Hi
My home was built in th 1920's with original hardwood floors thruout. But
was completely carpeted when I moved in. As I had started to remove some
carpet sections in dining room and living room, I found the old padding
has hardened to the wood floor. I tried scraping with putty knife, and
soapy water, which only helps a little. THis padding is REALLY crystalized
to the floor, and scraping takes ALOT of elbow grease and time. It took 2
of us 3 full days to finish the small hallway section.
I was told an enzyme cleaner will help, and I tried that with the hallway,
but again, that is only a small help. We still have the rest of the 2
rooms to go! It seems the high traffic areas have the worst hardened
padding.
Does anyone know of any type of product I can get to make this job easier??
or any other way???
Or would be really expensive to get a professional to do the job??
PLEASE HELP!!!!

thank you, Pat

That scarpet padding is a b*tch - I found this on the web - remember to
not get the floor too hot or burn it with the heat gun:


Pull up shag carpet
Pull out the bazillion staples they used to secure the shag carpet
Remove non degraded carpet padding with hands
Remove degraded carpet padding with heat gun and metal putty knife
Remove carpet padding residue with acetone and paper towels

On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 08:00:26 -0500, "patscrafts"
wrote:

Hi
My home was built in th 1920's with original hardwood floors thruout. But
was completely carpeted when I moved in. As I had started to remove some
carpet sections in dining room and living room, I found the old padding
has hardened to the wood floor. I tried scraping with putty knife, and
soapy water, which only helps a little. THis padding is REALLY crystalized
to the floor, and scraping takes ALOT of elbow grease and time. It took 2
of us 3 full days to finish the small hallway section.
I was told an enzyme cleaner will help, and I tried that with the hallway,
but again, that is only a small help. We still have the rest of the 2
rooms to go! It seems the high traffic areas have the worst hardened
padding.
Does anyone know of any type of product I can get to make this job easier??
or any other way???
Or would be really expensive to get a professional to do the job??
PLEASE HELP!!!!

thank you, Pat


If you aren't too worried about the floors final condition, they sell
floor scrapers that you can use standing up. They have sharp razor
blades for the edge. Check with your home depot, they might actually
rent them.

later,

tom @ www.FreelancingProjects.com

"patscrafts" wrote in message
news:2d1064592d22ac36e15d29dd004d929b@homerepairli ve.com...
Hi
My home was built in th 1920's with original hardwood floors thruout. But
was completely carpeted when I moved in. As I had started to remove some
carpet sections in dining room and living room, I found the old padding
has hardened to the wood floor. I tried scraping with putty knife, and
soapy water, which only helps a little. THis padding is REALLY crystalized
to the floor, and scraping takes ALOT of elbow grease and time. It took 2
of us 3 full days to finish the small hallway section.
I was told an enzyme cleaner will help, and I tried that with the hallway,
but again, that is only a small help. We still have the rest of the 2
rooms to go! It seems the high traffic areas have the worst hardened
padding.
Does anyone know of any type of product I can get to make this job
easier??
or any other way???
Or would be really expensive to get a professional to do the job??
PLEASE HELP!!!!

thank you, Pat

I haven't tried this, but I'm thinking that a commercial floor buffing
machine would work using a scrubbing disk or a light abrasive disk.
Something like this: http://www.comforthouse.com/floormachine.html You
should be able to rent one.

Hi, Thanks for your replies!
I am not a floor expert, but the hardened clumps on my floor just mey be
some kind of glue. It could be anything, the house is over 85 years old,
with several previous owners, I dont have any past info on whats happened
to the floors.
I was told the floor was oak from a friend. When I moved in the carpet was
at least 10 years old, a sclupted pile i hated.
Heres what I've tried to remove the hardened clumps so far....
I tried a paint removing solvent, acetone based??? did not help, and stunk!

Also tried a rotary sander and didnt even penetrate the thicker clumps,
also tried my hand sander, both were not any help, and used many pads
trying.
The clumps are like a cream beige color, and most are 2" or so wide, and
worse in high traffic areas. Could this be some type of glue?? For all I
know they could have had linoleum on the floor in the 50's!! There was
still linoleum in the upstairs bedroom.
I was thinking the last carpet installed they just took up what they could
of the clumps and re padded right over.
The only way we got the clumps off the hallway was to soak with a solution
of water, a little soap, and some liquid enzyme cleaner for at last an
hour and then scrape away for hours,and hours with putty knives.
Any info if it is glue?
I dont have a lot of money to work with on this project, or hire a
professional. I just want to get the clumps up, and re finish the floor
next year.
HELP!!!

thank you, Pat

I would try a heat gun. As an experiment, you might try a hair
dryer. A heat gun puts out more heat and is made to do the work
you are considering. It will still require a putty knife and
manual scraping. If it an old adhesive, it should respond well.
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"patscrafts" wrote in message
news:2d1064592d22ac36e15d29dd004d929b@homerepairli ve.com...
Hi
My home was built in th 1920's with original hardwood floors
thruout. But
was completely carpeted when I moved in. As I had started to
remove some
carpet sections in dining room and living room, I found the old
padding
has hardened to the wood floor. I tried scraping with putty
knife, and
soapy water, which only helps a little. THis padding is REALLY
crystalized
to the floor, and scraping takes ALOT of elbow grease and time.
It took 2
of us 3 full days to finish the small hallway section.
I was told an enzyme cleaner will help, and I tried that with
the hallway,
but again, that is only a small help. We still have the rest of
the 2
rooms to go! It seems the high traffic areas have the worst
hardened
padding.
Does anyone know of any type of product I can get to make this
job easier??
or any other way???
Or would be really expensive to get a professional to do the
job??
PLEASE HELP!!!!

thank you, Pat

patscrafts wrote:
Hi, Thanks for your replies!
I am not a floor expert, but the hardened clumps on my floor just mey be
some kind of glue. It could be anything, the house is over 85 years old,
with several previous owners, I dont have any past info on whats happened
to the floors.
I was told the floor was oak from a friend. When I moved in the carpet was
at least 10 years old, a sclupted pile i hated.
Heres what I've tried to remove the hardened clumps so far....
I tried a paint removing solvent, acetone based??? did not help, and stunk!

Also tried a rotary sander and didnt even penetrate the thicker clumps,
also tried my hand sander, both were not any help, and used many pads
trying.
The clumps are like a cream beige color, and most are 2" or so wide, and
worse in high traffic areas. Could this be some type of glue?? For all I
know they could have had linoleum on the floor in the 50's!! There was
still linoleum in the upstairs bedroom.
I was thinking the last carpet installed they just took up what they could
of the clumps and re padded right over.
The only way we got the clumps off the hallway was to soak with a solution
of water, a little soap, and some liquid enzyme cleaner for at last an
hour and then scrape away for hours,and hours with putty knives.
Any info if it is glue?
I dont have a lot of money to work with on this project, or hire a
professional. I just want to get the clumps up, and re finish the floor
next year.



Dear Pat-

I think you've got similar situtation to what I had in my 1930's
house.

Oak hardwood throughout with some carpet (or the pad) that had been
glued down.

In the glued down rooms we just lived with it (breakfast nook) or
removed it & scraped lightly then re-carpeted (one bedroom & family
room).

The best / easiest / least damaging way to remove ALL of the residue is
by sanding NOT solvent. Scraping can work but you run the risk of
gouging the wood.

When I say sanding, I mean with a burly sander (a drum sander is best,
a 16" diameter rotary floor sander would be an "ok" second choice).

You've got to get some pressure & some horsepower on that floor; a
palm sander is just too little. A burly belt sander could work........
but getting a flat result would require belt sanding skills I have
never seen.

Drum sanders & 16" diameter rotary sander can be rented but an
inexperienced hand on a drum sander can ruin a floor. The rotary floor
sander can work but it will take a LOT longer, it is much more
forgiving than the drum sander but slower.

When we had out floor redone, the crew used VERY coarse paper to get
the glue off; it looked like pretzel salt bonded to the paper. The glue
was gone in a single pass of the sander!

I would suggest re-carpeting with some low cost pad & carpet with the
plan to have the floors re-finished by a pro at some later date.

cheers
Bob


HELP!!!

thank you, Pat

Thanks again for your suggestions.
I have an old heat gun I will certainly try that to see if it helps the
clumps. But I am afraid to burn or scorch the floor when I do.
Any suggestions, DanG??
I really am not concerned at this point with saving the old finish. When we
did the hallway, the finish came off anyway with the clumps. I do plan on a
whole new finish once the clumps are gone in all rooms.
Question for Bob, was it expensive to hire a pro with the sander?? I have
to hire a pro in the end for re-finishing, I'm thinking they will have to
sand the entire floor anyway, before they do. Can you give me a rough
estimate on what that ran you to sand the clumps off? or was it just
figured in with your refinishing job?? I have 2 rooms, dining room 12 x 15
and living room 12 x 18 approx. If its not too much I may just leave the
clumps I cant get and wait till next year and have to pros get them when
they refinish. I can just put a large area rug on top until then.
I dont want to re carpet at all, just area rugs.
Let me know!


thank you, Pat

patscrafts wrote:
Thanks again for your suggestions.
I have an old heat gun I will certainly try that to see if it helps the
clumps. But I am afraid to burn or scorch the floor when I do.
Any suggestions, DanG??
I really am not concerned at this point with saving the old finish. When we
did the hallway, the finish came off anyway with the clumps. I do plan on a
whole new finish once the clumps are gone in all rooms.
Question for Bob, was it expensive to hire a pro with the sander?? I have
to hire a pro in the end for re-finishing, I'm thinking they will have to
sand the entire floor anyway, before they do. Can you give me a rough
estimate on what that ran you to sand the clumps off? or was it just
figured in with your refinishing job?? I have 2 rooms, dining room 12 x 15
and living room 12 x 18 approx. If its not too much I may just leave the
clumps I cant get and wait till next year and have to pros get them when
they refinish. I can just put a large area rug on top until then.
I dont want to re carpet at all, just area rugs.
Let me know!



Pat-

Expensivr is a relative term; very dependent on ones situation & point
fo view AND location of the job.

Last Sept I had an upstairs landing ~5 x15, two upstairs bedrooms (10
x12 & 12 x12). Downstair bedroom 9 x12 , den 10x12.

The den & downstairs bedroom I just had a light buff & refinish (not
snaded down to bare wood).

Upstairs everthing when down to bare woood; stain & re-finish.

He used a water based poly (not my first choice) but the rooms don't
get that much traffic & I didn't really want o hassle finding a
different guy. The water base finish takes a while to harden up &
scratches easily at first.

The whole job was ~$1500 which I thought was pretty good


About 20 years ago I had the rest of the downstairs; living room 15 x
20, study 10 x12, dining room 12 x13, entry & hall 5 x10 & 4 x 10

I don't remember the cost but the guy used Swedish finish (Bacca &
Glitsa); the stuff has proved to be bullet proof & I would highly
reccomend it. You'll need a REAL pro for it & it doesn't have that gym
floor shiny look. People will try to talk you out of it but it's reall
good stuff

I think your area rug is a great one. Solvents & heat (in my
experience) don't make removing glue any easier....it's just gets
gummy.

My WAG for your job would be ~1200 to $1800 but a few phone calls to
some local floor guys will nail it down quickly

cheers
Bob

If you are going to have the floors sanded and refinished, don't
bother with the clump removal. I assumed you were trying to
smooth the floor enough for a new flooring material. Let the
floor guys remove it with their big machines.
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"patscrafts" wrote in message
news:1e659beb568bc813d2a62b2af33d4d60@homerepairli ve.com...
Thanks again for your suggestions.
I have an old heat gun I will certainly try that to see if it
helps the
clumps. But I am afraid to burn or scorch the floor when I do.
Any suggestions, DanG??
I really am not concerned at this point with saving the old
finish. When we
did the hallway, the finish came off anyway with the clumps. I
do plan on a
whole new finish once the clumps are gone in all rooms.
Question for Bob, was it expensive to hire a pro with the
sander?? I have
to hire a pro in the end for re-finishing, I'm thinking they
will have to
sand the entire floor anyway, before they do. Can you give me a
rough
estimate on what that ran you to sand the clumps off? or was it
just
figured in with your refinishing job?? I have 2 rooms, dining
room 12 x 15
and living room 12 x 18 approx. If its not too much I may just
leave the
clumps I cant get and wait till next year and have to pros get
them when
they refinish. I can just put a large area rug on top until
then.
I dont want to re carpet at all, just area rugs.
Let me know!


thank you, Pat

replying to patscrafts, Barb wrote:
nospam_7921fb06 wrote:

Hi, Thanks for your replies!
I am not a floor expert, but the hardened clumps on my floor just mey be
some kind of glue. It could be anything, the house is over 85 years old,
with several previous owners, I dont have any past info on whats happened
to the floors.
I was told the floor was oak from a friend. When I moved in the carpet was
at least 10 years old, a sclupted pile i hated.
Heres what I've tried to remove the hardened clumps so far....
I tried a paint removing solvent, acetone based??? did not help, and stunk!
Also tried a rotary sander and didnt even penetrate the thicker clumps,
also tried my hand sander, both were not any help, and used many pads
trying.
The clumps are like a cream beige color, and most are 2" or so wide, and
worse in high traffic areas. Could this be some type of glue?? For all I
know they could have had linoleum on the floor in the 50's!! There was
still linoleum in the upstairs bedroom.
I was thinking the last carpet installed they just took up what they could
of the clumps and re padded right over.
The only way we got the clumps off the hallway was to soak with a solution
of water, a little soap, and some liquid enzyme cleaner for at last an
hour and then scrape away for hours,and hours with putty knives.
Any info if it is glue?
I dont have a lot of money to work with on this project, or hire a
professional. I just want to get the clumps up, and re finish the floor
next year.
HELP!!!
thank you, Pat


Hi Do it Yourselfers,
Just finished ripping up a 30yr old rug only to find that the padding
underneath, had adhered to the wood floor almost throughout the room. I
went to Home Depot and purchased a product called Rejuvenate. Actually
there are several versions of this product intended for different
purposes. The tile and grout everyday cleaner after letting it lay 10
minutes, decimated the buildup, it still required some scrubbing with a
rough pad, but worked like a charm. After spending hours trying to scrape
up the residue with a scraper, i was thrilled/relieved. Also while
shopping I purchased a second Rejuvenate product which states that it
"restores worn floors" haven't used it yet but feeling quite optimistic
given my initial experience. I hope this info helps anyone in the same
predicament.

--

replying to Barb, Deborah Jackson wrote:
thank you for your post as we started pulling up carpet that has been down
since the 60's. Going to try the Rejuvenate before we torture ourselves.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...or-128407-.htm