Painting a Subfloor Before Installing a Floating Wood Floor

Remove the old flooring. Cut out existing carpeting with a utility knife, pry up hardwood with a hammer and pry bar and scrape up vinyl with a 5-in-1 putty knife. Take your time and remove all of the old flooring carefully. Pull out any nails with a hammer.

Scrape all of the glue, tack strips and stuck-on debris from the subfloor with the 5-in-1 putty knife. Sweep the floor with a push broom down to the bare wood. The subfloor must be absolutely clear of all adhesive, dirt and debris before any paint can be applied.

Apply enamel paint to the entire subfloor. Paint around the edges with a paintbrush and fill in the middle of the subfloor with a roller. Let the paint dry completely then apply a second coat for complete coverage.

Let the subfloor dry for 24 hours. Unroll the pad provided by the floating floor manufacturer. Trim the pad to the proper size with the utility knife. Install the floating floor, according to the manufacturer's instructions.