How To Remove Underlayment [Subfloor]
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- Опубліковано 12 січ 2025
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Shannon from www.house-impr... shows you how to remove flooring underlayment. Some people refer to this as subfloor, when technically it is not. Video © 2014 SKS Media.
Videos produced by SKS Media (House-Improvements.com) are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in the videos is intended to give general guidance to simplify DIY (do it yourself) projects. Because tools, products, materials, equipment, techniques, building codes and local regulations are constantly changing, SKS Media cannot and does not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained therein. Further, SKS Media will not accept any claim for liability related to, but not limited to, omissions, errors, injury, damage or the outcome of any project. It is the responsibility of the viewer to ensure compliance with all applicable laws, rules, codes and regulations for a project. The viewer must always take proper safety precautions and exercise caution when taking on any project. If there are any questions or doubt in regards to the element of a project, please consult with a licensed professional. SKS Media conducts all matters in accordance with the laws of Saskatchewan, Canada.
This is exactly the video I needed right now! You are very easy to listen to, and simplistic enough for me, a 66 yr. old woman, making house improvements. Thank you!
I found that I have this "underlayment" under the linoleum I need to rip up to lay my new vinyl plank down. Was very confused when some videos called this the subfloor so I was hesitant to do it myself as I didn't want to accidentally rip the actual subfloor up. This video laid all my doubts to rest; THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!
How'd your floor turn out?
Exactly why I’m here m8
Ditto!!!
You are great. Plenty of common sense and right to the point and very knowledgable. And you anticipate the details someone might need to know, for example, you mentioned the subfloor could be slightly scored by the saw but didn't forget to give us a specific idea of what is within bounds score - 1/16". A lot of people would have skipped that detail and left everyone guessing.
Thanks Shannon!!! As always, the practical knowledge you share give us DIYers the confidence to tackle a project. Even a little aside comment, like you mentioning that you could use an 'orbital' saw to cut around MDF that has cabinetry on it was exactly the missing piece of information I needed. I couldn't figure out how I could cut all the way up to the wall using a circular saw. As it turns out, what you were thinking of is called an 'oscillating' saw, but just knowing a solution existed, and 2 minutes google search, led me to the oscillating saw I used to make a clean cut in the MDF underlayment and a smooth transition to 1/2'' backer board. Much appreciated advice!!!
Thank you!! The installers went staple happy in my bathroom when the house was built 22 years ago... Cutting the plywood into smaller manageable pieces is excellent advice! 😊
Thank you so much for the tip. I just ripped up the stuff from my kitchen and your tip saved time, and made my day!
I use a pitch fork with thick metal prongs instead of a pry bar. It saves your back and speeds up removal providing more leverage. Using a hole saw w/o the drill bit over stubborn nails also helps. I have watched many of your videos over the years Shannon and you have provided me many great tips & ideas. Finally, I have a tip for you.
Great tip!
This video confirmed my suspicions on what I'd have to do to prepare a hallway to connect 3 rooms with the same new laminate cherry flooring. Now I have much more confidence to tackle the final piece of this gorgeous reno. Thanks, great video! Simple, informative and well delivered!
Thanks David, good luck
HouseImprovements
Quick tip: roofing scrapers will make it go WAY faster than a crow bar. Love your videos!
Thanks for showing this and giving tips on techniques. I am gearing up to repair the subfloor & underlayment that was damaged in a hvac leak and my flooring looks just like this. Even though you might not think there's not much to it, this video helps me out by giving me confidence that I can actually do it.
This is why I love UA-cam....today this was just what I needed...Thank you for posting
Thank you. My ex left me with a nightmare of home projects to deal with. This just made my life a lot easier since I will be doing them myself. Now to get the tools I need.... Thanks again.
Thank you for this great video that works perfectly and saved us a lot of time and tough work. In return, if I could offer just one suggestion, it would be to wear good ear protection when doing this, which we wish we had learned years ago around saws, pounding on metal, or even mowing the lawn. Great video, and much appreciated! All the best!
Currently working on this same situation in my home. I found a roofing/shingle shovel to work great, and didn't bother cutting.
Great video, saved me time and money on my remodeling. Only issue I had was there were places with hundreds of staples.
Really like all your videos Shannon!!! Always explained in a simple manner so that the DIY folks can understand! I'll be ripping up some particle board next month. on a side note, I literally followed your 8' x 8' shed videos and created an identical shed but with a hip roof. Anyhow, just wanted to say THANK YOU for producing such awesome videos!!
you are welcome Kim
Thanks for this video. I removed the plywood from my bathroom floor with no problems. signed Ms. DIY
This is exactly what I am looking for, thanks God. Mine is cover with vinyl and glued down on the underlayment very good. I am not remove it yet, I planned to cut like you but thru the vinyl, I will use a strong magnet to mark where the nail or staple so that it don’t mess with the saw blade.
Thank you so much for this video! By far the most helpful resource I've found. I removed one board of underlayment and was using myself the whole time. I think tomorrow is going to go so much better! Thank you!!!!!
I sure wish I had your scenario. I removed 200 SF of natural stone tiling which was installed on top of 3/4" plywood. That plywood was then screwed (hundreds of screws!) and glued to the actual 3/4" plywood subfloor. What a process getting that up. Involved belt sanding and patching the plywood tear out from the glue, then belt sanding again to achieve a flat floor for new hardwood floor install.
This video saved me so much time and effort. You are my hero today.
You are welcome
thank you so much for this video. I'm about to install some vinyl plank flooring in the kitchen and living room of my home. the kitchen has linoleum floor with undelayment so the flooring in the living room and kitchen would not be level where the rooms meet. thanks to this video I'll be able to remove it and be all set!
Love your videos! I just ran into this problem in the foreclosure that I bought. Using the saw is a lifesaver! I used a long demolition floor scraper after cutting and most came up in perfect squares.
I knew there had to be an easier way! Thank you! I had a 4' crowbar and expected it to come up all at once. No way! Especially not in a mobile home where it appears to me they specifically hire people with aggression issues and they put in about 25 staples per square foot! Insanity. This helped a lot. I made even smaller squares with my circular saw and some of the staples even came up with the square, what a bonus.
Thank you! This is exactly what is in my bathrooms and the ugly laminate is glued to the backer board. I thought about using my skill saw but didn't know all the details that you so generously shared. I will use your technique.
There will be many nails and since you are cutting without being able to see what your cutting take proper precautions because you will cut through nails for sure.
love your videos man! Its great to have videos on these "tricks of the trade". Makes life a whole lot easier! Keep it up. Thanks
This works, takes time but it's straight forward and easy work. Not the mess and pain of ripping it up the old way.
Very detailed explanation of removal of underlayment sub-floor. Using a Pogo Stick would be much easier on your knees, back and much faster too
Great. Covered everything including a demo on why this method is most effective. Fast forwarded though applicable sections.
Thanks Shannon. Tried using the rotohammer I used to get up the tiles up, but it was slow and messy. This helped a ton.
Thank you! We've used your videos for quite a few tasks in our reno and your channel is the first place we check.
thanks for coming to us first. Have you seen our forum? www.house-improvements.com/forums/
Dammit ! I was hoping you would of said shovel .. I greatly appreciate your help ! This is my first of all this fun and what I thought would be a lil work has turned into another full time job and what I thought to be southern shot house looking flooring😂.. but again you saved the day and I discovered wood floor under the word I had no concept of the meaning “subfloor”.. I appreciate your wisdom! Thanks again
Shannon, you’re the man. I love your tips and tricks. Job well done as always
The way you teach us is not taught in any school ,don’t change. I now have a truck and making some good money for my family(thank you) .🛁🧺
Thank you for posting this it’s saving me hundreds of dollars
As always, this guy makes the best videos.
Excellent breakdown thank you for your professionalism
Great video Shannon. If you are leaving the cabinets there is a saw called a "Toe Kick Saw" that has a small 3" circular blade on it made specifically to do that. Harbor Freight sells them in the US.
I used this technique and it saved me hours of extra time. Thanks mate
Thank you!. Dude, this and your other videos have been unbelievably helpful. You ROCK!!!
great tutorial, how do recommend dealing with glued down underlayment?
Can rent a floor scraper from home depot. Walk behind.
Gas can and a book of matches
Use a scraper blade that attaches to a sawsall.
This video was soooo helpful. I need to redo my kitchen floor. I was wondering why the wood under my linoleum tile floorwas so high. It all makes sense now just underlayment
Thanks Shannon. Easy to follow instructions and demonstration.
Thanks. This really saved me a lot of effort trying to save the wood. Time to go rip up a floor.
Excellent resource here! Very professional and practical advice.
Thanks Shannon for all of your home improvement videos I really enjoy them and have saved a lot of time.
Excellent demonstration. Very well done and explained!
Short and to the point, perfect delivery here. Thank you! I am a new subscriber for sure-
Your method works like a charm. Turned the job from hellish to just crappy lol
This is so helpful, thank you Sir! Simple and effective, again thank you!!!
You are welcome Brian!
Shannon, you’ve saved me from many a quandary!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I have been able to do the work just as you taught. Thank you again.
Nice video. Most what I watched was figuring to do but it was nice to see the process in action.
Very informative channel and very nicely done. Thank you, team!
QUESTION: We have a 120 year old house. When building/replacing a deck which is off of our kitchen, I opted to replace the ledger board as well. In doing so I noticed that a 5 foot section of the 8x8 rim beam which was behind the old ledger board and that sits on top of the field stone foundation wall around the entire house, had been cut out. Five small cut sections of 2x8 had been wedged in the cavity as a "support fix" and nailed downward from inside the kitchen. When looking at this cavity more closely, I can see both water damage from improper flashing on the previous deck and dry rot on what appears to be the subflooring coming through to the out side of the house from the kitchen.
To give a better picture the layers going up are a field stone foundation>2x10 sill plate>small sections of 2x8 cut and wedged in above the sill plate>a layer of water damaged and dry rotted OSB or Plywood.
From the outside of the house, you can see the OSB or Plywood subfloor of the kitchen protruding to the very edge of the house. I feel that I need to repair this and I wonder how complex a repair this is? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Please copy and paste your question to my forum. www.house-improvements.com/forums/
HouseImprovements Hi, thanks for the reply. I copied this question to your forum
I'm currently doing this to 440 square feet that somebody GLUED down. It is the most insanely work intensive thing you can do. It destroys the top layer of the subfloor in patches that we will have to patch. So much work to replace carpet with hardwood. Thankfully once it is done it is a lifetime floor...
Thank you! You gave me the info and courage to remove my kitchen underlayment. You’re the only one that talked about the linoleum underlayment. I just need to find a tool to cut around the kitchen cabinets. Any suggestions?
An oscillating saw would work the best likely.amzn.to/3D8mnLS
Great video / audio quality, thanks for mentioning PPE
Any time!
I have 3 layers I’ll be going through.. tile squares then luan that is screwed down then linoleum sheet. I’ll probably have to cut through the screw heads unless I’m lucky enough to back them out.
I’ll be removing cabinets months later , may have to remove base cabinets while doing floor
Always great videos. Very succinct. Tools needed, safety warning, and tips and tricks.
I wish I had watched this before scraping half the vinyl off first last night. I'm going to get my circular saw now and make my life easier! 😁
You just saved me a ton of time! Give this man a tip!
Huge help! Thank you for this video!!!
After the fact confirmation that you should cut the underlayment then pry. Just did a smaller area that was luan/ 1/4" plywood and cutting is the only thing that made the job work.
When we did our living room in preparation for hardwood, the skillsaw threw a staple through our picture window, breaking one of the 2 panes. I came here to see if there was a better way to do it. I have to take up a section of a bedroom that we are doing where I found the underlay damaged by water (probably from the windows that were replaced before we moved in 10 years ago).
Great advice. I'm on my way to the job now.
Great video, thanks for showing us how it's done!
I think your video's are awesome and very informative in projects I'm trying. I have to remove a floor under vinyl that has nails every four inches. Thank you
+Darlene Eaves good luck, stop by our forum if you have any questions.
Thanks Shannon for the video. Have you tried the Gutster Demo Bar? I use it on every subfloor take up project I do. Works like a charm and keeps you standing up the entire time.
Very helpful information. Thanks so much!
I know this is an old video, but is there a video about what you did *after* removing the particle board? Good stuff, thanks.
After removing the particle board, do you need to add back more plywood prior to hardwood floor installation or is the base sub-floor enough (ie. how thick should that base plywood sub-floor be for hardwood floor).
Very helpful video for me, thank you!
You're welcome, Joe.
I love how easy that was....so what do you do to remove particle board underlayment that has been nailed, stapled, AND glued. I've been able to get around the nails and staples pretty easily...but the adhesive is horrible. It's turned what should be a few minutes into an all day project.
Would it just be easier to cut out the subfloor, then just replace both at the same time?
I removed this stuff when I removed some linoleum flooring from my kitchen. When they installed it, they stapled it everywhere. What a horrible time I had getting that to come off. I live in Gatineau, Quebec.
A roofing shovel works good for ripping it up after the cuts.
Conserves your knees and back too
Yes!!! It is one of my favorite flooring demo tools. Good for tack strips too.
I just purchased a home. I want to remove the old ceramic tile flooring and replace it with some porcelain flooring. Do I remove the plywood subfloor too or do I keep it? Thank you and great video!! 👍
Great video...I feel more confident moving forward but have a further question. My situation is this... Vinyl over, underlayment, over carpet, over 3/4" subfloor. Should I be worried about setting the blade to the bottom of the underlayment and it catching on the carpet? Is it going to be possible to set the blade below the carpet, just above the 3/4" subfloor? In the end I'd love to take up the subfloor too.
Thanks for the great video and explanation sure makes my DIY job easier.
How about the staples? What do you use for the staples that stay behind
Thanks Shannon! Your video are very helpful and I always watch your video when I have a DIY project. I have a question and hope you can help. I am in a process of removing the vinyl floor and put on the porcelain tiles. After I remove the vinyl floor, can I install porcelain tiles over the 1/4 inch underlayment plywood which glued to the 3/4 inch subfloor plywood? Or do I also have to remove the underlayment 1/4 inch plywood and put the tiles over the 3/4 inch plywood subfloor? Thanks.
I would not install it over the underlayment. Install either a uncoupling membrane over the 3/4" plywood or 1/2" cement backer board
Thanks for the video. Would you pit down another layer of plywood after removing the underlayment or is it not necessary? I have the same type of underlayment on top of plywood. I am removing it now so I can install hardwood floors.
For hardwoods you don' t need another layer in most cases.ua-cam.com/video/aNVc8zuS95k/v-deo.html
I am using a skilsaw to cut linoleum tile floor glued into plywood, I will probably set the depth so it doesn’t even touch the subfloor. Unfortunately there is 70s linoleum underneath the plywood as well. Hoping I can put new floor on top of that cause scraping that up sucks.
You may need to install new sub floor over the old original layer
Thank you for another great video!
In Quebec we use 3/8s plywood stapled with 2" staples every 6". I remove it the same way you do except i use a Roofers shovel (narrow square shovel with teeth & pivot point)it makes it much easyer & saves your knees. Sometimes you don't even need to cut grooves it will progressively do the whole 4/8. I also ise it for most demolition its one of the best demo tools.
Hope you try it out! Let me know if ya do:)
Nice tip, I will try that.
Yeah, same here. I love that long handled scraper. The last floor I pulled up had tile mastic on it, still sticky, so cutting it in pieces wasn't an option(I've got video of it on my channel). I just ripped it all up with the scraper. But it was 3/8ths ply like you're talking about, laid in the mid 1950's. It came up really fast and I was able to fold the sheets in half, nails and all, and carry them out without incident. They broke up enough for disposal too.
Missed your comment, had the same one here!
I was looking into using that tool as well. I have two layers of vinyl!
very helpful! I actually need to remove my subfloor as well (the floor is sloping and we need to level the joists or something) would it be the same procedure to take out the subfloor? Thanks :)
Thanks for the really good help here. We are doing the same thing...but our particle board is GLUED down some. Any tips? Ever heard of lightly wetting the pb first?? Thank you.
+readGodsword No I have not.
+HouseImprovements Okay, more is up and just a little of it is glued. Most of it came up as well as in your video, thanks...I was loosing hope that I could ever get this junk up! There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Brilliant. Thank you!
can you do this if the underlayment is screwed down and not nailed down? or will that damage the subfloor too much?
Great vid Shannon, I wonder how well a shingle tool would work for stuff like this? Might have to take a grinder to it and sharpen it up...
All videos nice and easy to understand
Awesome job by Shannon
Thank u very much
I have questions regarding treatment of mold on wall & framing
Vintage retro is good to apply on frame an replace dry wall ?
please use my forum. www.house-improvements.com/forums/
I'm currently removing my carpet and I come to find out that the vinyl sheeting has a underlayment which is in the kitchen and entrance to front door. my question is, do I need to remove the underlayment to install core tec vinyl flooring?
Great video. Just what I was looking for!
People, you should never have any part of your bodies behind the saw. You should use both hands when cutting. And you should never cut backward. If the saw blade binds, you can get kickback, which can propel the saw backward uncontrollably at speed-taking fingers or toes or whole hands off. O_o
Great video. Much appreciated.
Glad I found this video after it took me like 8 hours to do 100sqft area thanks youtube
Thanks, great explanation!
We are only removing the partical board underlayment in one room... Any suggestion on what to set the blade to when you don't have an option like you showed off lining it up to the right depth?
go with 1-4 to 3/8" and cut out a small area that you can remove and then check the proper thickness.
thank you very much this was really helpful
Hi, I've been watching several of your videos for diy projects. Thank you so much! Can you explain or post a source how to remove the underlayment from the edges and under drywall without damaging?
please post your question in the forum and we can maybe help from there. www.house-improvements.com/forums/
Lowes mentioned to me that linoleum will need to be removed prior to solid wood I stall. Others have suggested it's best to lay over linoleum. Linolium is curling a bit at the edges and a couple tears, but everything g else is fine. What do you think?
Linoleum should be removed if its curling because your new hardwood will not lay flat and tight.
@@HouseImprovements Thank you.