We had the same issue in our kitchen. Since we found a can of old asbestos adhesive in the basement, we figured it was probably what was holding the linoleum down.
We peeled up the linoleum (it was a couple of huge sheets). Luckily, it was so old, it came up pretty easily, but the glue was hard to bring up. Since we suspected it was asbestos, we didn’t even F with it, and just covered it with 1/4″ plywood subfloor, and then corked right over it. There is a slight height discrepancy between the hallway and the bedroom, which we needed a custom made transition for, since the plywood subfloor made the kitchen/hall floor higher.
We sprayed the floor down with water as we were bringing the linoleum up, in case the glue was asbestos. It keeps the dust hazard down.
Before laying your cork down, you want the floor to be very flat and level (I think they recommend less than 1/4″ change over a 25′ area) so it would not be a good idea to leave chunks of glue before laying your cork. Not sure if the glue-down cork tiles are more forgiving, but we went with a floating cork floor.
Could you lay down a plywood subfloor and perhaps not have to deal with the uneven glue issue? Not sure if this will work, but plywood subfloors are standard when laying down Marmoleum and cork may be the same.
I’m not an expert on cork, but whether you need something under it will depend on whether the cement floor is over a moisture barrier if it is the ground floor and whether it is flat and crack-free.
BTW old linoleum did come in sheets as well. But they look different. You might have to do some trial and error with the adhesive-freezing, steaming, solvents, etc. Good luck.
Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I’m confusing vinyl with linoleum. The flooring is actually a sheet, not individual tiles. I was able to remove portions of it by prying it up with a paint scraper. As tedious as that was, I can see the real work will be in removing the adhesive. The subfloor is concrete. I plan on installing cork. Would it be a problem to remove as much adhesive as possible, then lay the cork?
First find out if it’s truly Linoleum or if its vinyl. Linoleum is an older process, and was made with sawdust and oil. It was often adhered with an animal base hide glue, which is black or dark brown, hard and water soluble. It’s more or less super strength LePages glue.
If the adhesive is 1) not gummy, 2) doesn’t appear to discolor or dissolve at all with denatured alcohol or other petroleum solvents including paint stripper and 3) is nearly impossible to sand or to scrape, then it’s probably hide glue. Try extremely hot water in a small area. Apply a little hot water, wait a minute or so then go at it with cheesecloth and then with a putty knife. If it’s hide glue, the stuff will start to scrape up.
If the covering is vinyl, the adhesive will probably be a different kind of adhesive.
OK, if they are nine inch tiles they probably contain the a-stuff. Some 12″ tiles contain it as well. Good idea to take precaution, by wetting the stuff and using a p-100 mask.
As for getting it up, we use dry ice. If you buy a 25 lb block of dry ice, have them cut it into 2″ thick slabs which will each be about the size if a 12″ tile. We lay the slabs onto the tile, say three at a time and let them sit a minute. At that time, use a long handled ice scraper or floor tile lifter (HD products) and start lifting. The dry ice shrinks the tile and hardens the adhesive, so the tile pops free. keep moving the dry ice along and popping, it will be easy once you get going. You will break some tiles, so asbestos is still a risk.
The dry ice can be had all over the city, check Google. I think a 25 lb block is about $29.00 and should be enough to do a very big room.
it’s possible the backing or adhesive contain asbestos, but they well may not. consider getting it tested before you start tearing it up. even if you don’t plan to use a professional asbestos abatement company for removal if it tests positive, you will know whether you should be taking similar steps yourself or whether you can hack away at it without fear.
Thanks everyone. @Brooklynstyle, I will be using floating cork, so that is very helpful info. Thanks again.
We had the same issue in our kitchen. Since we found a can of old asbestos adhesive in the basement, we figured it was probably what was holding the linoleum down.
We peeled up the linoleum (it was a couple of huge sheets). Luckily, it was so old, it came up pretty easily, but the glue was hard to bring up. Since we suspected it was asbestos, we didn’t even F with it, and just covered it with 1/4″ plywood subfloor, and then corked right over it. There is a slight height discrepancy between the hallway and the bedroom, which we needed a custom made transition for, since the plywood subfloor made the kitchen/hall floor higher.
We sprayed the floor down with water as we were bringing the linoleum up, in case the glue was asbestos. It keeps the dust hazard down.
Before laying your cork down, you want the floor to be very flat and level (I think they recommend less than 1/4″ change over a 25′ area) so it would not be a good idea to leave chunks of glue before laying your cork. Not sure if the glue-down cork tiles are more forgiving, but we went with a floating cork floor.
Could you lay down a plywood subfloor and perhaps not have to deal with the uneven glue issue? Not sure if this will work, but plywood subfloors are standard when laying down Marmoleum and cork may be the same.
I’m not an expert on cork, but whether you need something under it will depend on whether the cement floor is over a moisture barrier if it is the ground floor and whether it is flat and crack-free.
BTW old linoleum did come in sheets as well. But they look different. You might have to do some trial and error with the adhesive-freezing, steaming, solvents, etc. Good luck.
Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I’m confusing vinyl with linoleum. The flooring is actually a sheet, not individual tiles. I was able to remove portions of it by prying it up with a paint scraper. As tedious as that was, I can see the real work will be in removing the adhesive. The subfloor is concrete. I plan on installing cork. Would it be a problem to remove as much adhesive as possible, then lay the cork?
First find out if it’s truly Linoleum or if its vinyl. Linoleum is an older process, and was made with sawdust and oil. It was often adhered with an animal base hide glue, which is black or dark brown, hard and water soluble. It’s more or less super strength LePages glue.
If the adhesive is 1) not gummy, 2) doesn’t appear to discolor or dissolve at all with denatured alcohol or other petroleum solvents including paint stripper and 3) is nearly impossible to sand or to scrape, then it’s probably hide glue. Try extremely hot water in a small area. Apply a little hot water, wait a minute or so then go at it with cheesecloth and then with a putty knife. If it’s hide glue, the stuff will start to scrape up.
If the covering is vinyl, the adhesive will probably be a different kind of adhesive.
OK, if they are nine inch tiles they probably contain the a-stuff. Some 12″ tiles contain it as well. Good idea to take precaution, by wetting the stuff and using a p-100 mask.
As for getting it up, we use dry ice. If you buy a 25 lb block of dry ice, have them cut it into 2″ thick slabs which will each be about the size if a 12″ tile. We lay the slabs onto the tile, say three at a time and let them sit a minute. At that time, use a long handled ice scraper or floor tile lifter (HD products) and start lifting. The dry ice shrinks the tile and hardens the adhesive, so the tile pops free. keep moving the dry ice along and popping, it will be easy once you get going. You will break some tiles, so asbestos is still a risk.
The dry ice can be had all over the city, check Google. I think a 25 lb block is about $29.00 and should be enough to do a very big room.
Steve
http://www.thetinkerswagon.com
Get a 3 ft wrecking bar and go to town.
it’s possible the backing or adhesive contain asbestos, but they well may not. consider getting it tested before you start tearing it up. even if you don’t plan to use a professional asbestos abatement company for removal if it tests positive, you will know whether you should be taking similar steps yourself or whether you can hack away at it without fear.