According to professional
flooring contractors available easily nowadays. they have recommended the following procedure for this purpose.
- Peel back or remove any carpet or floor coverings. If there is floor underlay such as a thin layer of particleboard on top of the subfloor, you will need to pry that up and remove it. Pound the tip of a flat prybar under the particleboard underlay with a hammer and pry it up. If it breaks into pieces, that's fine.
Locate the nails in the subfloor. There will be parallel lines where the subfloor is nailed to the joists. Place the tip of the flat prybar at the intersection where two pieces are nailed to a floor joist. Hit the end of the prybar hard with a hammer using authority to drive it down between the two pieces of subfloor. It's OK if it chips or damages the edges.
3
Pry down on the prybar to lift the edge of the plywood up off the joist as far as possible. Pull out the prybar. Using the opening, insert the prybar into the crack as far to the left or right as possible. Pry again. Continue down the edge until one sheet or section of the subfloor is loose from the joist.
4
Grab the edge of the section and lift it up to a 90-degree angle, pulling the remainder of the nails loose on the opposite side. Lift the piece up and place it in the middle of the floor. Pull out all of the nails with the claw hammer. This will be your safety piece. Place it back over the joists at a skewed or slight angle to stand on while you remove other pieces. As you progress removing pieces, slide the safety piece along to stand on while you work.
5
Insert the prybar anywhere under the next adjoining piece and pry it up. Continue inserting and prying until that side is loose. Lift the plywood up as you did before. If the pieces are stubborn and won't release, kick the plywood with your foot while holding it up, or hit it with a hammer to loosen it.
6
Cut off nails with a reciprocating saw if the pieces become stubborn and won't free from the nails. Insert the blade of the saw under the edge of the plywood and cut along the top of the joist to cut the nails in half and then lift the plywood off.
7
Pound down any broken or cut off nails that remain in the floor joists after the plywood has been removed. Use a hammer to drive the head down below the surface of the wood.