Discovering Your Hardwood Floor, Part 1


When you have removed all the staples, it's time for the tack strip. Carefully slide a prybar or flat blade screwdriver under one end of the strip. As the nail comes loose, continue working along the strip until it comes up. You will want to do this carefully, since any gouges you put into the floor will need to be sanded out later. Take your time now and you will save yourself money later. When you have all the tack strips up, you will have metal threshold strips to remove in the doorways. These are removed just like the tack strips. If any nails were left in the floor while removing the tack strip, gently pry these out also.

If you have tile of linoleum installed on your hardwood floor, you will need to scrape this up. You will need to remove the shoe molding, the quarter round piece of wood along the baseboard. This is covered in the section on floor prep. Then take your time removing the floor covering, since it will be easy to gouge the floor. If you suspect that the linoleum on your floor was installed before 1985 and it has a white backing, it may contain asbestos. This should be removed by professionals trained in the handling of asbestos. Any dust created during the removal could contain asbestos fibers, which can cause lung cancer. Asbestos removal is expensive and time consuming. I have known people who have just pulled up the linoleum, dampened the backing remaining on the floor and scraped it up, putting everything in plastic bags and sealing them with duct tape. At least they were smart enough to wear a face mask and eye protection when they did this. Any small bits of glue that are left on the floor can be sanded up. But, do not sand the floor if there is any remaining backing that may contain asbestos.

The final step is to vacuum the floor thoroughly.

Assessing Your Floor: This is when you decide if your floor is worth the work involved, or if you will need the help of a professional.

There may be badly stained or burned areas or deep grooves from past sandings which may be impossible to remove. There may be evidence of rot, plywood patches where walls have been removed, or boards replaced with different sized boards or boards of the wrong type of wood. Large gaps or

The copyright of the article Discovering Your Hardwood Floor, Part 1 in Home Renovation is owned by John J. Pascarella. Permission to republish Discovering Your Hardwood Floor, Part 1 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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