How To Remove Vinyl Tiles From Plywood Floor?

How do remove vinyl tiles from plywood floor? Can you do it yourself? Here is some information before you embark on the work of getting off vinyl floor from plywood floor.

Cost Saving & Effective Method To Remove Vinyl Tiles & Glue From Plywood Floor

Are you trying to remove vinyl tile from plywood floor but meet some troubles that make your process slowly? You even can’t move the vinyl tiles up or it just comes in small pieces after after hours of spraying hot vinegar or water and trying to scrape it off with a putty knife. Don't be panic, here we will tell you how to get off the vinyl floor tiles from plywood floor step by step.

Tools You Need

Before starting your work, some tools are needed to be prepared:

• Scraper Or Ice Chisel

• Flat Bar

• Hammer

• Floor Stripper

• Spray Bottle

Detailed Steps Of Removing Vinyl Tiles From Plywood Floor:

• Step 1 - Purchase an ice chisel or shingle scraper (a 5 foot handle on a straight edge, non-serrated scraper). Sharpen the edge if necessary. 

• Step 2 - Push the scraper firmly and slowly under the edge of the vinyl tile, if it is hard to go on, take a hammer and drive it down. Or you can use heat gun to heat and loose the glue.

• Step 3 - Wiggle it back and forth or slide it against the bottom of the tile. If it gets stuck, use hammer to drive it again.

• Step 4 - Eventually, the sharp edge should slide under the tile and allow you to lift it, go ahead and pry up on it.

• Step 5 - Then you’ll work it back and forth to help relieve the pressure of the adhesive on the floor. 

• Step 6 - If you need to you can take your hammer kind of work it down through there, tapping it in as you go.

• Step 7 - Go ahead and read the floor stripper directions and make sure you mix it properly in the spray bottle.

• Step 8 - Then grab the spray bottle and spray it onto the floor, let it sit a little bit that way it actually has time to work down in to relieve the glue.

• Step 9 - Take scraper and start scraping the glue off the plywood floor.

• Step 10 - After that, take a rag, put it over top of the scraper and just scrape a little bit more to get off the left glue.

More Tips For Getting Vinyl Floor Tiles Off Plywood Floor

1. A thin putty knife might work well. It should easily fit under the tile. As you suggest, if the putty knife bends too much, the stiffer blade of a putty chisel might work better.

2. A heat gun will help loosen the adhesive. You should to try a heat setting that will heat the tile enough that you can peel it off, but not so hot that you burn or char the tile. With the heat gun, slowly heat the tile and sweep over it, avoiding getting too close to the work and keeping the heat in a small area for too long. Working from the edge of the tile, apply heat and begin gently lifting underneath with a floor scraper. Once it's hot enough, it should allow you to start prying it up. Try to remove the tiles in as few pieces as possible, and remove as much backing paper and putty as possible with the scraper.

3. You can do the same with a hand tool, but the large scraper should work better. You can work from 1 tile per half hour using hand tools (a rigid hand scraper and a broom style scraper -pusher with a 5 "head) at 1 tile per 2 minutes without fatigue. When using hand tools, you could switch between sitting with a portable scraper and standing with the push style to work different muscle groups when a set of muscles started to tire.The multitool was easily worth the money not having to spend a few hours just to lift a few tiles each day after work.

4. Vinyl Tiles itself is non-toxic, environmentally friendly, but using hot air to heat it may generate some gas, especially on old floors. Dust may also be generated during work, so using a mask would be a good idea if there is a chance.