How do I pull out old flooring, base boards and china cabinets from a condemned 1915 old house?

The house has been condemened and I was told to get any items I could use in my house before the house was torn down by the city. I would like to preserve the wood as much as I can as these are items I need in my home to finish it. I feel extremely blessed as not only will I be able to salvage pieces of history, but being unemployed at the moment I have the time to carefully do the job.

I think that any method you use to remove the items without damaging them is good.

I DO have advice on how to pull the nails once you remove it.... use a pair of dikes from the back side of the piece. Grab on to the nail with the jaws of the dikes (close to the handles) and use the tip of the dikes as a lever against the piece. This will pull the nail out of the back side of the piece, slightly marring the back surface of the piece, but completely leaving the front side intact. When doing this, even the paint and nail hole filler, etc. will be intact. Saves on sanding and filling later when you re-install.

Many people push the nails back towards the front and then grab them with the teeth on the hammer, a pair of pliers, etc. and damage the face AND risk making the nail hole bigger and put a lot of force on the piece, causing it to break or crack. Don't do this!

Hope this helps.

Snoopy's advice is very good - You need some good tools - dykes and several sizes of pry bars - blocks of wood to use with pry bars - a Sawsall with a metal cutting blade also - You should also have a friend to help you - this kind of work is very difficult and extra difficult to do alone. - best of luck
architect and owner of a 1920 bungalow