A vinyl floor normally lasts for years. However, there may come a time when you want to remove it. For example, because you are renovating your current floor or laying a new floor. But how exactly do you go about it? We will explain how to remove a vinyl floor and what the difference between Rigid Click Vinyl and Dryback Vinyl is. You will also discover the points to pay attention to when removing an entire floor.
Is a PVC floor difficult to remove?
Whether a vinyl floor is difficult to remove depends on the type of floor. A Rigid Click Vinyl floor is generally laid as a floating floor on the subfloor and is held together by a click system. This often allows you to detach it relatively easily. With Dryback Vinyl, it is a different story. These strips are fixed to the subfloor with a strong floor adhesive. This creates a solid bond, but also makes removal more intensive. In short:
- Removing Rigid Click Vinyl: generally quite straightforward
- Removing Dryback Vinyl: more work and often more time-consuming
Especially when you want to remove an entire vinyl floor, it is wise to choose the correct approach.
Removing a Rigid Click Vinyl floor (step-by-step plan)
A Rigid Click Vinyl floor is laid as a floating floor on the subfloor and is held together by a click system. This generally allows you to dismantle it without too much effort.
Step 1: Remove the skirting boards
Start by removing the skirting boards along the edges of the room. These ensure that the floor is neatly finished and stays in place. Using a flat-head screwdriver or a filling knife, you can carefully detach the skirting boards.
Step 2: Start in a corner of the room
Start in a corner of the room and try to unclick the first plank. You can often tilt the plank slightly upward to release it from the click system. Once the first plank has been detached, the rest is generally much easier.
Step 3: Unclick the vinyl sections
Work row by row and unclick the planks from one another. A great advantage of Rigid Click Vinyl is that the planks can often be removed without damage. In some cases, you can even reuse them.
Step 4: Remove the underlay
Once the vinyl planks have been removed, the underlay is often still in place. This underlay normally provides additional cushioning and stability, but generally also needs to be removed before laying a new floor. Roll up the underlay or carefully detach it from the subfloor.
Step 5: Check the subfloor
Once the floor has been fully removed, inspect the subfloor. Remove any dirt, loose sections, or residue so that the base is ready for a new floor once again.
Removing a glued vinyl floor (Dryback Vinyl)
Removing a Dryback Vinyl floor generally requires a little more work. The vinyl strips are fixed to the subfloor with a strong adhesive, which holds them firmly in place. Just as with Rigid Click Vinyl, you start by removing the skirting boards along the edges of the room. The vinyl strips can then be detached from the subfloor. In theory, you can remove a glued vinyl floor manually using, for example:
- A filling knife
- A wide chisel
- A floor scraper
This can work very well for a small surface area. But if you want to remove an entire vinyl floor, manual removal quickly becomes a laborious task. In this case, a different approach is often far more practical.
Removing a vinyl floor with a floor stripping machine
For larger surface areas, a floor stripping machine is generally used. A floor stripping machine is a special machine designed to strip glued floors from the subfloor. The device works with a wide steel blade that slides under the vinyl strips and detaches them from the adhesive layer. This offers a number of clear advantages:
✓ You work more quickly in larger rooms
✓ It requires less physical effort
✓ The vinyl strips are stripped more efficiently
For rooms such as a living room, a kitchen, or an entire floor, a floor stripping machine is therefore often the most practical solution. These machines are generally easy to rent from DIY stores or hire companies.
Removing adhesive residue from a vinyl floor
After removing a glued vinyl floor, adhesive residue often remains on the subfloor. Before laying a new floor, it is important that the subfloor is flat and clean. Only then will you achieve a flawless end result. You can remove adhesive residue in a number of ways:
- With a floor scraper
- With a sander
- With a special adhesive remover
Please note: the methods above are only used to remove adhesive residue from the subfloor. Therefore, do not use a sander on the vinyl floor itself.
When the subfloor is damaged or has become uneven, it may be necessary to level it. Especially if you want to lay a new Dryback Vinyl floor, the subfloor is generally levelled again. Dryback Vinyl does indeed require a perfectly flat base. Think of it as the foundation of your new floor: the flatter the subfloor, the neater and more beautiful the end result will be.
In short: What you need to know before removing a vinyl floor
If you want to remove a vinyl floor, it is important to first examine the type of floor. This way you will know what you need and how much work it will roughly involve. Rigid Click Vinyl floors can often be dismantled relatively easily. Dryback Vinyl floors generally require a little more work and are often removed with a floor stripping machine for larger surface areas. Always inspect the subfloor after removal.
Are you still looking for a new floor?
Discover for example our MEGAMAT VINYL floors and find the floor that perfectly matches your interior.
