How to remove staples that held down a lino floor in a bathroom?

[mike3]

Flooring has been down for about 30 years and are a lot of staples

[MitchellMc · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @mike3. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about removing staples.

Before you start, I should inform you that asbestos has been used for lino underlay and glues in the past. Thirty years old lino would put you right in the timeframe. Please investigate the possibility of it being used in your dwelling before commencing any work. If it's found, you need to adhere to guidelines surrounding its removal and disposal.

I suggest you start by getting a couple of strong individuals, gloving up, putting on some safety glasses and face masks, and then trying to rip the lino up in one go, pulling the staples out along with it.

If you've got a ton of staples left in the floor, it sounds like one of those jobs where a mate would come in handy that's been bribed with a few beers. Pick yourself up a couple of staple removers and make an afternoon of it. You might also like to grab a couple of sets of multi-grip pliers. A common issue with the staple remover is that although they work quite well, if one leg of the staple comes out and not the other, then the remover becomes just about useless. That's where the multi-grips come in handy; you can grip the staple and pull it out. I'd suggest you start with the staple remover and go over the whole floor. Don't fuss around with the ones you can't get out; just move on. After you're done, come back with the muti-grips and remove all the troublesome staples.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[mike3]

Thank for the heads up on the asbestos, very timely as I had not thought of it. And thanks for the advise.