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I recently got water damage from an hvac unit flood and it went under our laminate hardwood floors warping them. As a result I have to remove a lot of the boards in order to access the damaged area. There are a few boards like the one in the pictures where the boards were cut around the shape of the door jambs and then slid under the casings. The thing is I'm not sure how they got them in there based on the ordering and I don't know how to get it out without cutting the board or removing the door casings. I'd love some suggestions or tips on how to get them out.

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Edit 1: I changed the picture so you can see that situation a bit better. I double checked and the board is cut out around the jamb as indicated by the dots in the image. The solid lines show where the board ends. The arrow shows which way the board needs to be lifted in order to remove it from surrounding boards. As you can see the board can't be slid out to the left because of the cut around the jamb. It also can't be lifted to separate it from the board it's connected to in the next row because the gap between the board and the casing is so tiny. I'm not even sure how they got it in there in the first place.

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  • Are you 100% positive that the floor was cut around the casing instead? I'm only looking at a picture, but I'm 99.999% positive that the jamb was cut short (flush cutting saws are a wonderful thing!), then an uncut piece of floor was slipped underneath.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 9, 2021 at 11:36
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    @FreeMan I've updated the photo so you can see the situation a bit bitter. I double checked the board and it has been cut around the jamb.
    – thesofaking
    Commented Sep 9, 2021 at 14:14
  • Yes, that wider view helps a lot! Usually we get pictures that are too wide, in this case, it was too close. :)
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 9, 2021 at 15:21
  • Is it possible to slide the board to which the red arrow points out to the left (from the direction of this pic)? If so, you should be able to slide that whole row out, remove the two that are notched around the closet door, replace the notched pieces, then slide new unnotched pieces in place.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 9, 2021 at 20:34

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If you have extra planks, use an oscillating saw and cut a u shape around the door jamb so you can remove the plank, then put it aside and tape it together and use as a template for a replacement plank. Thats the easy way. Otherwise you'll have to remove entire floor from other side as that looks to be the order they installed it.

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  • Can you explain further how one would go about cutting this "U" shape around the door casing? It appears, that for one piece, at least, there's already a U shape cutout. I do agree that it appears that the flooring was laid starting at the wall at the top/left of the pic and it's likely that the entire floor would have to be lifted to get these pieces out.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 9, 2021 at 15:23
  • @FreeDOPE, you like to criticize all of my posts. Your question is stupid. You're a Troll.
    – David Lorin
    Commented Sep 9, 2021 at 15:29
  • @FreeMan and David Lorin - so I am seeing now that I'm undoing the boards in the wrong order, is that okay to do or will I have to go from the the other side of the room? The scope of the project includes this whole room and another room/hallway but I'd like to keep it as small as possible. There are other door jambs with notches cut that are exact mirrors of this cut, so that makes me wonder how they got any of those in there!
    – thesofaking
    Commented Sep 9, 2021 at 19:02
  • If your aim is to save that 1 board, then yes go from other side to remove it. But if you have extra boards and you don't need to remove the entirety of the flooring, just cut it out around the jamb with an oscillating saw - it will save you lots of time.
    – David Lorin
    Commented Sep 10, 2021 at 0:06

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