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I have to remove approximately 180 sq. ft. of the old stlye 9×9 tiles. They are located in the basement laundry room, on concrete floor. Many of them are coming loose from the waterleaks over the years, but about 80 % are tight. My customer wants to replace them with new 12×12 vinyl tile. What is the best way to remove them and prep the floor for the new installation? Thanks
T
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Replies
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urban mythology says that most 9x9 are asbestos base. So that's one thing to think about.
You might try a pan of dry ice and an impact scraper, or a sharp roofers slag scraper. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT SANDING. If you think they may be asbestos, you might want to bring in a specialist. Or turn it over to the Homeowner. Watch you back on this one.
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Don't take what I'm about to say as "gospel", but I've had several commercial and institutional demo and/or renovation projects over the last few years in which I was the project manager. Because of the circumstances (they had already been identified as ACM [Asbestos Containing Materials]), I had to employ a certified asbestos abatement contractor. From what I saw, there are several different methods that can be utilized, and they are relatively simple. The first approach is to flood the area with water so that there is no dust raised during demo. If you can do this without damaging anything, then it's something that you can consider doing yourself. Be aware, however, that you may have to have a certified contractor perform the work.
As an aside, the understanding that I have of the Federal requirements on abating non-friable material such as ACM tile is that so long as you don't grind, drill, etc., such that it would cause the material to form a dust in the air, you're safe on the removal. (You should also check to verify requirements for disposal of the material. Again, my understanding is for small quantities, etc., you're okay to treat it as common construction debris/material.
The second method that I've seen used was via heat. In this instance, the mastic was also known to be ACM and had to be removed as well. The contractor on this job had a machine that used a heat source that was an inch or so above the surface. As the worker moved the "cart" around the space, the tile and adhesive were both softened and another worker followed behind with a scraper (looks like a garden hoe that never had the blade bent down) and simply popped the tile up before it could cool. The final result was bare concrete (in each case, the tile had been applied over a slab on grade).
Please understand that I'm not advocating that anyone should undertake such work on their own (don't want any of them lawyers after ya, y'know!), and your tile may _not_ be ACM in the first place, but you should probably have someone perform a test of the material first.
Finally, and easiest of all (in the short term) is simply covering over the existing tile (!)...if it's still adhering to the base floor and is relatively level/smooth, you could simply apply a new flooring material such as sheet vinyl. You might have some very minor problems such as door undercuts, etc., but that's not a very big price to pay.
HTH
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Thanks for all of the info. I didn't realize about the asbestos ramifications. I did think about sheet vinyl, but where the old tile is missing, I would have to fill in with new tile and they are different thicknesses. It is to large an area to thinset or dashpatch. Then again the old adhesive is down and that would have to be removed to get a good bond. Probably sanding it off and that's a no, no. About 1/3 of the area, the tiles are gone or loose. I was hoping for a quick and easy 2 day job. Boy, what the heck was I thinking. Thanks again.
*How about installing a layer of 1/4" underlayment and leaving the tiles alone? Much faster than removing them and you don't have to worry about removing the adhesive.
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I have to remove approximately 180 sq. ft. of the old stlye 9x9 tiles. They are located in the basement laundry room, on concrete floor. Many of them are coming loose from the waterleaks over the years, but about 80 % are tight. My customer wants to replace them with new 12x12 vinyl tile. What is the best way to remove them and prep the floor for the new installation? Thanks
T