A job for a Toe Kick Saw

Question from Scott: 

Jake, 

Here is my dilemma: I pulled all the carpet out of my house so I can install hard wood flooring. I also want to pull all the linoleum so I can have the flooring all throughout the house. 

The problem is that when I get to a transition point where the carpet meets the linoleum, I found that the linoleum is layed on top of press board which is 1/2" higher than than the subfloor under the carpet. I thought this would not be a problem since I could just remove the press board. That was until I realized the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms and the bathtubs and toilets are layed on top of the press board. 

I can't afford to lay 1/2" plywood all through the house to match the height of the press board so this leaves me scratching my head. I thought of cutting the pressboard out around the cabinets and fixtures but don't know what tool will get me that close to the edges of the fixtures. Any suggestions on what I could do? Thanks a bunch.

Jake's Answer: 

Adam,

No problem, all you need to do is get a hold of a toe kick saw.  You can check them out at this web site.

As you can see, they are a little pricy if you only need it for a one time job.  You might check with your local rental yard.  You might find it there. 

The alternative to a tool like this is to chisel the press board out of the way – this is a lot of work, but it can be done. 

Good luck.