I have old pergo floors in the dining and kitchen area and tile everywhere else in the house. How hard is it to remove both types of floors and how do I go about removing each? I want to put down real hardwoods and carpet in the bedrooms. Also, new tile in kitchen and bathrooms.
If your new floor will go on top of the old floor, you'll need to trim the bottom of the doorjambs (figure A) so you can slide the new floor underneath. To cut the jambs, take a scrap piece of your underlayment and tile, place them on top of each other to show the correct height, and cut the doorjamb with a jamb saw. Remove the appliances and furniture from the room and then carefully remove the shoe mold with a hammer and pry-bar. If your molding is in good condition you can replace it after you have installed the new floor. Remove any transition strips from the area where you'll be installing the vinyl tiles. * If you are planning on reusing your old shoe mold it is a good idea to number each piece consecutively on the back so that when you get ready to replace it the process will go much quicker. To determine the square footage of the area you're tiling, multiply the length and width. If the room has an irregular shape, you may want to get the square footage of different sections of the room and then add those numbers together. Add 10 percent to your total to allow for mistakes and waste. When you've finished measuring, you can begin attaching your underlayment (figure B). Make sure to install it rough-side down so that the wood texture doesn't show through the new vinyl. Attach the underlayment with staples, stapling as indicated on the underlayment material. If you are using unmarked plywood, you should nail or staple at least every 5 to 6 inches in the middle of the plywood and every 3 inches along the edges.
The pergo flooring(if free floating) is very easy to remove. Just start at a wall and start taking apart, they usually snap together. As for the tile, that will be a project. They make scrapers for floors, either manual or power. I would suggest using either. Your going to have to make sure that all material is off the floor, otherwise when you go to put down the hardwood, you will have a very hard time. If you have any other questions feel free to contact me.
