Glue Down Floor Removal — Old Vinyl, VCT and Parquet Scraped Off
The old kitchen vinyl, the basement tile squares, the parquet in the entry: glued down decades ago and in the way of the floor you actually want.
JMB Builders does glue down floor removal across the Twin Cities metro: old sheet vinyl, VCT, glued plank and parquet scraped off the subfloor or slab, the adhesive ground or scraped flat, and the floor left ready for whatever goes down next. Flooring and black adhesive from the asbestos era are sampled and lab-tested first; if they test positive a licensed abatement firm removes them, not us. Priced per project, quoted from photos.
- Priced per project, by the room
- Sheet vinyl, VCT, glued plank and parquet
- Older floors lab-tested before anyone scrapes
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A glued floor does not come up in sheets. Vinyl tears, parquet splits along the fingers, and what stays behind is the adhesive, which is the actual job. New flooring will not go down over ridges of old glue: a floating floor rocks on them, a glue-down will not bond to them, and tile cracks over them. So the removal has two halves, the floor and the glue, and the second half takes longer.
Age matters here more than on any other flooring page. Sheet vinyl, vinyl tile squares and the black adhesive under them, from houses built or floored before the mid-1980s, can contain asbestos. It is safe sitting there and dangerous when it is sanded or scraped. On any floor from that era we have a piece sampled and sent to a lab before anyone touches it. If it comes back positive, a licensed abatement firm removes it and clears the room; we do not, and no flooring crew should. Then we come back and do the floor.
On newer floors it is straight work: scrapers, a floor stripper for the big rooms, heat on stubborn vinyl, and a grinder on a slab. The subfloor is checked once it is bare, screwed down, and patched or leveled so the next floor goes on flat.
What you supply
- The age of the house and, if you know it, when the floor went in
- Rooms cleared of furniture and appliances, or tell us and we will quote moving them
- What is going down next, so the floor is prepped for that product
- A place for the dumpster or trailer on the driveway for the day
What JMB supplies
- A sample of older sheet vinyl, tile or black adhesive sent to an accredited lab, with the written result for you
- The referral to a licensed abatement firm if the sample is positive; we return after their clearance
- Scrapers, a walk-behind stripper on big rooms, and heat on vinyl that will not let go
- Adhesive scraped or ground flat on a slab, scraped and sanded on plywood, with dust contained
- Parquet pried and the mastic under it scraped back to bare wood or concrete
- Subfloor checked once bare: screws to stop squeaks, patch or leveler over gouges and low spots
- Debris bagged and hauled away, the room swept and vacuumed
- Photos of the bare floor in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Square footage and how many rooms, closets and doorways
- What it is: sheet vinyl peels fastest, VCT comes up a tile at a time, parquet fights back
- How much adhesive stays behind and whether it is on plywood, particleboard or concrete
- A slab that can be ground vs. a wood subfloor that has to be scraped by hand
- Particleboard underlayment under the vinyl, which usually comes out with it and gets replaced
- Lab test on older flooring, and abatement by a licensed firm if it is positive, which is their invoice, not ours
- Subfloor patching or leveling for the new floor, and whether we are installing that floor too
Send a photo of the floor, a photo of a corner or a torn spot where you can see the layers, and the year the house was built. If there is black adhesive showing, say so; that sets whether a lab test comes first.
How long it takes
A kitchen of sheet vinyl on plywood: a day. A basement of VCT on a slab, ground flat: one to two days. Parquet in an entry: a day. Lab results on an older floor take about a week before any of that starts.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Sheet vinyl on plywood or particleboard
Vinyl cut into strips and peeled with heat where it sticks, the backing and glue scraped off the plywood. If it is on particleboard underlayment, the underlayment usually comes up with it, which is faster and leaves a cleaner floor for the next one.
VCT or vinyl tile squares on a slab
Tiles popped with a floor scraper, the black or tan adhesive under them scraped and then ground flat. On floors from before the mid-1980s the tile and the black adhesive are lab-tested first, no exceptions.
Parquet and glued hardwood
Fingers of parquet pried up from the edges, the mastic under them scraped, and a wood subfloor sanded flat. Old parquet mastic can also be an asbestos-era product, so the same test rule applies on older floors.
Glued-down LVP or laminate
Newer floors that were glued instead of floated. Planks come up with a scraper and heat, the adhesive is scraped or ground, and the subfloor is ready for the next floor the same day in most rooms.
Glue Down Floor Removal — Old Vinyl, VCT and Parquet Scraped Off: questions, answered
How do you remove glued down vinyl flooring?
In strips. The vinyl is scored and peeled, with heat on sections that hold on, and the felt backing and adhesive left behind are scraped off the subfloor. On a slab the last of the glue is ground flat; on plywood it is scraped and sanded. If the vinyl is on a particleboard underlayment, the whole layer usually comes up together, which is faster and leaves a better floor for the next one.
Can old vinyl flooring have asbestos in it?
Yes. Sheet vinyl, vinyl tile squares and the black adhesive under them from before the mid-1980s often do. It is not a hazard sitting under a newer floor, but scraping and sanding it puts fibers in the air. On any floor from that era we have a sample tested at a lab before anyone touches it. A positive result means a licensed abatement firm removes it and clears the room; we do not remove it.
Does all the old adhesive have to come off before a new floor?
It has to be flat, not gone. Ridges and blobs of old glue rock a floating floor and crack tile, so they get scraped or ground down flush. A thin, even film that is stuck hard can stay under a floating LVP or laminate. A new glue-down floor or tile needs bare, clean subfloor to bond to, so those get the adhesive taken all the way off or a skim of patch over it.
Can you just put new flooring over the old glued down floor?
Sometimes. A flat, well-stuck sheet vinyl or VCT floor can stay under a floating LVP or laminate, and on an asbestos-era floor that is the safest choice, since covering it is the way to leave it alone. It cannot stay under tile, glue-down plank or nail-down hardwood, and it cannot stay if it is loose, curling or lumpy. Send a photo and we will tell you which one you have.
How much dust and mess does removing a glued floor make?
Scraping vinyl is messy but not dusty. Grinding adhesive off a slab makes dust, so the grinder runs on a vacuum, the doorways are sealed with plastic, and the room is vacuumed when it is done. Parquet and particleboard removal make wood dust and the same containment applies. Rooms next door stay clean.
Will removing the old floor damage the subfloor?
Scraping leaves gouges here and there, and a particleboard underlayment usually cannot be saved. Plywood takes it fine and gets sanded and patched where the scraper dug in. A slab gets ground flat. Once the floor is bare we screw down anything loose, fill low spots and gouges, and leave it flat for the next floor. If the plywood is soft or water-damaged, that is a subfloor repair we quote before going on.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 26, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All flooring pages
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