Posting for a friend...

Bathroom floor is floorboards, with vinyl stuck down with some
black glue. Want to take up the vinyl. Glue looks a bit like
bitumen but it doesn't seem to soften with moderate heat.
Tried flat bladed shovel, but that won't cut through the glue
either. Any suggestions on getting it up?

This is preparatory for laying ceramic tiles. Could the tiles
be laid directly on the vinyl with some type of bonding agent
under the tile adhesive? The floorboards are apparently rock
solid (they're on top of a solid 19th century brick vaulted
celler ceiling). Can't afford extra height of screwing a layer
of ply on top of the vinyl (will create a step).

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]