How do I seal off adhesive (fumes) on concrete

[zzzd]

I had carpet laid in a room addition (den) with wide concrete steps. The carpet layer plastered the steps with a very slow drying adhesive that looked like contact cement. It wasn't your normal carpet padding cement though - it was still wet months after installation and almost a year later it's still offgassing quite a bit. Anyway, I became sensitized to it and need a method to seal it off somehow. I was thinking of polyester/epoxy resin but maybe that would be too hard a finish and would have some offgassing as well. Is there a low VOC product out there that I can brush or roll on?

[ransley]

You want to coat the carpet with epoxy?. If it still bothers you removing the carpet and glue sounds logical.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Yeah. And tracking down the installer, getting full details about the adhesive, and calling the manufacturer to find out the best way to remove it. Sounds to me like the installer used the wrong product.

[zzzd]

It's just bare concret now - with lots of adhesive soaked in. The guy poured it on the front portions of the steps to stick the padding to. Couldn't get any info from the idiot. I think it was stuff he picked up on the side for cheap so he just played dumb when I confronted him. Carpet company was no help either. I tried fans for 3 months, then heaters for 3 months and even tried UV reptile lamps for a couple of weeks but not much change in gassing. There was some pieces of adhesive soaked padding still stuck to the carpet that came off the steps. I threw it in the garage where it was just in the sunlight. Couldn't get within 5 feet of it for a few days because it burned my nose and lungs but then suddenly it was dry with no outgassing. Thats what got me thinking about UV. Took about 9 months to get tack free inside but even after almost a year the fumes are still a problem.

[Norminn]

The installer should be able to give you information about the adhesive. I'll bet an attorney could convince him. Your city building department may be able also, or may be able to test for the type of fumes giving you trouble. I would not fool around any longer without taking some action to protect yourself and your home. I would also use fans, assuming the stuff isn't flammable, to exhaust air from that room as much as possible and hopefully help hasten curing.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

I think I already know the answer, but did you check to see if this installer was insured? If yes, you may have recourse: New concrete, paid for by his insurance company.