Flooring Adhesive Removal

[caseymcq]

I am remodeling our basement bathroom. I removed all the old "sticky" tiles from the floor. I bought some EZ Up flooring adhesive remover. I followed the instructions on the bottle. It didn't work very well. I still have the adhesive all over the floor. The picture shows an area of "clean" cement and what the rest of the floor looks like.

I bought "sticky" tiles again. It is our basement bathroom that won't get much use (most will be once it is done and I remodel the main bathroom) so I went with the sticky tiles to save some $$. I am pretty sure I need to get all that old adhesive off the floor before I put down the new tile, right?

Any suggestions? Anybody have a product that has worked well for them? Any other way to prep the floor for the new tiles?

Thanks for your help.

[sparcebag]

I see you have a good crack also.I'd take a belt sander to it with maybe 60 grit than use your stripper,if ya get those ridges out your tiles should stick pretty good,ya know glue on glue,without ridges more surface contact.

[icechipper]

You could rent a big floor scraper, blade is about 12 inches long and vibrates from the machine, that should do the trick.

[sweept]

If the area is not to large you can use a hand scraper. Has 4 or 5" blades should be able to peel it off with a little manual labor. I have seen these scrapers at the Home Depot. Good luck.

[Tom7227]

I had the same problem. By the time I was finished I was convinced that the solution was 5 gallons of gas and a match.

My old tile floated off when the basement flooded. I tried the scraper thing, got frustrated and 'solved' the problem by painting over what was left. MISTAKE. Within a very short time the black stuff came through and looked like he77.

Last summer I went and got some stuff that was a lot like paint stripper. It was a floor glue removal compound. It helped get a lot of it off but the fumes were pretty tough. I ended up cleaning the stuff that was left was taken off with an angle grinder and stiff wire cup brushes. I would then talk to some professional paint store or flooring store types to find out what exactly you should do to prep for your new flooring. Not a big box, some people who are over 16 and have callouses on their hands.

Here's the best advice - buy a pair of knee pads that have the hard plastic on them and a foam butt pad. You'll be glad you did no matter how old you are.

Sort of the real tee off was when I talked to the guys who put down the vinyl floor material. They said they would have to use their big machine that sandblasted the floor with shot no matter what I did.

[caseymcq]

Thanks, to all of you, for the replies.

Any particular octane of gasoline or brand of match?

[eyefever]

Also, be careful. Lots of older adhesives and backings had asbestos in them. I'd wear a mask and keep the little ones out of the house. You should be able to bring a sample in somewhere and have it tested. My work uses EMC labs, but I'm not sure where they're at.

[BiffleFan]

Just go get a $5.oo scraper and go to town. If you are worried about "asbestos" just wet it down with a spray bottle of water. Scrape off all fuzzy stuff and absolutely everything you can get off. Keep using new blades and turning the scraper over from time to time. After It's scraped as good as you can get it clean it spotless and get a bag of Ardex or Chemrex, these come in 10# bags and one will be plenty, Mix up with cold water and skimcoat the floor. You may have to do this a couple times. Try to do a neat job of this. Let dry, use a fan to speed drying time. Usually half hour depending on floor. If you have a palm sander go over the floor with it and sand smooth. If you still have uneven spots spot skim again and sand like you are doing bondo. The main thing is to have a clean floor when you install the tiles. Only use as much Ardex as you need at a time. Working time is usually about 10 - 15 minutes. Make sure you do some caulking when you are done.

[reelemin]

Scraping is the best way. I've used a 4 inch blade ( get a good one at Hirshfields, heavy duty handle and blade caseing ) on my hands and kness. Its hard but it was the easiest way I'd tried. A razor blade over a just a scraper is the way to go.

[Sifty]

I would be a little careful on the removal of the adhesive.

From the picture the glue looks black. If it is black and is older there is a chance that it could contain absetos.

Where the tile 9x9 or 12x12?

If they where 9x9 they would contain and the glue would also if they where 12x12 the chance is better they would not contain.

In any case I would scrape the glue in a area that size but make sure you have good ventalation in the room and also the house.

One thing about glue removal is the dust make sure to change the furnace filter after you are done.

Sifty