Removing laminate flooring

AliceBanned

Hi

I am giving up my housing association flat as I am in the process of buying my another flat. I have been told I must remove everything from the flat, including carpets and laminate flooring..I had these professionally laid and will probably give the carpet away if I can.

Unfortunately the laminate, which is perfectly good and still looks good after five years, will have to be destroyed. I wondered whether anyone knew of any way I could get it removed or get someone to pick it up - ie is there any way it can be made use of? If not any advice on removing it and what tools I will need?

Many thanks.

jellie

Put it on Freecycle? Make it clear to whoever wants it that they have to uplift it themselves.

The laminate itself might be floating, ie not fixed to the floor, if that's the case it would be easy to lift up once you've got the first board up, just need a bit of elbow grease. You may have problems if scotia beading was used as removing this will probably leave marks on the skirting boards, and you might need to redecorate these.

Your local recycling centre (or tip if you've still got one) will take it if no-one wants it.

AliceBanned

Thanks. So someone might be able to re-use it?

Good point about the skirting - there is an edging from the laminate over the skirting so I imagine this will leave marks..

I really would rather leave it as it will be nice for the new tenant (possibly). Underneath is horrible black tiling that needs covering, and it's a large room. But the landlord will just charge me if I leave it!

celyn90

I'd second freecycle, that's what we did with ours. I removed four rooms worth over the year - and put it on freecycle a room at a time normally went very quickly

How easy it will be to remove will depend on how it was laid. It should (if you lift the beading at the edge) have a little gap between the skirting and the flooring (to allow for expansion). When I took ours up, I removed the beading, then I could just lifted up piece by piece - as it just slotted together and hadn't been glued.

If it was glued when it it might not come up intact, but it should only be glued with weak adhesive to the next plank, not to the floor.

I didn't use any tools - once I got one piece out, it just came apart like a jigsaw puzzle.

AliceBanned

Thanks, I'll have a look. I don't think he used glue as there was no smell in the room - I got someone to lay it professionally and I seem to remember there was lots of hammering..

gayleanne

If you leave it down, the new tenant will not get it, as housing associations and councils, tend to rip out fittings done by tenants. Because if they are left for the new tenant, it will then become the responsibility of the landlords to repair. As it is not their usual fittings it is too expensive for them to leave it.

So it will end up on the local tip any way.

wabbitpoo

AliceBanned wrote: »

Thanks, I'll have a look. I don't think he used glue as there was no smell in the room - I got someone to lay it professionally and I seem to remember there was lots of hammering..

You dont get a lot of hammering for a floating floor, so it may suggest its been secret nailed (into the tongues) in which case it will be wrecked as it is taken up.

chaddythebear

wabbitpoo wrote: »

You dont get a lot of hammering for a floating floor

Sorry, but you do, you have to tap the board together using a hammer and a bit of safe wood, some floors require more persuasion than others.

Should be pretty straight forward to lift, the poorer laminates might burst at the edges of the board, a decent make like Quickstep will be able to lay again and again.

AliceBanned

Yes I think he knocked them into place rather than glued them. It was four or five years ago, but I would remember if there had been a smell of glue afterwards. And it was a good quality laminate, not one of the cheap ones. I'll put it on Freecycle after I've had a go at lifting some of it. Thanks.