How to Remove the Tile Off Hard Wood Floors and Refinish

Remove the Tile

Restore the beauty of the wood beneath the tile.

1. Chip off one floor tile, using a hammer and chisel. Position the sharp edge of the chisel in a grout line and tap with the hammer until the grout breaks. Then, wedge the edge of the chisel under the tile edge and tap with the hammer until the tile pops up.

2. Use a tile removal machine to loosen the rest of the tiles. Available from construction rental stores, these machines come in hand-held and walk-behind models, and they have a rapidly vibrating plate that strips the tiles from the floor.

3. Remove lingering chunks of dried grout with a scraper. Tap the scraper end with a hammer to remove reluctant bits.

Prep the Hardwood Floor

1. Use a hammer and nail set to re-set any nails that have worked out of the floor.

2. Grind off the top layer of the hardwood floor with a random orbital sander, fitted with a coarse-grit sanding disk. You may go through numerous sanding disks during this step if tiny bits of grout remain on the floor.

3. Switch to a finish-grit disk after you've sanded off all the old hardwood finish and the grain of the wood is bare. Sand by hand in hard-to-reach areas.

4. Fill gaps in the wood and small holes with wood filler that matches the color of stain you will apply, and sand it smooth.

5. Vacuum up all dust and wipe off the floor and walls with a tack cloth to create a dust-free zone for the finishing phase.

Apply the New Finish

1. Brush on wood stain, if desired, in the direction of the wood grain and wipe off with absorbent rags. The longer you leave the stain on, the more intense the color.

2. Apply a thin finish coat to the floor. Standard wood finish coating products include polyurethane, varnish, shellac and lacquer. Brush on the finish coat with a quality natural-bristle brush, using long uniform strokes in the same direction of the wood grain.

3. Finish-sand the floor with 220-grit sandpaper, by hand, after the first finish coat dries, to remove miniscule bits of dust. This is a microgrit sanding paper and it won't remove the sheen from the floor.

4. Apply one or more additional finish coats, letting the floor dry completely between coats.