I am in the process of replacing carpeting in my basement with ceramic tile. I've removed the carpet and there is a rubberish carpet pad that is glued to the concrete floor. It's glued throughout the whole floor and is really stuck on well. What is the easiest way to remove it? If I have to scrape it off it will take me forever. I'm in the Northeast and its been really cold so the concrete floor is cold. Would heating it up with a hairdryer or iron loosen it up enough so it would peel off? Do I need to treat the floor with anything before laying down the thinset? Thanks in advance.
Call a local Carpet contractor. They will advise you in the best way. THey'll probablly suggest a solvent to soften the glue. and then suggest scraping the rest off...
try this, buy a small hand scraper,with a 4" blade,and start scraping,it may come up easy,if so buy the big 8" "stand up" scraper.once you get the floor clean,and smooth,lay your tile.good luck p.s. a can of adhesive remover might be a good idea.
Thanks for the advise. I tried scraping it up but it is really stuck on the concrete. I think I will need to use heat or solvent to soften the glues grip. Right now the pad is just tearing up which is causing more work. The carpet guy at Home Depot says I can't use solvent because it will get in the concrete pores and cause problems with adhesion when I put down the tile. Not sure if that is true but simply trying to remove it without treating it somehow seems almost impossible.