Scraping old adhesive

mpedrummer

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So, hi, everyone. I'm in the midst of restoring some floors in my 1906 Victorian here in Pittsburgh. The floors in the image above are where my question lies.

I removed 2 layers of tile (not asbestos) but the bottom layer was adhered to some sort of paper, which in turn was adhered to the floor.

We've been hand scraping it with a tapered putty knife, but that's taking forever.

So, I have a couple questions...what type of adhesive is this likely to be? Does anyone have a suggestion for how to get it up more easily? While you're looking, what type of wood is this? My guess is yellow pine, but I dunno.

Thanks
Tim

Brik

Don't know what wood, not enough showing in picture. If you want to continue scraping get a proper scraper, it will go much faster than a putty knife.

Something like this from Hyde
http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...entPage=family

Or these carbide bladed scrapers
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...90,43040,43041
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...90,43040,43041

Also have a file handy to sharpen the blade as you go.

Once the glue is scraped up you will need to sand. May also be possible to skip scraping and start sanding now.

mpedrummer

Thanks Brik -

I'll head out and get one of those tonight.

Just using a random orbital sander, 60 grit just made the adhesive crud warm. It really did nothing at all as far as removing it. I think I'll pick up some lower grit when I'm out getting the scraper...this is a really unpleasant job at the moment, about 12 sq feet took nearly 10 hours of work.

Tim

Brik

If you don't get one of the better ones from Lee Valley at least order their catalogs, lots of great stuff!

Zero Punch

Tim the glue is most likely lino paste, water soluble. try warm water apply with a sponge just enough to soak the felt paper. As the water begins to soften the adhesive add a little more it should become semi soft, and a dull scraper should remove it without gouging the wood.

mpedrummer

I'll give that a shot too, Zero. The scraper Brik suggested is working very well so far - it takes off the adhesive and much of the old finish with much less effort than before.

Thanks
Tim

bigboyjoel

I had the same issue in my spare bedroom. At one time, some A-hole thought it would be cool to raise dogs in the bedroom and place linoleum on top of the wood floor and glue it. I just rented a baseboard sander and got some hot water. As I sanded I just poured about 1/2 cup every few feet which loosened up the adhesive and kept the dust down. I suggest wearing an N-95 mask of you do this just in case. Be kinda carefull how much pressure you put on the sander and the time you let it sand the area. Do frequent checks of the area as well to make sure you are not putting swirl marks on the floor, it's basically an orbital sander it spins at very high speed. My version of this solution is messy but very, very effective and quick. I did the 120sq ft room in about one hour. To make life for you easier, just get the high sports and let the floor sander get the rest of it. Hopefully this helps. You can rent these from Menard's, Home Depot and Lowe's.

mpedrummer

Too late! Thanks though. We wound up just doing it by hand - it didn't take TOO long, and came out beautifully. The sanders we were using basically just made it gummy and warm - didn't really remove anything.

MPEDrummer

bigboyjoel

Looks excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!