Flooring, Tile & Carpet Removal in Palm Beach County
New flooring can’t go down until the old flooring comes up. Whether it’s 2,000 square feet of tile set in thinset over a concrete slab, wall-to-wall carpet that’s been down for 20 years, or vinyl plank that’s peeling at every seam — we tear it out, scrape the subfloor clean, load the debris, and haul it all away. Your flooring installer walks into a prepped surface ready for the new material.
In South Florida, tile-on-concrete-slab is the most common flooring combination in residential homes. It’s also the hardest and most labor-intensive flooring to remove. We have the tools and the experience to get it done right.
Flooring Types We Remove
Every flooring type has its own removal process, timeline, and debris weight. Here’s what we handle and what’s involved with each one.
Ceramic & Porcelain Tile
This is the most common flooring removal in Palm Beach County. The majority of homes built here from the 1980s onward have ceramic or porcelain tile set in thinset mortar directly on a concrete slab. Removing it means chipping the tile off the slab with electric demolition hammers, then grinding or scraping the remaining thinset until the surface is smooth enough for the new flooring to adhere properly. Tile removal generates heavy debris — a 1,500 square foot home produces roughly 3,000–4,000 pounds of tile and thinset combined. It’s also the dustiest flooring removal by far. We use plastic sheeting to seal off the work area and run dust suppression throughout the process.
Carpet & Carpet Padding
Carpet removal is one of the faster flooring jobs. We pull up the carpet and the padding underneath, remove the tack strips around the perimeter of every room, and scrape any adhesive residue from the subfloor. In South Florida’s humidity, old carpet frequently harbors mold and mildew underneath the padding — especially in homes that have experienced any water intrusion or where the AC hasn’t been running consistently. We roll, bag, and haul all of it. If there’s carpet on stairs, we pull that too, including the staples left behind in every tread and riser.
Vinyl, LVP & Linoleum
Luxury vinyl plank (LVP), sheet vinyl, vinyl tile, and old linoleum. Floating LVP that clicks together comes up quickly — the planks pop apart and stack for hauling. Glue-down vinyl and old linoleum are a different story: the adhesive has usually bonded permanently to the concrete slab over the years, and removing it requires scraping, sometimes with a floor machine. In older Palm Beach County homes, you may find multiple layers — linoleum glued over linoleum, or vinyl over tile — and each layer has to come up separately before the subfloor is clean enough for new flooring.
Hardwood & Laminate
Engineered hardwood, solid hardwood, and laminate flooring. Floating laminate and click-lock engineered hardwood come up relatively fast — pry up the planks, remove the underlayment, and the subfloor is exposed. Nail-down or glue-down hardwood takes significantly more effort, especially when it’s been glued directly to a concrete slab. We pull it all, scrape the adhesive, and remove any underlayment or moisture barrier underneath. South Florida’s humidity is hard on hardwood — cupping, buckling, and mold underneath are common reasons homeowners decide to replace it.
The Thinset Problem — Why It Matters
Removing the tile is only half the job. The thinset mortar underneath — the gray or white cement layer that bonded the tile to the slab — has to come off too. If it doesn’t, the new flooring won’t lay flat, won’t adhere properly, and the installation will fail.
Some tile removal companies pop the tile off and leave the thinset for the flooring installer to deal with. That creates problems and additional cost downstream. We include thinset scraping and grinding in our scope. When we’re done, the concrete slab is scraped smooth and ready for whatever’s going down next — new tile, LVP, hardwood, or epoxy.
The condition of the thinset affects the job timeline. If the original installer used a full-spread thinset application and it bonded well to the slab, the scraping process takes longer than if the tile was spot-bonded. We assess the condition when we look at the job and factor it into the quote — no surprises when we’re mid-project.
How Pricing Works
Flooring removal is priced by the square foot, and the rate depends on the material type. Tile removal with thinset grinding is the most labor-intensive and costs more per square foot than carpet or vinyl removal. Here’s what affects the price:
Total square footage. Larger jobs have a lower per-square-foot rate than small, single-room removals because the setup time is the same regardless of size. A 200 square foot bathroom costs more per square foot than a 1,500 square foot whole-house tile removal.
Material type. Tile on concrete slab with full-spread thinset is the most expensive to remove. Carpet is the least. LVP, vinyl, and hardwood fall in between depending on the installation method (floating vs. glued).
Subfloor condition required. If your flooring installer needs a perfectly smooth slab for epoxy or thin LVP, the grinding takes longer than if you’re putting new tile down with fresh thinset. Let us know what’s going over the slab and we’ll prep it to the appropriate standard.
Every quote includes the removal, thinset scraping (for tile), debris loading, haul-away, and disposal. Send us photos of the flooring, tell us the approximate square footage, and let us know what the new flooring will be. We’ll send back a firm price.
Part of a Bigger Renovation?
Flooring removal often happens alongside kitchen or bathroom demolition, or as part of a full property renovation before new tenants or a sale. We bundle the work into one scope, one schedule, and one invoice.
Flooring Removal FAQ
How much does tile removal cost per square foot?
Tile removal pricing depends on the total square footage, the type of tile, the condition of the thinset bond, and the subfloor prep standard needed for the new flooring. Larger jobs have a lower per-square-foot rate than small, single-room removals. We quote every job individually — send us photos, the approximate square footage, and what new flooring is going down, and we’ll give you a firm all-inclusive price covering the removal, thinset grinding, haul-away, and disposal.
How long does tile removal take?
A typical whole-house tile removal (1,200–2,000 square feet) takes two to three days, including thinset grinding and debris haul-away. A single bathroom or kitchen floor takes a day or less. The timeline depends on the size of the area, the tile and thinset condition, the required subfloor prep level, and how many rooms are involved. We give you a timeline with the quote so you and your flooring installer can schedule accordingly.
How dusty is tile removal?
Very dusty. Tile and thinset removal on a concrete slab generates fine cement dust that can spread throughout the house if not controlled. We seal off the work area with plastic sheeting over doorways and use dust suppression methods during the grinding phase. That said, some dust migration is unavoidable during interior demo work. We recommend removing or covering furniture, electronics, and personal items in adjacent rooms before demo day, and planning for a thorough post-demo cleaning of the home.
Do you remove the thinset, or just the tile?
We remove both. Thinset scraping and grinding is included in every tile removal quote. When we leave, the concrete slab is scraped to a condition that’s ready for your flooring installer to work on. The exact smoothness standard depends on what flooring is going down next — tile over new thinset requires less grinding than LVP or epoxy, which need a flatter surface. Let us know the new flooring type and we prep accordingly.
Can you remove flooring while we still live in the house?
Yes, we do this regularly. We can work room by room or section by section so the household can continue using unaffected areas during the removal. That said, tile removal is loud, dusty, and disruptive — it’s not a quiet process. If possible, it’s easier for everyone if the home is unoccupied during the actual demo hours. We work during regular business hours (7 AM – 6 PM, Monday through Saturday) and clean up at the end of each work day.
Do you move furniture before the removal?
We can move furniture to another room or to the garage to clear the work area if needed. If the home is occupied and you need furniture relocated room by room as we work through the house, we accommodate that. For whole-house tile removal on an empty property (pre-sale renovation, new purchase, rental turnover), there’s nothing to move and we get started immediately. If large items need to be removed entirely rather than just relocated, we can handle that too as part of our furniture and appliance removal service.
Need Old Flooring Torn Out?
Tile, carpet, vinyl, hardwood — removed down to the subfloor, thinset scraped, debris hauled away. Send us the square footage and we’ll quote it.
Scheduled service Mon–Sat, 7 AM – 6 PM | Same-day & emergency service available 24/7