Hi There,
First time participant here. I bought a 1940’s house earlier this year. I was thinking of putting a hardwood floor in the living room until I realised that I already have it- under carpet, underlay and some old linoleum. I’ve removed the carpet, underlay and linoleum (after testing confirmed no asbestos) but now I’m left with delaminated black bituminous type paper backing from the linoleum and black adhesive over a lovely old arts and crafts floor complete with decorative inlay. I presume I should try to remove as much as possible of this before sanding and refinishing the floor. Any ideas how to go about it?
Replies
If you're a DIY'er with plenty of time and patience, and interested in a non-toxic way to remove the black stuff, try "Goop" - the hand cleaner. Spread it on the floor, cover with plastic and leave it overnight, and then scrape it up the next day with a plastic putty knife. Work in manageable sized chunks - like 2 or 3 feet square. Try it in a closet first to be sure it doesn't harm your particular floor, but I have a friend who successfully used Goop on the all of the wood floors in their 100 year old house. We have used it on brick floors with great results too. Just takes patience and elbow grease.
If you're in a hurry and not worried about the toxicity of chemicals, other people here can probably suggest alternatives.
"A completed home is a listed home."
A side note here - I've seen GOOP used to remove tar from masonry pretty succesfully.