I need to remove some glued down vinyl sheet flooring in our laundry room. Its attached to a concrete slab. I messed around with a little bit and decided I need a better plan. It easy enough to pull off the top layer and the part of the paper like body but the glued down part is really stuck down. I tried a razor scrapper by hand but thats slow going. I have a rotary hammer drill and see that they make a 5" wide scrapper blade that fits it. I also see some scrapper blades designed for a sawzall. Any tips or experience would be great.
Remove vinyl sheet floor?
- Thread starter gregs
- Start date
you need a power scraper. I have 2 Eddy scrapers from when I did flooring , they are available at rental yards . PS , don't remove the top layer , it works better with the full sheet
I have about 200 sq ft. How long do you think it would take with one of those?you need a power scraper. I have 2 Eddy scrapers from when I did flooring , they are available at rental yards . PS , don't remove the top layer , it works better with the full sheet
Higgy1300
Well-known member
4” paint scraper and a 5’ length on conduit, have about 5 extra blades. Should not take long at all. I use to install vinyl floors and this is how we did it
you need a power scraper. I have 2 Eddy scrapers from when I did flooring , they are available at rental yards . PS , don't remove the top layer , it works better with the full sheet
How's the glue remover work here?
I had carpet glues down in the basement. It pulled right up but left about 1/4" of glue, the Henry floor adhesive remover seemed to be the ticket
you get the blade to run along the concrete & most of the glue ( if you're lucky) comes up. a good (sharp) hand scraper finishes it off
depends on how tight the glue is/how smooth the concrete is etc . we did a lot of bathrooms with sheet vinyl and it would take maybe 10 to 15 minutes for say 20sqft . score the sheet goods in strips so you are pulling up a strip at a time makes it easier too , you're not fighting the whole sheet.
and, keep in mind that sheet vinyl & the adhesive may have asbestos in it
Commercial flooring people know how to handle that stuff; residential not so much.
I've seen commercial renovation jobs with flooring (of a certain era) removal it is quite an undertaking.
That said, getting a test is pretty simple and doesn't cost very much, at least around here.
I've seen commercial renovation jobs with flooring (of a certain era) removal it is quite an undertaking.
That said, getting a test is pretty simple and doesn't cost very much, at least around here.
Last edited:
firebirdparts
Well-known member
contact the guy that bought all those scrapers accidentally at auction.
FJ 432
Well-known member
Consider encapsulating it and laying your new floor over it.
PopcornSutton
Well-known member
I ended up buying a heat gun to remove an old linoleum sheet flooring. Slow going but less muscle work. When I gets hot enough it scrapes up rather easily. I scored the sheet in 1 foot strips.
Mike65
Well-known member
When we were renovating the kitchen/dining room in our current home I tried to get the overly glued down vinyl floor off the sub floor & it was just coming off in pieces. We decided to just cover it up. We used 1/4 4x8 sheets of Luan plywood to cover it & glued & screwed the plywood to the floor to make a smooth new floor for the new laminate floor before installing all the new base cabinets.
Stevee
Well-known member
On concrete floor, it "should" be fairly easy with a long handled, metal edged scraper. Find the right angle and scrape away....
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I did some with a wire cup on an angle grinder. Chewed right through the adhesive after peeling off the top layer
75gmck25
Well-known member
When I was cleaning up my basement floor I found a lot of recommendations for this product. Strange name, but it apparently works really well and has no harmful chemicals. https://products.franmar.com/products/mastic-adhesive-remover-for-concrete-bean-e-doo
I ended up using a commercial company to clean up my floor because the black adhesive for my 9x9 tiles had asbestos in it. I don't know what they used, but it seemed to be similar to the product above. When they were done there was no chemical smell and no need to wait before doing any prep for the new floor.
I ended up using a commercial company to clean up my floor because the black adhesive for my 9x9 tiles had asbestos in it. I don't know what they used, but it seemed to be similar to the product above. When they were done there was no chemical smell and no need to wait before doing any prep for the new floor.
BurtEggley
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2024
- Messages
- 861
I did it with mineral spirits, MEK, naphtha, and a wire brush and scraper at one square foot at a time, old rags, windows open, fans going and all flames doused etc.,.
Jayman17
Well-known member
I used the bean-e-doo and it worked well but is messy.
Fav Onefour
Well-known member
@gregs , Spray bottle and water. Warm water helps but it doesn't stay warm long.
Soak it and let it sit. Soak it and let it sit. You're on concrete it will be fine. When the remaining paper and glue starts to soften, then work on removal. You may need to go back and soak some more on the spots that didn't penetrate well. I've used sawzall scraper blades with decent luck. SDS scraper blades are spendy and they work too. They don't let you flex the blade as much so there is more fine cleaning afterward. After removing the main material, I use an angle grinder with wire wheel to tear off the last bits.
I've done a few of these floor remodels on my own properties. There's no quick shortcut if you want to do it right. It's messy and slow to do it right.
It is the perfect way to reinforce the mantra,
"Do it Right, Do it Once".
During the process you will play the mental game of figuring out how to make sure you never have to do that again.
It may sound like a lot of work and it is. In my case it has been worse because some other doofus took the shortcut approach. I've had rooms with five layers. The bottom layers are usually in the best shape. The additional top layers just don't lay down well and hold up. Simply adding layers is a setup for redoing the floor quicker.
Soak it and let it sit. Soak it and let it sit. You're on concrete it will be fine. When the remaining paper and glue starts to soften, then work on removal. You may need to go back and soak some more on the spots that didn't penetrate well. I've used sawzall scraper blades with decent luck. SDS scraper blades are spendy and they work too. They don't let you flex the blade as much so there is more fine cleaning afterward. After removing the main material, I use an angle grinder with wire wheel to tear off the last bits.
I've done a few of these floor remodels on my own properties. There's no quick shortcut if you want to do it right. It's messy and slow to do it right.
It is the perfect way to reinforce the mantra,
"Do it Right, Do it Once".
During the process you will play the mental game of figuring out how to make sure you never have to do that again.
It may sound like a lot of work and it is. In my case it has been worse because some other doofus took the shortcut approach. I've had rooms with five layers. The bottom layers are usually in the best shape. The additional top layers just don't lay down well and hold up. Simply adding layers is a setup for redoing the floor quicker.
75gmck25
Well-known member
Based on the bean-e-doo documentation it is not a petroleum-based product, so adhesives and paint can be used right over it.
I'm not sure its the exact product our contractor used, but we used standard concrete paint on the floor about 24 hours after they finished and there were no issues.
I'm not sure its the exact product our contractor used, but we used standard concrete paint on the floor about 24 hours after they finished and there were no issues.
Jayman17
Well-known member
Bean-e-doo is soy based