How do you get pressboard up
by
Peggie Love
+5
had to pull up the carpet and I was shocked to see that pressboard not plywood was covering the subfloor. it took days to get this stuff off and it was messy and wet with urine due to the sick cat that sadly was in the room and the door was shut leaving him no litter box. what a mess and sick smell. is there equipment that I can rent to get this pressboard up easier something that works because the entire house has this and I think I have no choice but to replace it and bring it up to code. any ideas?
8 answers
-
Hopefully @Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com or @KMS Woodworks, or any number of the wonderful Pro's here, will be able to help you with this. I've taken up many a floor, but have never rented any equipment to do it (except concrete) and I'm not a Pro LOL. They'll know what's appropriate for you! Hang in there!! xoxo
Sia@South 47th
on Aug 12, 2013
-
The pressboard board that was put down is common in many homes. its difficult to remove as it breaks up as you try to pry it up. Only method is to get a lot of friends and have at it. They do make larger pry bars that you can rent so your not on your knees as much. Other then that its all backbreaking work. Once its up, you can simply put down fresh plywood. Luan is the most popular wood that people use. What really determines what you use is what you plan to put back down as a floor covering. There is really no code requirement here unless your putting down new sub-floor on the joists then you need to install a rated plywood or sub-floor material. Ideally it should be tongue and grove so there is no movement between the joints of plywood. You should when placing down another layer of wood, nail or screw down the first layer to help prevent squeaks. Then when placing down the 2nd layer screw this down every eight inches using contractors adhesive so there is little to no movement and squeaks when walking on it.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Aug 12, 2013
-
wow thank you for this information. if you go to lowes or home depot not all of those who work there really know this information. glad I posted this on here.
Peggie Love
on Aug 13, 2013
-
Nasty job, a large sidewalk ice scraper can help some, but mostly a Stanley wonder bar is going to be most helpful. Flush cut end nippers to get out any possible staples or pound them in.
Spheramid Enterprises
on Aug 13, 2013
-
The hardest part is this sub floor will be "under" the walls. while it is fairly easy to remove a subfloor from the middle of a room, when you get to the wall this is were it gets tricky. The best tool I have found for this is a basic sawzall...or reciprocating saw. One of the first projects I did when I left the corporate world, was rebuilding a floor in which the joist ends had rotted away due to the homes addition being a bit below grade and back filled with dirt. My 12 amp recip became my new best friend. A circular saw can be used as well for a good portion as you can set the depth of cut and run it along the perimeter. The recip will allow you to get into the corners. I would cut out the whole room starting with the circular saw. You can trace just outboard of each joist to remove the sections between the joists...then with a flat pry bar pull the small strip that is nailed to the joist. Once you have removed it all, lay some new ply and screw it down.
KMS Woodworks
on Aug 13, 2013
-
wow guys thank you I will be having my handyman doing this project. we actually pulled up the entire floor in the bedroom where the cat was trapped in there without a litter box and wee wee'd all over it. the only thing left is closet. and then pulling the walls down completely since i want to insulate the room and replace the floor and the window with a new vinly one.
Peggie Love
on Aug 13, 2013
-
I had the same problem and the particle board was starting to crumble where she wet. I vacumuned up the loose stuff and then primed with Kilz to kill the smell and covered with luan . Worked great and no tear out.
Eric Turner
on Oct 03, 2015
-
I hope your cat is better with meds now!
Gladys
on Nov 24, 2015
Sign Up to Answer
Related Discussions
Suggested Project Book
