Removal of old floating floors (parquet, linoleum)

It is tempting: put new laminate straight over the old floor and avoid the dust. In practice it often does not work out. A new floor follows everything beneath it, and the old covering hides problems that only show up later.

• Dips and unevenness: an old floor sags or wears down over time, and a new one laid on top flexes, creaks and opens up at the joints.
• Damp and mould: under lino or parquet that has ever got wet, you often find dark stains and a musty smell. Cover it up and the problem carries on.
• Height: every extra layer raises the floor, so doors start to catch and you end up with a step into the next room.
• Unknown subfloor: you only find out the real state of the screed, any cracks and old adhesives once the covering is off.

Preparing the room

Furniture, rugs and anything that could get in the way or get dirty come out of the room first. In a full renovation, a built-in wardrobe standing directly on the floor is sometimes removed at this stage too. It is worth taping plastic sheeting over the doors to other rooms, because scraping adhesive creates a lot of fine dust. If there may be services in the floor, such as underfloor heating or cables run in old skirting, check this before anyone starts.

Taking off the trims and the covering

Skirting boards come off first, then the threshold strips at the doors. After that the method depends on the material:

• Floating floor: it is not glued down, the boards just click together. Work starts at the wall where the expansion gap was, and the boards are tilted out and taken apart row by row. Underneath you find the underlay and sometimes a vapour barrier membrane, which are rolled up.
• Parquet: usually glued or nailed, so it is loosened with a pry bar, a wide chisel or an electric breaker fitted with a scraper blade. It goes more slowly and creates more waste.
• Linoleum and vinyl: people often call any sheet flooring "lino", though much of it is actually vinyl. If it is loose laid, it rolls up in minutes. If it is fully glued, it is cut into strips and pulled up, and the remains are taken off with a scraper.

Cleaning the subfloor

Once the covering is gone, adhesive, sealant, small nails and bits of underlay are left behind. These have to go, otherwise they show as bumps under the new floor or weaken the bond of new adhesive or levelling compound. Hard adhesives are removed with a hand or powered scraper, or a grinder with dust extraction. Finally the subfloor is vacuumed.

Taking the waste away

Old floor coverings count as construction waste, not general household rubbish. Smaller amounts can usually go to the local household waste recycling centre, depending on your council's rules. For larger areas, people normally hire a skip. Rules for accepting this kind of waste vary from place to place, so check with your local council first.

How much work it takes, and therefore the final cost, depends mainly on how firmly the covering is stuck down and what turns up underneath.

• Type of covering: a floating floor comes up fastest, glued parquet and fully glued vinyl take considerably longer.
• Type of adhesive: soft water-based adhesives scrape off easily, old hard or bitumen adhesives need a machine.
• Several layers: in older flats you often find vinyl over parquet or laminate over lino. Every layer is extra work.
• Room shape: lots of corners, alcoves and door frames slow the work down more than a large open area.
• Access and removal: carrying waste down from an upper floor without a lift adds time.
• Condition of the subfloor: crumbling screed or damp means further work that is not part of the removal itself.

Old vinyl floor tiles and some black bitumen adhesives, especially from before the 1990s, may contain asbestos. If an older house has hard square tiles or black adhesive, do not sand, grind or chip at it. In many countries this work may only be done by a licensed or specially trained contractor, and the waste is treated as hazardous. If you are unsure, it is worth having a sample taken and tested.

In a block of flats, let the building management or owners' association know about the work and follow the house rules, especially the hours when noisy work is allowed. Replacing a floor covering is usually treated as maintenance, but if you are not sure whether your wider renovation needs approval under local building regulations, check with your local building authority.

You can take up a floating floor yourself, as long as it is not glued down and there is no suspicious old material involved. Glued parquet and old adhesives are better left to a contractor with the right machines.

1. Clear the room and tape plastic sheeting over the doors.
2. Get gloves, safety glasses, a pry bar, an oscillating multi-tool or utility knife and waste sacks ready.
3. Remove the skirting and threshold strips carefully if you want to reuse them.
4. Find the wall where the floor was started and tilt out the first row of boards.
5. Take the boards apart row by row and stack them rather than throwing them.
6. Roll up the underlay and membrane.
7. Check the subfloor for damp, cracks or mould.
8. Vacuum the subfloor and take the waste to the recycling centre.

• Adhesive left on the subfloor: new levelling compound or adhesive will not bond to it, and the floor comes loose later.
• Damp overlooked: a damp screed covered by a new floor leads to mould and warping.
• Tools that are too heavy: aggressive chiselling damages the screed, the damp-proof layer or underfloor heating pipes.
• Grinding without extraction: the dust spreads through the whole home, and with old materials it can be dangerous.
• Waste in the general bin: construction waste belongs at the recycling centre or in a hired skip.

Before the floor fitter comes in, walk over the area yourself. A long straight edge or spirit level and a torch help.

• Covering, underlay, membranes and trims are removed from the whole area, including corners and under door frames
• There are no nails, staples or thicker adhesive residues left on the subfloor
• The screed has no new cracks or chunks knocked out by tools
• Services in the floor and the plaster along the walls are undamaged
• The subfloor is vacuumed and free of damp patches or mould
• The waste has been taken away and you know where it went