vinyl tile installation

Hello, I'm building a kitchen in my basement and would like to put down peel and stick vinyl tiles for the floor. I pulled out the old carpet which was glued down, and it came off fairly easy. However, there is a layer of glue on top of the concrete which is not easy to remove. It's about 1mm thick. I bought a 14" floor scraper which isn't good for taking all the glue off the concrete, but it does a good job of knocking the ridges off the glue so I'm left with a smooth surface of old glue on concrete.

The only way I seem to be able to get it off is by using a belt sander, which clogs up the sand paper after a few suare feet. The floor is over 250 square feet so I don't really want to do this over the entire floor. I can also scrape it off with a flat head screwdriver, but I really don't want to scrape 250 square feet with a screwdriver.

My question is, is it okay to install peel and stick vinyl tiles over this smooth glue surface? I tried putting a test tile down on the floor, standing on it for a few seconds and then trying to peel it off. I could just barely get it off with my fingers, and I have pretty strong hands. I tried the same test in an area where I had cleaned off the glue with a belt sander and I couldn't really get it off with my fingers, the tile was breaking off in chunks and I had to use a scraper. Is it normal for you to be able to get a peel and stick vinyl tile off the floor with your fingers 30 seconds after you laid it down and stood on it?

My other options is to just put down a sheet of vinyl, which should go down fine over the surface as it is right now, but it would be a little more expensive and since this will be a rental suite I like the idea of being able to replace individual ruined tiles for about $1.00 each.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Tony.

Reply to
thelooch
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Hello, I'm building a kitchen in my basement and would like to put down peel and stick vinyl tiles for the floor. I pulled out the old carpet which was glued down, and it came off fairly easy. However, there is a layer of glue on top of the concrete which is not easy to remove. It's about 1mm thick. I bought a 14" floor scraper which isn't good for taking all the glue off the concrete, but it does a good job of knocking the ridges off the glue so I'm left with a smooth surface of old glue on concrete.

The only way I seem to be able to get it off is by using a belt sander, which clogs up the sand paper after a few suare feet. The floor is over 250 square feet so I don't really want to do this over the entire floor. I can also scrape it off with a flat head screwdriver, but I really don't want to scrape 250 square feet with a screwdriver.

My question is, is it okay to install peel and stick vinyl tiles over this smooth glue surface? I tried putting a test tile down on the floor, standing on it for a few seconds and then trying to peel it off. I could just barely get it off with my fingers, and I have pretty strong hands. I tried the same test in an area where I had cleaned off the glue with a belt sander and I couldn't really get it off with my fingers, the tile was breaking off in chunks and I had to use a scraper. Is it normal for you to be able to get a peel and stick vinyl tile off the floor with your fingers 30 seconds after you laid it down and stood on it?

My other options is to just put down a sheet of vinyl, which should go down fine over the surface as it is right now, but it would be a little more expensive and since this will be a rental suite I like the idea of being able to replace individual ruined tiles for about $1.00 each.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Tony.

Reply to
thelooch

If it were me I'd scrape the adhesive off with a solvent - just to be sure. I pulled the carpet off a concrete apartment floor once which left glue residue. The glue softened when I poured kerosene on it, but if you want to spend a few dollars, carpet suppliers have glue solvent which would probably work better. I then scraped the stuff off with a wide flat scraper and lots of elbow grease. Gets rid of any lumps & bumps on the floor and gives the new adhesive a better surface to stick to.

Having said that, if your happy with the result without scraping the old adhesive off then you can be the judge.

Reply to
ben.aust

I feel your pain. Last summer I finished the flooring job from Hell at our cabin in Flagstaff. Wife said the nasty old carpet in the hall, bathroom, and kitchen had to go, replace it with peel and stick tile. First layer, 20 year old carpet, stapled down, nothing easy like tack strips. Second layer, some nasty industrial-looking carpet tile. Of course, the carpet tile was old enough that when you pulled it up, the glue and part of the backing foam stayed stuck to the floor. Under the carpet tile, a layer of old linoleum tiles. Decided to leave the old tiles there. Several weekends of back- breaking labor scraping of the foam/glue leftovers from the carpet tile. Filled in any gouges or low spots in the old tile, sanded down any high spots. We bought the thickest peel-and-stick tile we could find, there were 2 or 3 different grades, figured the thicker tile would not telegraph the irregularities underneath as much as a thinner tile.

After 6 months, still looks good. Our application was a weekend/ summer cabin, didn't care if it wasn't perfect, so I scraped and leveled it the best I could, and let it go at that. Tile sticks just fine. I would probably have the same attitude about a basement apartment, YMMV.

Jerry

Reply to
jerry_maple

That sounds encouraging Jerry. My floor is quite smooth, I'm not worried about any bumps showing through the tiles. I'm more concerned about the tiles not sticking hard enough on to the old glue surface and popping off. It sounds like your floor was in even worse shape than mine though, and your tiles are sticking okay.

I could barely pull a tile off with my hands after 30 seconds and I would imagine the bond gets even stonger after a bit of time, so I think it should be alright. I really wish they had just used tack strips though, this glue is brutal!

Reply to
thelooch

SNIPS

I had this issue many years ago after removing some sheet vinyl from a downstairs bathroon floor.

Note: No water heater or furnace in basement when I did the following.

I got 5 gal. of paint thinner and soaked some old terrycloth bath towels in the paint thinner. Laid the towels over about a 3 foot by 3 foot section for a couple of hours. Softened the glue remarkably well and it just came up with the scraper. Thoroughly washed the floor with hot water and degreaser (think "Simple Green" clone). Some areas needed two rounds with the paint thinner towels.

After I was all done, I Put the towels outside on a concrete slab, washed them well with water, soap and a brush, then tossed towels in garbage.

YMMV.

Reply to
Jim McLaughlin

I've used both self stick tile, and non self stick in quite a few applications both on jobs, and in my own homes.

Things I've noticed about the two, is self stick comes in a myriad of colors/patterns, but I've had issues with self stick not sticking well, particuarly when something heavy was placed on top of the Tile, like a stove, refrigerator, or a bed. Edges would lift up.

It's not easy finding pleasing colors, or patterns with non self stick, but once that tile is properly laid down, it ain't ever coming up! (Even if the Basement flooded) Mark

Reply to
Mark D

Hello :) I would use a floor floater (liquid that floats over floor and makes perfectly level.

The vinyl is good idea, as long as you seal all the lil seams,nooks,crannies.

You can also use the 1' sq. , just more places to use seam sealer.

Reply to
NatlHomeServices

I went through this same thing. I was at first concerned about the leftover mastic. I used a 6" scraper screwed to a broom handle and scraped the whole thing best I could.

Different brands have different adhesion. When I did mine the manufacturer recommended priming the floor with vinyl adhesive. I used a roller and found out about a year later that you want to use as little as possible (don't just splash it down). Eventually the extra glue comes up through the seams of the tiles and everything that hits the floor gets stuck to it making black seams. I think now I would try latex primer/sealer. The last floor I did recommended using that but I used the glue (and got it right that time).

Good tiles are just short of indestructible when they are installed properly. And if you can get one off should it become damaged you save a lot of money. You'll be using that flat screwdriver and a hammer to do it though.

Reply to
Michael Keefe

Thanks for the replies guys. After spending hours scraping the glue off of about 1 tenth of the area, I've decided to just put down a floating laminate floor. Most people think they look better, it costs about the same, and in my situation it's a lot easier to install. It recently rained for 25 days straight and there was no moisture at all in my basement, so I think the laminate will be fine.

Tony.

Reply to
thelooch

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