So today I wanna share about tearing out that old sport flooring at my place in Oakland, NJ. Man, it was a job and a half! Let me walk you through how I got it done.
Getting Started
First, I dragged all the gym equipment outta the room. Man, that treadmill weighs a ton! Cleared everything into the garage until I could walk around the whole floor space easily.
The Tear Down
Grabbed my utility knife and sliced the flooring into smaller squares. Made it way easier to pull up. Those gym mats were stuck down real good – lots of nasty adhesive underneath. Used a pry bar to peel sections back. Heard this awful ripping sound every time. Lots of dust and crud flew everywhere – definitely needed goggles and a mask! Threw chunks into heavy-duty contractor bags.
- Cut the flooring into 2ftx2ft sections
- Pried corners up first
- Yanked hard once I got grip
- Sticky stuff stuck to the concrete like glue
Dealing With The Mess
The subfloor was a dirty mess! Swept all the loose stuff first. Then poured adhesive remover straight onto the worst spots. Let it soak in for 30 mins like the bottle said. Scraped like crazy with a heavy scraper – had to lean into it hard. Did three passes to get it all off. Wiped everything down with mineral spirits after. Took ages – my arms were killing me!
Clean Up
Filled nine huge bags with rubber pieces and foam scraps. Each one was crazy heavy. Hauled ’em out to the driveway two at a time. Called the bulk trash pickup service Oakland runs. Felt real satisfying loading those suckers into the town’s dump truck later.
Wrapping Up
Honestly? Hardest part was the scraping. Everything else was just elbow grease. Room looks bigger now! Thinking about epoxy coating next. If you’re ripping out sport flooring around here – wear gloves, and go slow. That glue residue is no joke! Floor feels solid underneath now. Took all weekend but worth it.
