My 50 year old house has about 1,000 sq ft of 2-1/2" x 3/4" red oak flooring nailed down to subflooring that is composed of diagonally nailed 6" x 5/8" planks. This is over a raised foundation with crawl space below. From underneath, it appears between the planks that felt paper was used below the original oakflooring. In the kitchen, the subfloor is the same, except that 5/8" plywood and linoleum are the final floor, so that the oak floor and kitchen are on the same plane. I want to rip out the linoleum and plywood, but I don't want to remove the kitchen cabinets. So, I need to cut the second layer of subfloor and linoleum as close to the cabinet base as possible and then nail in the unfinished red oak to match the rest of the house. Any recommendations? Also, shouldn't I used something better than old fashioned felt paper below the new 3/4" oak flooring in the kitchen. I don't mind the sound, but insulation below the floor would be nice.

Crain makes a toe-kick saw that works very well.



I've used a recipricating saw, or SawZall.



15 lb. asphalt saturated felt paper is the recommended paper under the floor.

http://www.nofma.org/Portals/0/Publicat ... Floors.pdf

Hey, Thanks Gary for the posts. My Stockton, CA home will benefit by this. I've got a saws-all but was wondering just how I could get under the toe kick of the cabinetry. I hope that I can rent the specialized saw you picture because that looks like the tool I"ll want to use. No high-tech improvements over felt paper huh ? Paper does eventually rot, and there's not much protection from cold weather from it.

When using a Sawzall, they make a long, flexable blade that will allow the user to trim next to the cabinet toekicks. I have done it many times. Just don't cut through the subfloor.