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Removing hard adhesive

Hi guys

First timers here so pls excuse our ignorance on EVERYTHING!

We're having floating floorboards installed throughout our home and to save some cash we're pulling everything up & leaving the installation to the professionals.

Here's the rub....Under the tiles, is this very thick, VERY stubborn, 50 year old adhesive. We've tried removing it with hot water, acidity, turps, scraping, a rotary drill with spade bit, a grinder and this morning I do believe I heard the word 'crow bar' being used for tonight's date with the devil (old adhesive) 😂😂😣😣

So now I'm wondering what the heck are we doing wrong? 😔

Any suggestions will be gratefully received, even if we have to pay someone to do it as theres still the bathroom, toilet & laundry tiles to do.

Cheers, Deni

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Jason

Oh dear @deni. I hope that Workshop members like @PJA might have some suggestions for you so you can get a great result with your new floor.

Let me extend a very warm welcome to Workshop. We're really pleased to have you as one of our newest community members. Please feel free to post anytime you need a hand with a project or have something to share. We trust that you'll receive loads of helpful information and inspiration for future projects from our clever and creative members who are sharing amazing creations and wonderful advice every day.

Jason

deni

Hey Jason
Cheers for the warm welcome and I look forward to hearing from other members soon 😁🤞

MartyH

Did the floor installers say you needed to remove the tiles to get the right levels @deni? I wonder if you could get away with just installing the floating floor over the top of the adhesive...

deni

We were wondering the same thing. However there's just bare concrete underneath the stove and kitchen cabinets 😏

ProjectPete

Removing tiles and the adhesive is a tough and expensive job @deni. Most flooring installers (like myself) will either have the equipment to do it (and charge for the labour) or will have a contact that can get it done.

To get this off, you need to lift all the tiles and the easiest way is with a rotary hammer drill with spade bit. Getting the adhesive off comes down to using a concrete grinder. You can hire them for a few hundred dollars a day (in Perth anyway) - https://www.kennards.com.au/concrete-grinder-single-head-heavy-duty-240v.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIv_G4sY6x5QIVCBSPCh0O8AmpEAAYASAAEgJ8Z_D_BwE

Sometimes you can get away with a normal grinder with a diamond cup grinding disc on it like this https://www.bunnings.com.au/dta-125mm-dual-row-grinding-disc_p6370140 however it'll still take you a long time to get through a big area and you'll likely go through at least two of them, by which time you probably should just hire the proper machine. And if you only have a cordless grinder, you'll burn through your batteries in no time so you'll probably spend more time waiting for them to recharge.

In short, there's no easy way of getting this job done unfortunately. Pop an ad on HiPages and see what sort of price you can get it done for.

Mathy

@deni - I do believe that @MartyH is possibly on the right track. Floating floors are laid over an underlay, so if the existing surface is a hard floor (not carpet), the floor can generally be laid over the top. Where you run into issues is with the finished height of the floor and differing levels between rooms. Before you expend more energy and time, I would consult with the flooring person you intend to use for the job. Hope this helps, cheers Deb 🙂

deni

Cheers for all that information Project Pete, shall get onto that this arvo

😀👍

deni

Thankyou Deb 😊🤞👍
Our installer has already laid the boards in 4 rooms, so I get what u mean about the underlay.
Yeah it's not gonna be even due to the absence of tiles under cabinets & stove.....unless we leave the cabinets and stove in place and they lay the boards around it??

😖😖😖

Mathy

@deni - so what you’re saying is that because there’s no tiles under the oven/cabinets In the kitchen (??) the new floor won’t be level? If that’s the only issue, have you spoken with the flooring person about laying something like MDF in those areas to raise the level? MDF - very useful, comes in a range of thicknesses and is relatively cheap. If there’s concern about damp or water spills, then waterproof it both sides.

deni

Yes that's exactly what I was trying to say! Thankyou! 😀
We can't seem to get hold of him for nearly a week, trust me we've tried lol.
I really like that idea of the MBF!! Fingers crossed he agrees.

Thank you very much to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. I'll let u all know what happens. 😁🤞👍
Cheers, Deni

ProjectPete

@deni MDF can work and/or you can install angled transition strips ("ramps") where the floor level differs. Not the best finish but certainly an option.

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