The trim in this house was just beautiful.
Very old and well taken care of.
We definitely wanted to preserve and reuse it.
One thing about old timers..
.
they used big nails...
real big nails.
Removing Existing Trim Removing trim like this without damaging it is almost an art.
You have to get a thin prybar between the wood and the wall and gradually get it farther in.
You then wiggle it back and forth and try to get the trim to separate further.
Like I said, it's an art.
Once you get it in good, put a piece of scrap wood behind the prybar to protect the wall.
It's easy to bust a hole in the wall when you pry on it.
Get one end free from the wall and start 'bouncing' it.
It's hard to describe, but basically bounce the free end back and forth and move the prybar and scrap down the length of the trim.
You'll pull the trim off more and more.
Apply pressure with the prybar as you 'bounce' the free end.
Eventually, it will come off.
Whoever installed these boards, did not intend for them to be taken off though.
This house featured blocked inside corners.
They had to be removed as well.
We also had blocks at the bottom of the casing.
This is a very popular style, especially in the Midwest.
The blocks had to be removed as well because all this trim was installed right on top of the subfloor.
The laminate needs to slide underneath the trim.
Other Options In some situations, you may have to use a flush cut saw to cut the bottom of the casing, or event the jams for any door openings.
You have to have an 1/8" clearance for the expansion of the laminate.
I'll get into that a bit more later, but the main point here is we have to think ahead on how we'll finish it.
Don't try to cut around wood.
It won't look good.
Even if you could cut it to fit tight, you can't do that because of the expansion.
So if you can't remove the trim, you have to cut the bottom off so that the laminate can slide underneath it.