Help, how to remove old vinyl floor?
dwcasey
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
This is in an older duplex…probably 20+ years old. It’s sheet vinyl and the vinyl and glue have become one with the slab.
I rented an air powered scraper last week, but I could only get the vinyl up that was around the edges. My guess is that it sticks better where there is traffic.
Anyway, the scraper couldn’t cut it. We cut slits in the floor and put down some EZ-Strip…worthless, I mean worthless.
I talked with another guy and he said he uses mineral spirit/paint thinner. I didn’t want to go this route if I can help. Any ideas?
We’re going to put tile down once it’s cleaned up.
Thanks.
Replies
Not that I'm to proud of knowing how to get this crap up, don't you wish yu could get stuff to stick like that when you want it to . Any way what I found was you can get under it at some point and using a sharp flat blade scraper working in an arc with the blade to shave it up. I had good results using a hammer drill with a spade bit(sharpened) I kept the bench grinder at the site. The flat scraper, sharp was faster. Then on one that I had to do there was a layer of asphalt? maybe tar or some such. and I cleaned tha up with lacquer thinner, gloves and respiratior. I've also found the same process works pretty good on particle board and plywood base, you get some gouges but if your carefull not bad. You can then spot patch and re-lay.
Clay
O.k., sounds good. Sounds like a sharp tool helps. I've got a smaller 6" scraper with a stiff blade and a larger, 14" I think, that seems to have too much flex in it.
I'll get the bench grinder out there and the smaller scraper and give that a go.
I have a feeling I'm gonna have to hit the spirits :-) to get that stuff off.
And yes, that is some serious glue on there...probably be illegal to use something like that today.
I've used the scraper method as well, being that this isn't one of my strong areas....
But i've always wondered how a little heat from a torch would work, taking proper precautions to avoid any chance of fire or breathing of harmfull vapors.... Just an idea, hope it helps.
Redo-it...
Go get 10# of dry ice, have them cut it into 12" x 12" x1" slabs, set it on a towel, and freeze then move and scrape, move then scrape, move then scrape...after you are done, take the leftover dry ice into the yard and let the kids play, poor water on...make smoke...freeze everything in site....cool stuff, makes everything REAL brittle.
Interesting, thanks for the tip! Dry ice...I know they had carried this at a local grocery store at one time, dunno if they still do.
There is a processing plant nearby that freezes various critters...rabbits, chickens, etc. I might be able to go there.
Thanks again!
Yellow pages under ice, or dry ice....I pay about $ 1-1.50 a pound depending on what end of town I'm in.
Liquid nitrogen is better. Pour it on, the vinyl and the glue will be brittle like a sheet of ice, use an ice scraper so you can do this standing up.
...on second thought, may be just stick with the dry ice.
Tom
You probably have the old commercial linoleum from Armstrong, AKA Brigintine, Seagate(small chips, multicolored against a colored background like blue or tan). I installed for 7 years fulltime. Sometime 80 sq. ft. a day or less is a good days work. A sharp 4" razor scraper is all that works or a 5" blade on a standup electric scraper. That blade has to be sharpened regularly and the 4" scraper blade need regular changing as well. Cut through the vinyl/Lino in strips half the width of the blade used, to gain torque. And be persistant. It is you against it. You have to be stronger than it to win!. GW
heat works every time... they peel up quick make'n it not even a job...
this post is not for the stupid... but i use a roofers torch & lp tank (off ur gas grill) any kind of scraper heat evenly and it will come up... play with the heat and don't burn the house down.... I know all things are designed for the most stupid around us... but use common sense... and don't sue the torch maker if you burn the place down...make sure your insurance is paid up... they do cover stupid... but not arson
I recently demo'd a bathroom that was ceramic over vinyl. I know they just used standard thinset, but have you thought about using versa bond? It says you canlay over vinyl. the slab isn't going to move, no cracks anyways.
Well, I thought about that, but friend of mine had a story that sorta worried me. It's kinda related. He bought some rental property, everything was fine for a while. Then there was a "strange smell". Turns out the previous owner just put vinyl over vinyl in the kitchen. MOLD. He thinks the slab "sweat" under the first layer and got trapped between the two layers of vinyl...mold built up and he got a stink that he almost couldn't get out!
Yep, I thought about just tiling over it, but then I thought about the mold story.
Versa-bond, on the other hand, might do the trick. I'll check into it. I'm a big believer that when you tear into something like this, sure as heck better do it right so you don't ever have to do it again...at least not for a while and certainly not because I had to cut corners. Thanks for the tip.
Drop me an e mail at [email protected] if you ever find out more about the mold issue. that is a huge concern. I just did a pergo floor that I was going to lay over vinyl, but my helper removed the old flooring, but I would like to know for future ref. I never want any call backs.
We're going to put tile down once it's cleaned up.
Something to keep in mind after your fun getting the vinyl up: even if you get everything completely pulled up, you might have issues with the thinset for the tile achieving a good bond with the slab, due to interference with the glue. Also, if the slab was treated with a curing compound or sealed prior to the vinyl going in, the thinset won't bond very well. You may have to resort to sandblasting or bush-hammering to get the gunk off. My point is.. there are ways to successfully install tile over vinyl floors, you might consider going that route instead of ripping the vinyl out. Go over to http://www.johnbridge.com and do a search in the tile forum; you'll find a wealth of information about tiling over vinyl.
Andy
There may be better ways, but as Ponytl said, heat will help. We redid our kitchen floor, had to take up large-sheet vinyl probably 15-20 years old. Soaking with boiling water helped some, but only penetrated an inch or two in from the broken edge and I didn't like to think what it was doing to the subfloor. What really helped was a heat gun, like a hair dryer with two settings (750 & 1500 W). That softened up the vinyl and the adhesive, working on it at the same time with a paint scraper got most of it up. There were still stubborn bits.
This was on a wood subfloor, I don't know how much difference concrete will make to using the heat gun. Then again, you might not mind pouring boiling water on the concrete.
Would using wallpaper-remover enzyme solution work for this?
Good luck,
Chris
Here's how I got mine off of CEMENT subfloor: Buy a 4" wide razor scraper. The one made purely of metal with the handle thats about a foot long. Also buy 5 to 10 packs of replacement blades (5 to pack). The blades change out in seconds when they dull (you can also turn them over) by loosening 1 philips screw. The scraper is usually sold in the flooring dept of Home Depot. On the way home grab a six pack of your beverage. Once your home get an old, solid hammer and a pair of heavy duty workgloves and a put on a pair of kneepads. Get on your knees, position the scraper blade under the edge and start pounding away with the hammer. As long as you keep a sharp blade the job will go pretty smoothly and the fact that you already carged the floor up works to your advantage because you can now move through sections at a time.
Forget about the rubber handle on the scraper, you'll detsroy in the first 5 min. - thats why you wear the gloves.