Removing Vinyl Tile from Conc. Floor?
FlyingContractor
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Hey Guys,
I finally have rented a really nice light industrial/wherehouse space for my shop and storage (I’m having dreams of Norm’s space!), and the previous tenant had partitions with vinyl floor tiles. The partitions, now removed, have left gaps in the tile. I would love to strip all the tiles out and just get down to the bare concrete floor. Upon pulling up one tile though, while it came up fairly easy, I realized it was laid with some sort of asphaltic material. Any suggestions on how to strip this adhesive/ashpalt so I can just paint the concrete floor?
Thanks!
Replies
Sounds like old cutback glue. That stuff is wicked to remove. There have been some previous discussions on this, but I don't remember if anyone ever came up with a suggestion that easy or 100% for remeoval.
The stuff will disolve with mineral spirits, but that is slow, stinky, and dangerous(fumes). Maybe a search of the archives will produce some better advice.
One caution. Some of the old cut glue had asbestos fibers in it, so encapsulation may be a better option. Same for the floor tile if it was manfacture before the early 70s, I think.
My approach would be to rent a tile chipper and remove the old tile, then install new VTC over the old glue. Depending on the budget I might even look at some of the newer composition vinyl/rubbers. They are extremley durable, look good and offer better traction than VCT, but are expensive.
If you decide to try to clean up the old stuff be sure to use all the proper precautions when working with organic solvents, for personel safety and disposal.
Dave
Get some dry ice, kick it around the floor and pop the tiles and most of the adhesive up with a floor scraper.
Use Sentinel 747. First use a sharp scraper to remove most of the mastic. Then use 747 to scrub the rest off. If the concrete is smooth, it will be relatively easy and will come completely clean. If it's rough, you'll have a bit of a job...
DG/Builder
I got a heavy steel shovel with a square front edge. I used a grinder to sharpen the edge. With extra ballast on it , I just push it along to remove glue.