[JEEP 1965]

I own a house on a concrete slab and am currently starting a kitchen remodeling job. I'm nowhere near a professional but I can usually figure things out as I go along but I've hit a wall and I'm hoping someone can lend some advice. This kitchen had carpeted floor, YES carpet! Now I knew before I took up the carpet that there were asbestos tiles underneath and my original plan was to lay 7/16 osb with 3/16 spacing and peel and stick tiles. My main roadblock now is how to fasten down the osb. I can't drill and screw because of the asbestos coming up the bit and and becoming airborne. So I think that leaves two options (besides removing the tiles) is to either use adhesive which I'm not a trowel smith or use the ramset and power nail it down. Now I'm not afraid to try my hand at troweling but I don't want to learn on this project because if I do this wrong I'm not going to be able to take the floor back up without taking up the tiles. So is ramset the way to go and is 7/16 osb with 3/16 spacing good and is there any advantage or disadvantage to laying vapor barrier down first. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[mako1]

Never fasten osb directly to a slab.It will only wick moisture and swell up like a bicuit.

 

[de-nagorg]

I would get the heaviest duty vapor barrier that I can get, seal the floor with it at airtight as I can get it.

Then lay some 2X2 furring down in 16 inch OC pattern, With ramset, then the plywood flooring T&G, And then whatever type of tile/ vinyl/ laminate/ other that my SWMBO wants.

You said that you wanted to do it right the first time, GOOD FOR YOU, many want to just do it as low cost as they can get, and then regret it until they move.

Yes you will lose about 3 inches , but it will be worth it to have a great floor.

If this is not correct, someone will be along to advise otherwise, but get that tile sealed.


ED

 

[Fix'n it]

i don't know the exact conditions you are dealing with. but i bet GOOD engineered wood flooring over a good plastic underlayment will work just fine. i did that and it worked real well.

 

[RickMacKay]

You are just asking for problems. Get rid of the asbestos tile, for starters. You might want to send a piece to the lab, do you really know how "dangerous" it is? There are 3 different levels of asbestos in those old tiles. They may not be as bad as you think. Asbestos-laden tiles have little crystals in them when you look at the edge of a broken tile. Lots of homeowners remove them on their own. The odds of getting sick from casual exposure are insignificant. Look it up. If the tiles are removed when moist, they are less friable. If you hire an outfit it can't cost much more than what you are proposing.

If it is a kitchen, why not tile the floor? That's what you floor is "engineered" for----tile. Lots of tile looks like wood planking these days anyway. If you are concerned about warmth put a heat mat in it.

Wood on concrete is a bad idea...too much can go wrong, on the install and in the future.

 

[JEEP 1965]

Appreciate everyone's response. Have some more options to consider. Might check a little more on having the tiles removed. It would be nice to start with a clean slate or in this case a clean slab. Thanks again.

 

[firehawkmph]

When you remove the old tiles, you'll probably see a black mastic left on the concrete. I have had very good luck with a product called Bean-E-Doo. It's soy based, doesn't smell, and is not caustic or flammable. You spread it around with a paint brush and then cover the floor with a thin plastic, like a throwaway drop cloth. Let it sit for three to four hours. It will soften up the hard mastic into a black goo. Use the blue paper shop towels and wipe it off. One wipe per towel and throw it away. It will clean up very nice and leave your concrete suitable for tiling.
Mike Hawkins:smile:

 

[scyarch]

When you remove the old tiles, you'll probably see a black mastic left on the concrete. I have had very good luck with a product called Bean-E-Doo. It's soy based, doesn't smell, and is not caustic or flammable. You spread it around with a paint brush and then cover the floor with a thin plastic, like a throwaway drop cloth. Let it sit for three to four hours. It will soften up the hard mastic into a black goo. Use the blue paper shop towels and wipe it off. One wipe per towel and throw it away. It will clean up very nice and leave your concrete suitable for tiling.
Mike Hawkins:smile:

.......I wish I had this info for trying on whatever goop was used for the linoleum install on an apartment we just renovated after the tenant had been there for the last 25 years. I covered everything with plastic/tape (didn't help... well- maybe saved 50% of the dust), and went full-on-full-facemask/respirator and diamond cup wheel on my grinder, blasted through the top layer of everything so we could get a layer of concrete the thinset would adhere to when we used the Ditra. On the upside, I discovered how amazing those 3m filters work. I was sucking pure purified air and the only issue I had was visibility.

That said, I like your method better. The concrete bits that blasted my arms wasn't too much fun either.