Removing glued-on carpet from concrete floor?

DAGS, no real luck other than "try citrus based solvents" or "hire a professional". Anyone here have any ancient Chinese secrets for getting this stuff off?

Thanks.

JP

Reply to
Jay Pique
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"Ancient Yankee Secret" Don't know what part of the country you're in, but get yourself and ice chipper, the kind you use to break up ice on a sidewalk, or maybe the tool used to remove asphalt roofing shingles. Put a couple six packs in the fridge and have at it. Especially if you're not saving the carpet.

Dave

Reply to
David Babcock

agreed. also a couple of spade shovels would help as well.

Reply to
js

Definitely not saving the carpet. Definitely familiar with ice chippers and beer. Gives me a nice excuse to go get some more Oomegang....

JP

******************* Skaneatelean.
Reply to
Jay Pique

Burn it out!

Yes, I'm just kidding. I suppose I have to give a suggestion now, though. Carpet adhesive is pretty similar to contact cement -- I think. Anyway, mineral spirits cleans up contact cement pretty well. I'd peel up the carpet, try some odorless mineral spirits on a small area and go from there. Use adequate ventilation, etc.

Cheers!

Jim

Reply to
Jim Wilson

Depending on the glue a long handled scraper (spud) works followed by a wire cup brush on an angle grinder to clean the concrete. It's a lot of work no matter how you approach it.

Tim Douglass

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Reply to
Tim Douglass

What i found works better than the heavy Ice chippers is what the ceramic tile guys use and also the carpet folks. It is like the ice chipper they just call it a floor scraper it is only about 4" wide and has disposable blades There like razor blades that you would scrape paint off your window. When doing some ceramic tile in the house a friend that does it for a living pulled it out to clean up some old thinset and I said Yah right, well he made me eat my words it scrapes that shit right down to the slab real good. Picked one up next trip to HD for when i have to tear the Kitchen tile up and replace it with the new stuff that is holding down my Garage floor from getting up and running down the street. You'll Find it is the Ceramic tile tool section.

Oh ya ya still need the six packs these scrapers do not work without the proper lubricant

Have Fun, George

Reply to
George M. Kazaka

Dynammite?

Just kidding (sort of!).

Seriously, there's only one reliable way -- brute-force "impact engineering".

A coal-shovel, and a 'flat' hoe ( I dunno exactly what they're called, the one with a 5' or so handle, with what looks like an oversize putty knive on the end), are a good start.

Maybe a 'carborundum concrete-sanding brick' for final smoothing.

Reply to
Robert Bonomi

UPDATE: Went to orangeborg today to see what retail therapy they could provide, and had my choice of two options. The first was a floor scraper that was a full 14" wide. It had a wooden handle with a stamped steel base into which a flimsy piece of low grade steel was screwed as a scraping blade - price: $19.00. A bit further down the aisle was another floor scraper - this one at $29.00. Must be better....right?

Right-o indeed! This thing is EXACTLY what I was looking for. It's made in Taiwan for Q.E.P. Co., Inc. (Boca Raton, FL) and the sticker says it's an "8" ADJ. RAZOR FLOOR SCRAPER WITH BLADE". It has a two-piece heavy steel handle that is adjustable from 4' to 8' long using a simple twist lock. The head is a two-piece cast steel unit into which nests a eight inch long "high carbon steel" blade and secured with good sized machine screws. That's it.

This sucker is nice and solid - and really works. I was a bit concerned that the twist lock mechanism wouldn't hold up under stress, but after using it for a bit I get the sense it will last *forever*. And the adjustability feature is actually fantastic. When I'm in tighter areas like closets I shrink it down for detail work, and for open spaces I open it up and let her rip! I think the heft really helps because it carries a bit of momentum to help blast through the crud. The only downside initially was that the included blade came not only unsharpened - but fully rounded over. I took care of that with my new Veritas scraper Jointer/Edger and an 8" mill file, although I have to say it worked pretty well even prior to sharpening.

It doesn't get every last bit of glue up - there's definitely a thin layer left unless you really go nuts on an area - but it appears that it gets enough such that a bit of mastic remover will make quick work of the rest. I'll let you know when I reach that stage.

Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction George!!! If you're in Central New York, stop by and I'll give you one of the six-packs from the fridge.

JP

***************************** Top posting feels weird.

PS - Don't get *too* excited, it's still VERY labor intensive.

Reply to
Jay Pique

Fein Multimaster, with the oscillating scraper blade. It does the asphaltum paint found around the borders of 1930's UK sittting rooms too.

But it's not yet made in China, so you'll have to wait a year or so until they clone it for a tenth of the price.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

Reply to
Andy Dingley

I've seen pneumatic floor scrapers that have a long handle and a blade with an impact hammer type action. You can do the job standing up which has a lot going for it right there! They were relatively cheap... $40-$50 as I recall. Harbor Freight, NE Hydraulic, or one of those type catalogs and I believe it was made in China!

John

Reply to
John Grossbohlin

When I got to the glue, I rented a floor sander ( $25 and worth every cent) and used a medium to coarse sandpaper to get it up. Worked great. Also gets remaining foam backing off that you may have missed or given up on.

Reply to
Sambo145

Any idea what kind of glue they used?

I had berber glued to the floor tiles in both bathrooms. It was stuck down with some kind of yellow goop that dissolved when the kids got a toy car stuck in the toilet, backed it up, and flooded the floor.

Cheap to try. Pour a bucket of water on it and see what happens after half an hour. Especially if you're getting rid of the carpet anyway.

Watch the baseboards!

Reply to
Silvan

Different thing. The Fein rotates over a small arc from side to side, not back and forth.

It's also cheaper in Antrim than in England (I've no idea why).

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

Reply to
Andy Dingley

On Tue, 09 Dec 2003 01:29:57 -0500, Silvan scribbled

I second the suggestions. In 1976, I worked on taking apart the carpeted floor at the Université de Montréal's arena that had been used for the Olympic fencing competitions. Water and ice scrapers easily got the carpet off. Pissed of the maintenance staff, since the carpet had been glued to the removable wooden floors they put on top of the concrete surface.

Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" for real email address

Reply to
Luigi Zanasi

Even though I said that I don't drink beer, I'm glad it helped I think with that thin blade and somewhat sharp edge it kind gets down to where the glue and concrete join and you are able to get under the glue, those ice breakers have a heavy blade and do not ge3t under it, I think that is why it works on the thinset also, Where in Central NY , My Kid brother lives just outside of Syracuse I've traveled most areas of NY when i was back east.

Reply to
George M. Kazaka

Scotch?

Skaneateles.

JP

Reply to
Jay Pique

Yes back in my drinking days Scotch on the rocks hold the rocks I'm sure I'll have to learn how to pronounce it before they let me ride down main street

Reply to
George M. Kazaka

Har! Just don't call it Skuh-neetle-us and you'll be fine. I can't believe they even let me come back, to be honest with you - man oh MAN has this place gotten ritzy! Good luck getting_anything_on the lake for less than a million bucks. It's absurd, really.

JP

************** Skinny-atlas, or "Skanny-attle-uhs" if you just bought one of the aforementioned million dollar "summer homes". That way we'll know to be extra nice to you!!

Reply to
Jay Pique

It sure it a pretty area though! I love the old mansions.

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

Reply to
Nova

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