Can I take up a click floor and lay it again?

A floating floor is not glued to anything, which is exactly why lifting one is possible and why so many people assume it is easy. It is possible. The profiles are the constraint: they were designed to go together at a specific angle and they come apart the same way, and every plank that is levered rather than unfolded is a plank you will be throwing away.

Safety

What you'll need

• a pry bar or a wide chisel with a protective packer
• a pencil for numbering
• somewhere flat to stack the planks
• replacement planks from the same range (optional)
• new underlay if the old is damaged (optional)

Step by step

1. Work out which row went down last.The last row is usually the one nearest a wall opposite the starting wall, often narrower because it was cut to width. Lifting has to start there — starting anywhere else means levering against locked profiles.
2. Take the beading and thresholds off first.Scotia or quadrant beading at the skirting, and threshold bars at doorways. They are usually pinned or screwed, and removing them carefully means they can go back.
3. Lift the last row out, then unfold each row backwards.Lift the whole row along its length to the angle it was laid at, and it releases. Do not lift one plank in the middle of a locked row.
4. Separate the end joints in the correct direction.Angle-tap end joints usually slide apart lengthwise rather than unfolding. Forcing an end joint upwards snaps the locking lip off.
5. Number the planks as you go.Write the row and position on the back. Planks fade and wear differently, particularly near windows and in traffic lanes, and a shuffled relay shows as patchiness.
6. Stack them flat and support them.Flat, off the ground, and not leaning against a wall on edge, where boards bow within a day.
7. Inspect and sort as you stack.Any plank with a crushed tongue, a chipped lip or a swollen edge goes in a separate pile. Reusing a damaged profile produces a joint that opens later, which is exactly the failure you are trying to avoid.
8. Deal with whatever you lifted the floor for.Dry the subfloor, fix the leak, level the high spot, run the cable. Measure the subfloor for flatness and damp before relaying — this is the opportunity and it does not come round often.
9. Replace the underlay unless it is genuinely intact.Underlay is cheap relative to the labour of lifting a floor. Compressed, torn or damp underlay put back under a relaid floor undoes most of the benefit of the exercise.
10. Relay from a fresh straight starting line.Do not assume the old first row was straight. Set out again properly, with spacers all round, and re-establish the expansion gap at every wall and obstruction.

Alternatives

• Cut out a section only: Where the problem is localised, cutting out an area with a plunge saw and gluing replacement planks into the hole avoids lifting the whole floor. It leaves glued joints in a floating floor, which is acceptable in a small patch.
• Lift only back to the problem: Rows come up sequentially, so you can stop when you reach what you need to get at. The furniture has to move but the whole floor does not.
• Replace rather than relay: If the floor is more than a few years old, a cheap product, or already showing joint damage, the labour of a careful lift is worth more than the planks. Price a new floor before committing to a day of careful unfolding.

Questions people ask