I just moved into a house and the previous owner had finished the
basement. My first job was to remove the ceiling, interior walls and
carpeted floor. When I removed the carpet there was a rubber padding
beneath it and it had been glued down. I took up the padding but there
is still a lot of glue on the floor. The shop is about 22' x 24'
I bought a bottle of solvent that is supposed to help remove the glue
but the instructions say to use a 4" scraper to scrape up the glue.
That could take weeks of part-time working, even if the glue comes up
nicely. I also heard people just use hot water to soften the glue.
Haven't tried anything on it yet.
My first question is, does anyone have experience in removing glue
from a concrete floor so that it can be painted, and do you have any
suggestions.
As an alternative, does anyone have any suggestions/experience with
using something else on the floor? Maybe gluing a linoleum down. It
would be soft on the feet and easy to sweep but I'm not sure how it
would hold up.
Another thought is maybe I should cover the entire floor with plywood
and seal the seams. If I did that I think I'd have to glue it down and
I'm not sure how easy it would be to take up if I move. Maybe if I
move I can just throw some cheap carpet over the ply and be done with
it.
Any thoughts would be appreciated
Ron S wrote:
> I just moved into a house and the previous owner had finished the
> basement. My first job was to remove the ceiling, interior walls and
> carpeted floor. When I removed the carpet there was a rubber padding
> beneath it and it had been glued down. I took up the padding but there
> is still a lot of glue on the floor. The shop is about 22' x 24'
>
> I bought a bottle of solvent that is supposed to help remove the glue
> but the instructions say to use a 4" scraper to scrape up the glue.
> That could take weeks of part-time working, even if the glue comes up
> nicely. I also heard people just use hot water to soften the glue.
> Haven't tried anything on it yet.
>
> My first question is, does anyone have experience in removing glue
> from a concrete floor so that it can be painted, and do you have any
> suggestions.
>
> As an alternative, does anyone have any suggestions/experience with
> using something else on the floor? Maybe gluing a linoleum down. It
> would be soft on the feet and easy to sweep but I'm not sure how it
> would hold up.
>
> Another thought is maybe I should cover the entire floor with plywood
> and seal the seams. If I did that I think I'd have to glue it down and
> I'm not sure how easy it would be to take up if I move. Maybe if I
> move I can just throw some cheap carpet over the ply and be done with
> it.
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated
>
You can try a scraper blade on one of the Fein MultiMaster knock offs:
http://www.harborfreight.com/homepage-top-sellers/multifunction-power-tool-67256.html
If you can't try dry ice a heat gun may be useful to soften the glue.
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
[email protected]
On May 10, 1:05=A0pm, Ron S <[email protected]> wrote:
> I just moved into a house and the previous owner had finished the
> basement. My first job was to remove the ceiling, interior walls and
> carpeted floor. When I removed the carpet there was a rubber padding
> beneath it and it had been glued down. I took up the padding but there
> is still a lot of glue on the floor. The shop is about 22' x 24'
>
> I bought a bottle of solvent that is supposed to help remove the glue
> but the instructions say to use a 4" scraper to scrape up the glue.
> That could take weeks of part-time working, even if the glue comes up
> nicely. I also heard people just use hot water to soften the glue.
> Haven't tried anything on it yet.
>
> My first question is, does anyone have experience in removing glue
> from a concrete floor so that it can be painted, and do you have any
> suggestions.
>
> As an alternative, does anyone have any suggestions/experience with
> using something else on the floor? Maybe gluing a linoleum down. It
> would be soft on the feet and easy to sweep but I'm not sure how it
> would hold up.
>
> Another thought is maybe I should cover the entire floor with plywood
> and seal the seams. If I did that I think I'd have to glue it down and
> I'm not sure how easy it would be to take up if I move. Maybe if I
> move I can just throw some cheap carpet over the ply and be done with
> it.
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated
I like the idea of the scraper, myself. Go for it. Tom
"Ron S" wrote:
>I just moved into a house and the previous owner had finished the
> basement. My first job was to remove the ceiling, interior walls and
> carpeted floor. When I removed the carpet there was a rubber padding
> beneath it and it had been glued down. I took up the padding but
> there
> is still a lot of glue on the floor. The shop is about 22' x 24'
>
> I bought a bottle of solvent that is supposed to help remove the
> glue
> but the instructions say to use a 4" scraper to scrape up the glue.
-------------------------------------------
My first thought would be to freeze the glue with "Dry Ice" (Frozen
CO2), then chip the frozen glue loose with the 4" scraper.
You want to try this with a small block of "Dry Ice" since you are
depriving the test area of oxygen to breath.
Can probably buy a couple of pounds of dry ice from an ice cream
street vendor if you have one where you live.
If successful, you can then rent a oxygen bottle respirator and finish
the job.
Lew
Larry Jaques wrote:
> On Mon, 10 May 2010 23:22:20 -0700, "Lobby Dosser"
> <[email protected]> wrote the following:
<snip>
>>
>>As you will end up scraping something, do yourself, your knees, and your
>>back a favor - buy the Long Handled Scraper. Broom handle long. Typically
>>available at any of the big box outlets in a six inch scraper width.
>
>
> Those can work OK, too, but I foudn myself on my butt most often. The
> knee pads slid out from under me until I put the pad down and my back
> ached from using the long-handled floor scraper, which didn't work as
> well as the shorter jobs. The shorty and poly mallet were my best
> weapons against bumps that day. I'd switch sides, work between my
> legs, and work on my knees for a short while.
>
There's also one of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/specialty-air-tools/long-reach-air-scraper-37073.html
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
[email protected]
"Winston" wrote:
> Use with *lots* of ventilation.
>
> From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_nitrogen
>
>
> "As liquid nitrogen evaporates it will reduce the oxygen
> concentration
> in the air and might act as an asphyxiant, especially in confined
> spaces.
-------------------------------------
My previous post addressed the safety issues.
Lew
On May 10, 4:05=A0pm, Ron S <[email protected]> wrote:
> I just moved into a house and the previous owner had finished the
> basement. My first job was to remove the ceiling, interior walls and
> carpeted floor. When I removed the carpet there was a rubber padding
> beneath it and it had been glued down. I took up the padding but there
> is still a lot of glue on the floor. The shop is about 22' x 24'
>
> I bought a bottle of solvent that is supposed to help remove the glue
> but the instructions say to use a 4" scraper to scrape up the glue.
> That could take weeks of part-time working, even if the glue comes up
> nicely. I also heard people just use hot water to soften the glue.
> Haven't tried anything on it yet.
>
> My first question is, does anyone have experience in removing glue
> from a concrete floor so that it can be painted, and do you have any
> suggestions.
>
> As an alternative, does anyone have any suggestions/experience with
> using something else on the floor? Maybe gluing a linoleum down. It
> would be soft on the feet and easy to sweep but I'm not sure how it
> would hold up.
>
> Another thought is maybe I should cover the entire floor with plywood
> and seal the seams. If I did that I think I'd have to glue it down and
> I'm not sure how easy it would be to take up if I move. Maybe if I
> move I can just throw some cheap carpet over the ply and be done with
> it.
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated
Scrape up as much as you can without killing yourself and throw some
cheap lammy floor down. You ~might~ want to use the underlayment to
smooth over the minor humps. Beat it to death and when you move throw
some more down. Or not.
I've seen it for less than a buck a sq.ft.
RP
On May 10, 6:42=A0pm, "d.williams" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Don't know much about scraping old glue off of a concrete floor, but you
> might as well get used to cursing the previous owner's ingenious approach=
es
> to home improvement.
No kidding on that. There's not a lot that they did but what they did
they did poorly. They had a drop ceiling in the basement and when they
ran electric they just laid the romex on top of the ceiling tiles, so
that should tell you their idea of "home improvement". Plus there's
also at least 2 breakers with multiple wires going to them. Many more
half-a$$ed solutions that I will have to go around and fix. But after
renting for 5 years it's good to have projects again :)
On 5/11/2010 5:35 AM, Ron S wrote:
> I just moved into a house and the previous owner had finished the
> basement. My first job was to remove the ceiling, interior walls and
> carpeted floor. When I removed the carpet there was a rubber padding
> beneath it and it had been glued down. I took up the padding but there
> is still a lot of glue on the floor. The shop is about 22' x 24'
>
> I bought a bottle of solvent that is supposed to help remove the glue
> but the instructions say to use a 4" scraper to scrape up the glue.
> That could take weeks of part-time working, even if the glue comes up
> nicely. I also heard people just use hot water to soften the glue.
> Haven't tried anything on it yet.
>
> My first question is, does anyone have experience in removing glue
> from a concrete floor so that it can be painted, and do you have any
> suggestions.
>
> As an alternative, does anyone have any suggestions/experience with
> using something else on the floor? Maybe gluing a linoleum down. It
> would be soft on the feet and easy to sweep but I'm not sure how it
> would hold up.
>
> Another thought is maybe I should cover the entire floor with plywood
> and seal the seams. If I did that I think I'd have to glue it down and
> I'm not sure how easy it would be to take up if I move. Maybe if I
> move I can just throw some cheap carpet over the ply and be done with
> it.
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated
>
Hire a concrete grinder ,similar to the helicopters they use when laying
fresh concrete floors .
Difference is they have blocks of abrasive instead of the blades and
will scour the top surface of the floor , then you may have to just hand
scrape the corners where you can't get in with the grinder.
Will probably take an hour or so to do 99.9 % of the floor.
--
Kevin (Bluey)
"I'm not young enough to know everything."
[email protected]
Don't know much about scraping old glue off of a concrete floor, but you
might as well get used to cursing the previous owner's ingenious approaches
to home improvement. I don't know how many times I've dug into something and
found myself saying - "WTF were they thinking, and how am I gonna get around
that? "
On Mon, 10 May 2010 13:05:33 -0700 (PDT), Ron S
<[email protected]> wrote the following:
>I just moved into a house and the previous owner had finished the
>basement. My first job was to remove the ceiling, interior walls and
>carpeted floor. When I removed the carpet there was a rubber padding
>beneath it and it had been glued down. I took up the padding but there
>is still a lot of glue on the floor. The shop is about 22' x 24'
Bingo. My 2-car shop was also that size and condition when I moved
in. I tore out the pineywood shiplap on the garage door, took up the
carpet, and found lots of glue down there. It was installed on top of
the -sealed- floor, thank Crom.
>I bought a bottle of solvent that is supposed to help remove the glue
>but the instructions say to use a 4" scraper to scrape up the glue.
>That could take weeks of part-time working, even if the glue comes up
>nicely. I also heard people just use hot water to soften the glue.
>Haven't tried anything on it yet.
I used no solvent for the first go-round with it. I bought the
industrial floor scraper from HF (can't find it online in the new
site, but it was an 18" handle on a 5" wide razor blade set at a 15
degree angle. Worked just fine.
or try one of these http://fwd4.me/Ndn or this http://fwd4.me/Ndp
I used an old 1-1/2" wide MAC gasket scraper (like this)
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-heavy-duty-scraper-set-96389.html
with my poly carving mallet
http://grizzly.com/products/Mallets-18-oz-/H0990
for the tougher areas. That saved my wrists. BUY ONE!
I think it took about 6 hours total, less than a day, definitely.
>My first question is, does anyone have experience in removing glue
>from a concrete floor so that it can be painted, and do you have any
>suggestions.
And I then used a lacquer thinner wash and painted it with pure white
porch and floor paint. I love how it brightened up the shop, and
dropped teensy parts are -much- easier to find now.
>As an alternative, does anyone have any suggestions/experience with
>using something else on the floor? Maybe gluing a linoleum down. It
>would be soft on the feet and easy to sweep but I'm not sure how it
>would hold up.
You'd still have to scrape it within an inch of its life for lino.
>Another thought is maybe I should cover the entire floor with plywood
>and seal the seams. If I did that I think I'd have to glue it down and
>I'm not sure how easy it would be to take up if I move. Maybe if I
>move I can just throw some cheap carpet over the ply and be done with
>it.
That's the problem. It costs lots of money in the first place, you
have to semi-smooth the floor anyway, and then you're left with a
problem when you move. Scraping it isn't really that bad, trust me.
TIP: use a thick pad under your feet, legs, and butt. That concrete
drains the heat right out of them and you tire quickly otherwise.
>Any thoughts would be appreciated
Relax and get some neighbor kids to help. Buy cookies, milk, and a
bucket of ice cream and make it a party.
Alternatively, a case of beer draws much quicker workers from college
(or HS, if you dare.)
--
You will find that the mere resolve not to be useless,
and the honest desire to help other people, will, in
the quickest and delicatest ways, improve yourself.
-- John Ruskin
On May 11, 6:27=A0am, "Kevin(Bluey)" <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 5/11/2010 5:35 AM, Ron S wrote:
>
>
>
> > I just moved into a house and the previous owner had finished the
> > basement. My first job was to remove the ceiling, interior walls and
> > carpeted floor. When I removed the carpet there was a rubber padding
> > beneath it and it had been glued down. I took up the padding but there
> > is still a lot of glue on the floor. The shop is about 22' x 24'
>
> > I bought a bottle of solvent that is supposed to help remove the glue
> > but the instructions say to use a 4" scraper to scrape up the glue.
> > That could take weeks of part-time working, even if the glue comes up
> > nicely. I also heard people just use hot water to soften the glue.
> > Haven't tried anything on it yet.
>
> > My first question is, does anyone have experience in removing glue
> > from a concrete floor so that it can be painted, and do you have any
> > suggestions.
>
> > As an alternative, does anyone have any suggestions/experience with
> > using something else on the floor? Maybe gluing a linoleum down. It
> > would be soft on the feet and easy to sweep but I'm not sure how it
> > would hold up.
>
> > Another thought is maybe I should cover the entire floor with plywood
> > and seal the seams. If I did that I think I'd have to glue it down and
> > I'm not sure how easy it would be to take up if I move. Maybe if I
> > move I can just throw some cheap carpet over the ply and be done with
> > it.
>
> > Any thoughts would be appreciated
>
> Hire a concrete grinder ,similar to the helicopters they use when laying
> fresh concrete floors .
Great idea. I had thought about renting a floor sander like they use
for hardwoods, and figured I'd use a lot of sandpaper. Just looked at
the local rental and I can get a grinder for a day for $90. I'm going
to try the scrapping method and see where that gets me first. My
biggest concern is that with scrapping, if I miss an area I'll know it
because the floor paint wont stick. I guess if that happens I could
always rescrape it and then repaint that area. But having the grinder
as a backup plan works.
On Tue, 11 May 2010 20:01:39 -0700, "Lew Hodgett"
<[email protected]> wrote the following:
>RE: Subject
>
>Got to thinking about this some more.
>
>Rather than use "Dry Ice" (CO2), a better approach would be liquid
>nitrogen.
>
>It's inert, pourable since it's a liquid.
>
>Once frozen, the glue should crack and chip loose.
...Spalling the concrete horribly in the process. Pass.
--
You will find that the mere resolve not to be useless,
and the honest desire to help other people, will, in
the quickest and delicatest ways, improve yourself.
-- John Ruskin
On Mon, 10 May 2010 23:22:20 -0700, "Lobby Dosser"
<[email protected]> wrote the following:
>"Ron S" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>I just moved into a house and the previous owner had finished the
>> basement. My first job was to remove the ceiling, interior walls and
>> carpeted floor. When I removed the carpet there was a rubber padding
>> beneath it and it had been glued down. I took up the padding but there
>> is still a lot of glue on the floor. The shop is about 22' x 24'
>>
>> I bought a bottle of solvent that is supposed to help remove the glue
>> but the instructions say to use a 4" scraper to scrape up the glue.
>> That could take weeks of part-time working,
>
>As you will end up scraping something, do yourself, your knees, and your
>back a favor - buy the Long Handled Scraper. Broom handle long. Typically
>available at any of the big box outlets in a six inch scraper width.
Those can work OK, too, but I foudn myself on my butt most often. The
knee pads slid out from under me until I put the pad down and my back
ached from using the long-handled floor scraper, which didn't work as
well as the shorter jobs. The shorty and poly mallet were my best
weapons against bumps that day. I'd switch sides, work between my
legs, and work on my knees for a short while.
--
You will find that the mere resolve not to be useless,
and the honest desire to help other people, will, in
the quickest and delicatest ways, improve yourself.
-- John Ruskin
In article <[email protected]>, Ron S <[email protected]> wrote:
[...]
>My first question is, does anyone have experience in removing glue
>from a concrete floor so that it can be painted,
Yes.
> and do you have any suggestions.
Forget solvents -- expensive, smelly, hazardous, and (IME) not particularly
effective anyway. Use a heat gun. This may be smelly too, and depending on the
type of adhesive, possibly hazardous as well, so make sure the area is well
ventilated. A chemical-filter respirator is a good idea, whether you're using
heat or solvents, but at least the heat gun isn't going to produce potentially
explosive vapors.
"Ron S" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I just moved into a house and the previous owner had finished the
> basement. My first job was to remove the ceiling, interior walls and
> carpeted floor. When I removed the carpet there was a rubber padding
> beneath it and it had been glued down. I took up the padding but there
> is still a lot of glue on the floor. The shop is about 22' x 24'
>
> I bought a bottle of solvent that is supposed to help remove the glue
> but the instructions say to use a 4" scraper to scrape up the glue.
> That could take weeks of part-time working,
As you will end up scraping something, do yourself, your knees, and your
back a favor - buy the Long Handled Scraper. Broom handle long. Typically
available at any of the big box outlets in a six inch scraper width.
"Nova" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Larry Jaques wrote:
>> On Mon, 10 May 2010 23:22:20 -0700, "Lobby Dosser"
>> <[email protected]> wrote the following:
> <snip>
>>>
>>>As you will end up scraping something, do yourself, your knees, and your
>>>back a favor - buy the Long Handled Scraper. Broom handle long. Typically
>>>available at any of the big box outlets in a six inch scraper width.
>>
>>
>> Those can work OK, too, but I foudn myself on my butt most often. The
>> knee pads slid out from under me until I put the pad down and my back
>> ached from using the long-handled floor scraper, which didn't work as
>> well as the shorter jobs. The shorty and poly mallet were my best
>> weapons against bumps that day. I'd switch sides, work between my
>> legs, and work on my knees for a short while.
>>
>
> There's also one of these:
>
> http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/specialty-air-tools/long-reach-air-scraper-37073.html
Yeah, that'd do it!
On 5/11/2010 8:01 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
> RE: Subject
>
> Got to thinking about this some more.
>
> Rather than use "Dry Ice" (CO2), a better approach would be liquid
> nitrogen.
>
> It's inert, pourable since it's a liquid.
>
> Once frozen, the glue should crack and chip loose.
>
> Lew
Use with *lots* of ventilation.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_nitrogen
"As liquid nitrogen evaporates it will reduce the oxygen concentration
in the air and might act as an asphyxiant, especially in confined spaces.
Nitrogen is odourless, colourless and tasteless, and may produce asphyxia
without any sensation or prior warning.[7] A laboratory assistant died
in Scotland in 1999, apparently from asphyxiation, after liquid nitrogen
spilled in a basement storage room.[8]"
--Winston
"Ron S" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> My first question is, does anyone have experience in removing glue
> from a concrete floor so that it can be painted, and do you have any
> suggestions.
Yes, my suggestion is to leave it there. Scrap what you can with a 6" ice
chopper and long handle, leave the rest.
>
> As an alternative, does anyone have any suggestions/experience with
> using something else on the floor? Maybe gluing a linoleum down. It
> would be soft on the feet and easy to sweep but I'm not sure how it
> would hold up.
I put down engineered hardwood. Give the use you have, cheap laminate would
work well.
>
>My first question is, does anyone have experience in removing glue
>from a concrete floor so that it can be painted, and do you have any
>suggestions.
>
>As an alternative, does anyone have any suggestions/experience with
>using something else on the floor? Maybe gluing a linoleum down. It
>would be soft on the feet and easy to sweep but I'm not sure how it
>would hold up.
>
I had that problem with a much smaller room. I rented a 5" foot
scraper from Home Depot. A lot of work. In the end the glue was
scraped off OK, but unsightly glue stains remained.
The solution was to lay creamic tiles.
Your idea of lino would work. An industrial grade should last and,
if necessary, could be lino'ed over after a few years of wear.
Gary