how to remove Novodeck subfloor

[kaejaecee]

I have seen my Novodeck and chipped out a piece of it. In my opinion it does not resemble particle board; it looks like OSB in the fact that it has tiny chips (1/4 to 1/2) of wood in some way laminated together with a kind of smooth laminate surface on top but I have no idea of it has the same surface on the bottom. I have been told the laminate is a PVC by one person and plastic by another but neither of those were with Georgia Pacific. I even soaked the chip--about 1.5 in long at its longest and 1/2 wide at its widest--overnight and though it came out a very bit pliable it did dry as soundly. Yes, I know it is a chip and my definitation of pliable and soundly are subjective but no matter how I pulled and pressed agaist it after it dried it did not crumble. I have kept the chip on the back of my kitchen sink as a kind of moisture test and it has held up. My Novodeck is G2 whatever that means.

Someone from GP left a phone message of a person to contact about the product since I was told by someone at their customer service that they no longer manufacture or carry any of it. I hope to have more insight after I return the call.

[kaejaecee]

About selling . . . My house is in a neighborhood in Austin, TX and even though Austin is not suffering the imploding bubble in its real estate market I don't think I'd make much a profit if I were to sell now especially if the buyer does more research than I did about the flooring before purchasing. Plus, we do have the stigma of being manufactured housing even though this is a manufactured modular (how it differs I don't know because it was manufactured off site, trucked in, set down, put togther and attached in some way to the foundation of cement piers that run the width of this house with cinderblocks on top of the piers to level) and with the fact that the buyer or I would have to pay a point or some portion on the loan because this is manufactured housing. If I got only what I paid for this house the only thing I could afford to buy is a house in the suburbs and I don't want to communte for a host of reasons.

[kaejaecee]

Something else to ponder . . ..

If I didn't have so many pets I wouldn't have opened this can of worms. I want hard surface floors that will hold up to five cats and an aging dog. I don't want sheet vinyl no matter its quality. I have considered lamintate and sealing the seams, if that is possible, to make them pet accident proof. I really want ceramic, but with my decking I will have to either follow the lead of some of the folks here and add ply before I add the Hardi which will really add depth to my floor and make it IMPOSSIBLE to remove my dishwasher if I ever want to or I could follow the advice of my niece and keep enough ceramic and if I whenever I do remove the dishwasher I'll have matching ceramic to replace what I will have to cut out. m

[chamberjac]

We are in Houston and we do have more humidity than you do in Austin. I recently looked at a repo to buy, It was a Patriot and I was quite surprised to see that it did not have plywood floors. It did have flooring that looked like osb. Those chips of wood glued together. I had a prospective customer with me at the time and as we went through the house, he was checking the floors for soft spots. In one bathroom, the sub floor was totally gone, disintegrated with only the carpeting over top all along the tub and over to the toilet. The home was a 96 model double wide. I have been told that this type of flooring was better than particle board, however after seeing that home, I believe there is no difference in the durability of those two types of floors.

The fact that you have now said that your home is a modular and it is set up on pier and beams tells me that Yes, it would be totally impractical to sell and buy another. I would do the best you can with what you've got and I would start replacing in the bathrooms, removing the tubs, toilets and cabinets, then putting in the plywood. This is a huge project for you to undertake. I hope you are a very handy person. We have been doing these floor replacements for many years and we haven't starting having fun yet.

[kaejaecee]

I am handy, yet I realize this is a huge undertaking so I have considered taking it one room at a time. I may end up painting the ply I put down as a temporary measure until I get all the rooms done---anticipate it will take week doing it by myself on weekends and evenings--then tiling or laminating.

How do you remove flooring under cabinets? Do you remove the toe-kicks? How do you remove the toe-kick?

I figured there had to be something bad about this particular decking as I have read nothing good about it and because it isn't made anymore. I guess it just takes longer to desenegrate than particle board.

If you know anyone reliable in Austin who does this work let me know and I will send you my private email. About how much does it cost per hour or square foot to do this kind of job if I hire it out?

[chamberjac]

I was discussing this with my husband earlier this evening. I am pretty sure he would agree with me on my thoughts of removing the actual cabinets. this is generally not a big deal in the bathrooms. Let me talk with him about the kitchen area and see what his thoughts are. the toe kicks will come right out with the cabinets (usually). One of your most important areas to replace floors is going to be under the kitchen sink. Perhaps it will not be necessary to replace flooring under the cabinets that have no access to water nearby as the sink and diswasher do. Another problem to consider is that if you lay tile or laminate flooring up to the toe kicks, this will also mean you will not be able to pull the dishwasher out in the case of future repairs, and if you pull the dishwasher out and lay your tile or laminate, then you will not be able to get the dishwasher back in because there will not be enough room. They build these cabinets with no extra tolerance. Because we are dealers who buy and sell repo's and because most of our repair work is to re-sale units and our own rental units, we have not installed tile or laminate in these units so I am not sure how to address this issue, however we are just beginning to lay laminate in our own dowble wide, so we will have to find an answer to this problem.
as for a reputable repairman in the Austin area. I have no clue who to recommend and there are probably 98 % bad repairmen out there in business to about 2 % good ones. We only know of one really good person to recommend and he is in the Hempstead area. He is very busy right now, but if you were to catch him during a slow time he might come over there. He is very good and he works fast. If you are interested, you may contact me direct at [email protected]

[kaejaecee]

I may be emailing you for the name of the person in Hempstead.

I need to consider all the advise before I act. If you pull out the kitchen cabinets do the tops usually stay in place? I have tile border and tile backsplash that I'd like to not damage if at all possible.

About my dishwasher . . . I have been considering raising my kitchen's island and installing the dishwasher there because there is already electricity and it wouldn't take much to run the water line. It will take a bit more to run the drain.

[kaejaecee]

Oops, that was a thoughtless moment. I do know how to remove my counter tops. What I don't know is how to do it with the least amount of damage to the tile backsplash. I guess in the grand scheme of what may happen with my decking, that is a minor repair.
What have you done in the utility room with the water heater and furnace/AC?

So, you have NEVER had any structural damage from removing the entire floor?

Whatever I end up doing I am doing it room by room and wouldn't even consider undermining the walls. I am going to start with my smallest bedroom and leave the bathrooms and kitchen for the very last. I will likely do the smallest bathroom first since it only has one cabinet.

[chamberjac]

Ok, So you will start with a bedroom. Once you have removed the existing flooring, you will find that at the outside wall and even perhaps the inside wall, you will have no support for the edge of your new plywood. This will be because the support for the existing floor is under the wall. you will need to take two by fours and scab then onto the two by six floor joists using a nail gun making sure you place then at the same level (height) as the existing two by six under the wall. We will assume that the floor joists are running perpendicular to the frame as is most common. You will be using lots of two by fours in pieces that will march the distance between your floor joists usually 24 inches. You will need a compressor and a pnumatic (air) nail gun. You may be able to rent these but since you are considering doing the whole house, you may want to buy unless you are already equipped with one.

Yes we have done whole rooms, but not a whole house. The structural concerns of previous bloggers should only be a concern if you or someone else is going to move the home. You are not intending to so. I would not worry, as long as you are going to staple and glue or screw and glue your new floor to the floor joists. Be realistic ! the original flooring was put together in 4 by 8 sheets. You are just doing the same thing.

[kaejaecee]

Thanks for the how-to. I have been looking at a nail gun set and an electric powered air compressor because at the pace I anticipate doing the work I think it will be cheaper than renting both; plus I have a TINY bit of tool junkie in me so it will be a good reason to have something else in the garage.