removing black adhesive...

[Paul1956]

50 years ago when my father built a duplex he decided it would be
a good idea to lay vinyl tile in the mechanical room directly on the cement.

He layed that black adhesive directly on the cement then applied the tiles.

Now fast forward 50 years... mom had a drain block in the basement and
the mechanical room flooded with about 2 - 3 inches of water all over the
floor. Some of the tiles were already loose however now they are all loose.

The floor is black from the adhesive and the adhesive appears to be dried
out.

Question is... what is the best way to remove the black adhesive?

Perhaps angle grinder or a belt sander? ...it isn't a large room.

 

[uniballer]

I use WD-40 on small spot but on big area I dont know.

 

[Paul1956]

Some product called C-Tar Melt is supposed to work.

I've tried other methods to no avail... like heat and solvents.

At this point I'm considering just covering it up with another
product... perhaps Race Deck or Swiss Trax. At least with that
if the floor gets wet again they can be removed, mopped up
and then reinstalled.

 

[Kevin54]

Watch out what you grind. Tiles that old had asbestos in them. I'm not sure whether the adhesive would have or not. Check with some flooring companies or installers and they should be able to tell you what to use. You can also ask Zeke here on the site as I think he did some of that type of work.

 

[bochnak]

I had the same issue with a basement remodel a couple of years ago. I tried a belt sander and the paper clogs up fast. I ended up putting Behr garage floor paint on it and it is not holding up well. I don't mind much since it is the laundry & dogs room.

 

[hippie2cams]

Have you tried to just use manual, and scrape it off.

 

[tncatadjuster]

It's called asphalt cutback, it was the glue of the period for tiles, unless the tiles are 9", I would not worry about the asbestos. Your idea of putting down plastic tiles is great for this application.
If not then you have to use a citrus based solvent and scrub forever.

Good luck.

 

[bp460]

Here is a good discussion on the subject over at the John Bridge tile forum:

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=12850

-Brad

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Diamabrush Hand Tool: http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/hand-tool-for-removalprep-p-233.html

 

[theoldwizard1]

I did my son's laundry room floor about 2 years ago. Lots of work but the gray epoxy with sprinkles looks great.

Likely the old tile did contain asbestos, but everyone makes MUCH too big a deal about this ! Wear a dust mask. Pry them up. Use a heavy scrape off the remainder bits or even a brick chisel.. I don't recomend this, but if you are going to use a shop vac, install a HEPA filter. Double bag the tiles.

The black cutback adhesive may contain some asbestos. Again don't worry. The only stuff that I found that works is Sentinel Formula 747 Plus Adhesive Remover.

The directions are something like this. Apply to about a 3'x3' area. Let sit (20-30 minutes). Using a 3"-4" putty knife/scraper, scrape the excess toward the center of the area. Keep scraping until no more loosens up. Using blue paper shop towels, mop up the liquid and bits that have come loose. You will need a dozen or more rolls of the paper shop towels. Let dry at least overnight.

Do the whole floor a second time. Thick, heavy deposit may require a third application. Again, let dry overnight.

Wash with TSP or other heavy duty cleaner. Rinse well. Let dry overnight. You may want to grind, but at a minimum you do need to etch and rinse before painting.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

+1 ^^^

I had the black asphalt cutback adhesive holding the floor tiles in the laundry room, when we bought our house 5 years ago. Went to a flooring supply house and I bought Wiz's product shown above. Great stuff. Wrapped my boots and legs gloves in garbage bags and went at it per instructions with 4 inch scraper. What a mess it was to get up but the remover liquefies the mastic. . Lots of work, but it has to come up if you want your new floor to stick forever.

 

[Daves69]

Bean-e-doo Mastic Remover works the best. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006NL1JA/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Saw it here on GJ and bought a gallon. Sprayed it on some old carpet adhesive and in 30 min was able to scrape it all off.
Post office uses his stuff also.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Bean-e-doo Mastic Remover works the best. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006NL1JA/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Saw it here on GJ and bought a gallon. Sprayed it on some old carpet adhesive and in 30 min was able to scrape it all off.

I'm sure this stuff works great on mastic and carper adhesive.

Black cutback is a whole 'nother story !

 

[tncatadjuster]

Diamabrush Hand Tool: http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/hand-tool-for-removalprep-p-233.html

I just bought one and it works like crazy, does not last as long as I wanted, but the amount of material it removes is amazing.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Diamabrush Hand Tool: http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/hand-tool-for-removalprep-p-233.html

Note in the video that they are using a vacuum dust collecting system. This is an absolute MUST if you are working indoors !

 

[colt340]

I did my son's laundry room floor about 2 years ago. Lots of work but the gray epoxy with sprinkles looks great.

Likely the old tile did contain asbestos, but everyone makes MUCH too big a deal about this ! Wear a dust mask. Pry them up. Use a heavy scrape off the remainder bits or even a brick chisel.. I don't recomend this, but if you are going to use a shop vac, install a HEPA filter. Double bag the tiles.

The black cutback adhesive may contain some asbestos. Again don't worry. The only stuff that I found that works is Sentinel Formula 747 Plus Adhesive Remover.

The directions are something like this. Apply to about a 3'x3' area. Let sit (20-30 minutes). Using a 3"-4" putty knife/scraper, scrape the excess toward the center of the area. Keep scraping until no more loosens up. Using blue paper shop towels, mop up the liquid and bits that have come loose. You will need a dozen or more rolls of the paper shop towels. Let dry at least overnight.

Do the whole floor a second time. Thick, heavy deposit may require a third application. Again, let dry overnight.

Wash with TSP or other heavy duty cleaner. Rinse well. Let dry overnight. You may want to grind, but at a minimum you do need to etch and rinse before painting.

I just bought this this last weekend to use in a bathroom. It worked well and was down to the concrete.

 

[bigbadktm]

try some soy gel...some of that stuff works wonders on even the toughest urethanes, should work for that too.

 

[x3whitefox]

The black cutback adhesive may contain some asbestos. Again don't worry.

I would be very alert about the asbestos possibility. I had 9" tile with the black adhesive and had both tested (by a firm that only did testing) and both contained asbestos. In my case, both were professionally removed. Not all of the adhesive could be removed from the concrete and they sealed it with something. The abatement contractor said that the key to removal is to keep it wet. You don't want any asbestos fibers in the air. If you don't have it tested assume that it contains it. Make sure that whatever you use for respiration protection is rated for asbestos. A dust mask probably won't cut it. In another area I had larger tile (than 9") also containing asbestos. In that case, I knew it contained asbestos because I found an extra box of it in the basement and it clearly stated that it was asbestos tile.