Tearing Up Hardwood Floors

Take down the tarps roll them up carefully and move them outside to be cleaned or thrown away.

Tearing up hardwood floors.

This is helpful because hardwood planks are all different lengths and make it really tough to remove quickly. Pry up the first few boards to give yourself room to work. You can cut each section into approximately one to two feet wide portions. Sweep the sawdust wood chips and other debris into small piles then use a shop vac to suction them up.

Make sure to set your saw blade to the thickness of your hardwood flooring so as to not damage the sub flooring. By cutting the boards into small sections removal will go faster and smoother. We used several techniques that we found very uncomfortable. Alternatively use a circular saw with a carbide tooth blade to make a plunge cut along the length of the sacrificial board and use a pry.

Cut the hardwood flooring perpendicular to the direction the flooring is lying. Then we came up with this one which. If necessary go over the area again with a vacuum or mop to clear away any especially fine dust remaining.