How to Remove a Plywood Underlayment
- 1). Hold your saw with the blade at a 90-degree angle to the plywood underlayment. Place the saw blade 3 inches from a nail line in the plywood. Hold the guard on your saw open and keep both hands on the handles and out of the way of the blade.
- 2). Squeeze the power button and let the blade come to full speed. Push the spinning blade gently into the wood. Make your cuts parallel to each line of nails, while maintaining the 3-inch distance. Cut out each section of plywood, allowing the wood to fall to the floor or crawl space below.
- 3). Place the flat point of your nail puller between the remaining plywood and the floor truss. Hit the angle of the nail puller with your hammer to drive the point between the two pieces of wood. Pry the plywood from the truss. Remove the plywood a piece at a time and dispose of the scrap.
- 4). Drive the forked end of your nail puller under the head of a nail. Pull the handle of the tool back to remove the nail from the floor truss. Remove all of the nails from the wood.
- 5). Hold the chisel at a 20-degree angle to the truss. Tap the handle of the chisel with your hammer to clean the adhesive from the truss. Scrape the adhesive and plywood residue off of the tops of the floor trusses. Take your time and be careful to minimize damage to the floor trusses.
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