Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - hardwood under vinyl
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Wyogirl
02-23-08, 07:26 PM
Hi,
its time for us to do something about our kitchen floor. We are pretty sure that we have hardwood floors under our vinyl. There is a plywood underlay under the vinyl - we see it where the vinyl is peeling up. We removed the heat register and think we see the hardwood layer under the plywood. There is hardwood throughout the rest of the house including the connecting dining room.
My desire is to take off the vinyl and refinish the hardwood that we believe is there, but my husband is worried that the plywood will be really hard to remove. We understand that we should set our circular saw to just the right depth and cut out the plywood, but what do you do around the edges of the cupboards?
Is this project too big for newer do-it-yourself-ers? We are not afraid of the work (we put a new roof on our old house last summer - THAT was work!) but we don't want to waste all that effort on something that should really only be done by proffesionals.
Any tips for telling -for sure - if we have hardwood?
Should we do this on our own?
How do we get that plywood off without ruining the hardwood?
Thanks,
Wyogirl
its time for us to do something about our kitchen floor. We are pretty sure that we have hardwood floors under our vinyl. There is a plywood underlay under the vinyl - we see it where the vinyl is peeling up. We removed the heat register and think we see the hardwood layer under the plywood. There is hardwood throughout the rest of the house including the connecting dining room.
My desire is to take off the vinyl and refinish the hardwood that we believe is there, but my husband is worried that the plywood will be really hard to remove. We understand that we should set our circular saw to just the right depth and cut out the plywood, but what do you do around the edges of the cupboards?
Is this project too big for newer do-it-yourself-ers? We are not afraid of the work (we put a new roof on our old house last summer - THAT was work!) but we don't want to waste all that effort on something that should really only be done by proffesionals.
Any tips for telling -for sure - if we have hardwood?
Should we do this on our own?
How do we get that plywood off without ruining the hardwood?
Thanks,
Wyogirl
thezster
02-23-08, 08:19 PM
1. Pull out the dishwasher and cut a test hole at the rear to find out if you've got hardwood.
2. If you've got the time and energy (which obviously you do) - then go for it.
3. If (IF) you've got hardwood under plywood, you will probably be able to pull the nails using a cat's paw nail puller - you'll not want to chance ruining the hardwood by using a saw. If there is hardwood, and if it's original - then it probably extends under the cabinets - which you'll want to pull anyway to refinish the floor - not to mention that they're probably sitting on the plywood subfloor and will end up the wrong height off the floor.
Keep in mind that the hardwood, if it is there, could be in bad shape and not worth salvaging - or it might be in mint condition just waiting to shine.... Good luck!!
2. If you've got the time and energy (which obviously you do) - then go for it.
3. If (IF) you've got hardwood under plywood, you will probably be able to pull the nails using a cat's paw nail puller - you'll not want to chance ruining the hardwood by using a saw. If there is hardwood, and if it's original - then it probably extends under the cabinets - which you'll want to pull anyway to refinish the floor - not to mention that they're probably sitting on the plywood subfloor and will end up the wrong height off the floor.
Keep in mind that the hardwood, if it is there, could be in bad shape and not worth salvaging - or it might be in mint condition just waiting to shine.... Good luck!!