Under 2 layers of linoleum, one layer of particle board, and on very stuck on layer of 1920 something linoleum we found wood floors! How the heck do you remove the 1920's linoleum...it is really glued on in some places...so far we have been scraping it, but our hand are killing us! We aren't giving up...there must be a better way to go about this! We tried a strong cement/ glue dissolving material and ended up with big black stains...the backing on the linoleum is like tar or something...HELP!!!
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- we found wood!!! how do we get this black gunk off!
i would try using a heat gun to soften the
linoleum and glu, then use a 3-4 inch wide putty knife in the tight places and a long handeled scraper such as the garden tool that looks likes a hoe but with a straight blade on the rest of the floor. i have found heat is easier than just the scrapers.
scrape off as much of the glue as possible, then use a sander to finish cleaning the wood
JMHO
Carl
linoleum and glu, then use a 3-4 inch wide putty knife in the tight places and a long handeled scraper such as the garden tool that looks likes a hoe but with a straight blade on the rest of the floor. i have found heat is easier than just the scrapers.
scrape off as much of the glue as possible, then use a sander to finish cleaning the wood
JMHO
Carl
First, that linoleum is most likely an asphalt (asbestos) tile, and the tile and mastic probably contain some asbestos. Not to worry, because it is encapsulated in the tar, but, be aware of it and avoid sanding until it is fairly completely removed.
Fire and ice. Carl suggested heat, and I agree it will soften the mastic and may allow tile to be separated from the floor. But heat will leave most of the mastic behind. Believe it or not, the pros use dry ice. Dry ice makes the mastic brittle so the tiles rapidly contract and pop off on their own or with some persuasion with a floor scraper. A long-handled sharp floor scraper is much better than small hand tools. The remaining residue usually cleans off with a citrus solvent.
Fire and ice. Carl suggested heat, and I agree it will soften the mastic and may allow tile to be separated from the floor. But heat will leave most of the mastic behind. Believe it or not, the pros use dry ice. Dry ice makes the mastic brittle so the tiles rapidly contract and pop off on their own or with some persuasion with a floor scraper. A long-handled sharp floor scraper is much better than small hand tools. The remaining residue usually cleans off with a citrus solvent.
After receiving all your help, I went upstairs and retrieved my embossing gun...heat. My husband was staring at me and wondering what the heck I was doing when he heard me turn it on...he was scraping away with a scraper while I heated up a patch and everything came off the wood floor with ease...today he went to our local hardware store to buy a heat gun...ha ha ...brains versus braun thanks!
