I have a small (laundry)room that has vinyl tile laid directly on the slab.
I need to remove the existing vinyl tile. Ceramic tile will be going down.
The vinyl tiles were set in glue (adhesive) and are adhered very well, and in a small area that a couple tile came up, they left behind a black residue of adhesive.
Couple of questions:
1)What is the best process for getting these tiles up?
2) How do I remove the adhesive left on the slab?
3)How do I prepare the slab for ceramic tile?
Mick
Replies
Note that the "black residue" may contain asbestos.
I have used both heat (hot air gun) and paint remover (the thick, gloppy, strong-smelling kind) to remove old vinyl tile adhesive -- which works better depends on the precise nature of the adhesive and the substrate. The hot air gun is supposedly a no-no with asbestos, but in this case what you don't know won't hurt you.
If you can freeze them they'll chip up with a floor scraper or sharp roofing shovel fairly easily, but to do that you'd probably have to cover the whole area with dry ice and a bunch of blankets for an hour or two. And you'd have to watch out for CO² accumulation if the space is enclosed with little ventilation. Dunno if it's worth the trouble.
Failing that, heat gun and elbow grease to get them up; once they are you'll have to try different solvents to see which one dissolves the gook you're actually dealing with. (Try to avoid blowing the house up or gassing yourself in the process of experimentation, LOL....)
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Some of the better thinsets are rated for application directly over well adhered vct. And if you think about it, whats the diff between a layer of vct and a layer of Ditra?
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Check the section for "suitable substrates" on this mapei site.
http://www.mapei.it/Referenze/Multimedia/Ultraflex3TDS_EA.pdf
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Thanks Eddie, will check it out.
How about leaving the tiles undisturbed, troweling on thinset (or PL Premium) and setting and screwing down 1/4", heck if you have the ceiling height, 1/2" Hardiebacker?
So much easier. Less dust. Limited debris removal and a smooth surface for tiling. Hey, it's also a lot less work.
Frankie
Flay your Suffolk bought-this-morning sole with organic hand-cracked pepper and blasted salt.
Thrill each side for four minutes at torchmark haut. Interrogate a lemon.
Embarrass any tough roots from the samphire. Then bamboozle till it's al dente with that certain je ne sais quoi.
Arabella Weir as Minty Marchmont - Posh Nosh
Frankie, How do you go about screwing into the slab?
Pre-drill the pilot holes and use Hardiebacker screws. Pretty basic stuff, but be careful not to drive them too much or they will strip out the hole. If/ when that does happen (it will), back out the screw and stuff a piece of wood shim in the hole and re-screw.Tadaa!Frankie
Flay your Suffolk bought-this-morning sole with organic hand-cracked pepper and blasted salt.
Thrill each side for four minutes at torchmark haut. Interrogate a lemon.
Embarrass any tough roots from the samphire. Then bamboozle till it's al dente with that certain je ne sais quoi.
Arabella Weir as Minty Marchmont - Posh Nosh
Any premium thinset is rated for use over cutback adhesive, we use Custom Versa-bond Flex. I did my own basement a few years ago, an all is fine still. I would remove the old tiles though.