next week. Will be happy when it’s done and all the dust is cleaned up.
Hikory flooring is beautiful John. One question I have to ask is why are they waiting for the flooring to climatize and heres the reasons. Down here it usually comes in a sealed plastic bag and they try to put it down right after the bag is opened. The reason being because the humidity swells the flooring making for a tighter fit. Is your flooring coming without it being in a bag. Alot of times thats because its coming right from the sawmill, too the company thats making it into molding, then right too the floor layers. They do this because it going down right away and it sounds like thats whats happening in your situation and I know humidity is lower up there then here. The plastic bag is to extend shelf time and too help swell it after its laid. Just curious is all.
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Hikory flooring is beautiful John. One question I have to ask is why are they waiting for the flooring to climatize and heres the reasons. Down here it usually comes in a sealed plastic bag and they try to put it down right after the bag is opened. The reason being because the humidity swells the flooring making for a tighter fit. Is your flooring coming without it being in a bag. Alot of times thats because its coming right from the sawmill, too the company thats making it into molding, then right too the floor layers. They do this because it going down right away and it sounds like thats whats happening in your situation and I know humidity is lower up there then here. The plastic bag is to extend shelf time and too help swell it after its laid. Just curious is all.
They didn’t say why, they just said they recommend it sit in the house for 4 days before installing. All they do is wood floor, so I figured I would be best off listening to them. I’ll ask if I’m home when they deliver it Monday.
I do know that the wood has been on back order for a couple weeks, so maybe it is coming straight from the mill.
John, it needs to sit in the house (not basement or garage) so the humidity in the wood balances to the level in the house. Otherwise if one is wetter than the other, shrinkage or expansion takes place that is not common to the floor where it is being installed. They gave you great advise on that!
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