Removing a Proboard Subfloor

Q: I am installing laminate flooring in my kitchen and living room. Under the current vinyl in the kitchen is a proboard sub-floor on top of one or two layers of vinyl composite tiles on top of the plywood floor. I want the floor in the living room and kitchen to be the same level as they join at a door way. What would be the best and easiest way to remove this floor? The house was built in 1973.
Thanks.
A: This will be a small project, but it is easily done with a bit of work. Before you get going, you will want to use some plastic sheeting and bag off the area where you will be working. Cover any furniture, cabinetry, electronics, etc. because this job will kick up quite a bit of dust and clean up afterward will be a real pain if you don’t cover up furniture – this includes covering the top of counters. Make things easy on yourself and bag up door ways as well so dust can’t float out of the rooms to hallways and other rooms in your home – just tape some of the plastic to the walls and you will be fine. Also, make sure you wear dust masks and eye protection. I would suggest getting a cartridge based mask (respirator) which you should be able to pick up locally or from somewhere like Harbor Freight for about $25. Beyond this you will need a skill saw or circular saw, a pencil and proper materials to lay a few chalk lines.
First, find an area with a heater vent or similar area to where you can determine how far down your subfloor is. Set your saw to cut just a hair over the thickness of your floor through the composition tile so you will be removing all of your old flooring and installing over the subfloor.
Now, lay chalk lines about 12-16″ apart along the entire area of your flooring. Then lay one more chalk line in the opposite direction (perpendicular) along the center of the room. Once your lines are laid out, cut along them so that your flooring has been cut into sections. From here you will want to take a three foot long crow bar and begin prying up the sections of flooring. Work from the center point toward the walls (which is why we laid that one cut directly in the center of your floor). This will be a bit of work, wiggling and prying up the floor, but it will come up in sections, exposing the subfloor.
Once you have removed all of the flooring make sure you clean any debris or adhesive residues. Once you have a clean subfloor, take some drywall screws and screw down the subfloor to eliminate any potential noise that could occur from walking over the floor.
This should leave you with a well prepared subfloor ready for installation of your new laminate floor. It is a bit of work, but in the end it will pay off to remove all of the old flooring.