Flooring Removal in Toronto
New flooring needs a sound, clean base. We lift the old floor, the adhesive or mortar beneath it and, where the scope calls for it, the subfloor, leaving a surface your installer can inspect and prepare.
MetroPoint removes floors in houses, condo suites and commercial units across Downsview, midtown west and the City of Toronto, from a single room to an entire level.
Is this the right scope?
Remove floor coverings and agree which layers underneath must remain.
Lifting tile or hardwood is not the same as removing the subfloor or concrete slab. The next flooring system helps determine the handover condition.
Removing the slab as well? Review concrete removal ↗Where this scope stops
Levelling, repairs, new flooring and concrete slab removal are not automatically part of finish removal.
Define these items in writing
- Agreed floor coverings
- Underlayment and adhesive removal only as scoped
- Protection at transitions and debris removal
What assessment needs to establish
- Known floor layers and adhesive findings
- Thresholds and adjoining finishes
- Required substrate condition for the next trade
What's included
- Ceramic and porcelain tile, with mortar beds where present
- Nailed and glued hardwood and engineered flooring
- Floating laminate and vinyl plank
- Sheet vinyl and vinyl tile once cleared by the survey
- Carpet, underpad and tack strip
- Subfloor removal where the scope includes it
- Protection of joists, ceilings below and retained thresholds
How the job runs
- 01
Survey and site walk
We check the survey for vinyl and mastic results and confirm where each floor ends.
- 02
Clear the rooms
Furniture and stored items are moved out by the owner before the crew arrives.
- 03
Protect edges
Baseboards, thresholds and adjacent floors that stay are covered and taped.
- 04
Lift and cut
Flooring is cut into manageable sections and lifted, working toward the exit.
- 05
Base layer
Mortar, adhesive residue or subfloor is removed to the depth in the scope.
- 06
Sweep and inspect
The base is swept clean and walked with you so the installer knows what they are starting with.
Before we start
Older vinyl tile, sheet goods and black mastic adhesive are routinely sampled. Identifying designated substances is the owner's responsibility under OHSA section 30 before the work is tendered, so we ask to see the survey before we quote the removal.
Flooring or adhesive that contains asbestos is removed first by a qualified abatement contractor under O. Reg. 278/05. That is not work MetroPoint performs. Empty the rooms, point out any floor you are keeping and let us know about radiant heat or services under the floor.
Visible work examples
Room with part of the floor and wall finishes removed Long room with exposed brick walls and timber flooring Room cleared while built-in shelving is kept in place Large room stripped to framing with the floor cleared
Related pages
Questions and answers
- What is black mastic and why does it matter?
- Black mastic is a dark adhesive used under older vinyl and parquet floors. Some of it contained asbestos, so it is sampled as part of the designated substances survey. If it tests positive, an abatement contractor removes it before we lift anything nearby. If it is clear, we remove it with the floor.
- Do you remove the subfloor too?
- Only when it is in the scope. Some projects need the subfloor replaced because of water damage or a height change, while others reuse it. We confirm at the site walk whether the subfloor stays, and if it comes out we cut carefully so joists are not damaged.
- How do you protect the ceiling of the room below?
- Breaking tile and pulling nailed flooring sends vibration through the floor. We use cutting and prying methods suited to the floor type, avoid heavy impacts over finished ceilings and remove mortar beds in sections. In condos, we confirm building rules for impact noise and floor protection.
- Can you remove hardwood so it can be reused?
- Sometimes. Floating and some nailed floors can be lifted board by board with care, though tongues and edges often break. Glued hardwood rarely comes up whole. If salvage matters to you, tell us at the site walk and we will be honest about what is realistic.
Get a scoped estimate
Request an on-site assessment and a written scope before work begins.
Licensed, insured and WSIB-registered, carrying $5M commercial general liability.
Next step
Tell us about your flooring removal project
This service is selected for you. Change it if another scope fits better, or choose the advice option. Share the removal limits, property location and anything that must remain.
Get a Free Quote
Tell us what goes and what stays.
Decisions within this scope
Use these comparisons to describe the component that leaves, the surface that stays and the decision needed before removal.
- Removing flooring in one room: where is the stopping line?
How do I keep flooring in the next room when the same finish runs through both?
- Flooring removal beneath cabinets that are staying
Can the kitchen floor be replaced without removing the cabinets?
- Stair carpet removal with the treads retained
Does taking off stair carpet leave stairs ready for refinishing?
- Floor registers during flooring removal: what stays?
How should floor vents be described when the finish around them is removed?
- A heated floor changes the removal enquiry
What should I provide when the floor I want removed may contain heating?
- Uneven room thresholds: what should demolition remove?
Should a raised threshold come out with the floor or remain for the next installer?
- Hallway flooring when rooms are renovated separately
Should the hall floor come out with the first room or stay until later?
- Floor removal around drains that remain
How should a retained floor drain be shown in a removal scope?