Hello,
I just bought my first house and I want to fix a few things. To start with,
I have linoleum on my livingroom floor that I want to get rid of, but the
crap is glued down. Is there any way to remove it (and the glue) without
damaging the hardwood floor?

Cindy
http://www.intimatelyspeaking.com

"Cindy" wrote in message
news:sNdUf.2151$hA2.692@trndny02...

I just bought my first house and I want to fix a few things. To start
with,
I have linoleum on my livingroom floor that I want to get rid of, but the
crap is glued down. Is there any way to remove it (and the glue) without
damaging the hardwood floor?

You may need to rethink . . .
1. What sort of floor do you want to have? (We
know only that you dislike lino and there is wood
underneath.
2. What is the wood floor actually made of (and
how fastened?) Before deciding how to remove
the glue (e.g. choosing between sanding overall
or trying a solvent, likely to stain the wood) you
need to think as far ahead as #1, which governs
whether you refinish the existing wood or cover
it with something else.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

"Don Phillipson" wrote in message
...
"Cindy" wrote in message
news:sNdUf.2151$hA2.692@trndny02...

I just bought my first house and I want to fix a few things. To start
with,
I have linoleum on my livingroom floor that I want to get rid of, but the
crap is glued down. Is there any way to remove it (and the glue) without
damaging the hardwood floor?

You may need to rethink . . .
1. What sort of floor do you want to have? (We
know only that you dislike lino and there is wood
underneath.
2. What is the wood floor actually made of (and
how fastened?) Before deciding how to remove
the glue (e.g. choosing between sanding overall
or trying a solvent, likely to stain the wood) you
need to think as far ahead as #1, which governs
whether you refinish the existing wood or cover
it with something else.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)



To remove the linoleum is a matter of scraping. Use of a heat gun
beforehand will usually soften the glue but not always. Careful hand
scraping as opposed to a 6 foot scraper will minimize damage to the wood
floor.

Removing the adhesive is going to be a lot harder. Straight sanding will
clog the paper in no time and as the other poster pointed out, solvents can
stain the wood.

If you're lucky, there is a good layer of polyurethane between the wood and
the glue, this will help keep the solvent from soaking in.

I would start by trying some more eco friendly solvents like "goo gone" or
goof off" or one of the orange based solvents. If that didn't work, I might
try denatured alcohol. Acetone would probably soften most adhesives but it
evaporates too quickly to be very useful. Try mineral spirits or paint
remover but try anything in a small area before you commit.

Even after you get most of it up, you will still probably need to go through
the whole sanding regime to get a good finish and appearance.

Now is when you consider overlaying the whole thing with a nice new
laminated wood floor or if budget constrained, wall to wall carpet. Neither
of these necessitate removing the old lino.