Vinyl Flooring: Removal Made Easy

Power strip vinyl flooring

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Photo 1: Score the vinyl flooring

Measure out 10 in. from the wall and score the vinyl flooring with a utility knife. Then repeat scoring every 10 in. all the way across the room.

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Photo 2: Guide the machine down each strip

Steer the machine down the scored swath and let it do all the work. Let the stripped vinyl roll up in front of the scraper blade.

I’ve removed vinyl flooring with a handheld floor scraper, and I’ve done it with a rental oscillating floor scraper machine. The handheld floor scraper technique took the better part of the day, and my back, palms and arms were sore for a week. For the next flooring removal job, I rented a power floor scraper. The entire job was over in less than 20 minutes, and I didn’t even break a sweat. The machine rents for about $40 for four hours.

Start by scoring the vinyl (Photo 1). Next, adjust the angle on the floor scraper until it pulls up vinyl without gouging the subfloor. Then turn it on and let ’er rip (Photo 2).

Ceramic tile blade on scraper

Use Power to Chip Out Floor Tile

Ordinary floor scraper blades won’t stand up to ceramic or porcelain tile. But some rental machines accept an optional tile chisel. If your rental store offers that feature, just remove the wide scraper blade, slide in the chisel attachment and secure it with the bolt and washer. Then fire it up and let the machine do the dirty work for you.