A few weeks ago I posted a question regarding getting rid of ceramic tiles.
Thanks to all who posted their answers. I appreciate it. I elected to use
a hilti and floor scraper.

Now my problem is getting rid of the dry glue and dealing with the cement
floor.

This is a basement hallway and bathroom that will have heavy foot traffic.
I am having a really tough time getting the glue up. It's yellow in color.
I tried Maurtic acid, brute force, heat guns, with tile scrappers, sanding,
steel brushes. The only way I can soften it up a bit is steam from a
wallpaper steamer and scrape but it needs several minutes of steam and then
it only gets some of the glue up.

The new floor is a floating vinyl tile floor (15 1/2" tiles) called Dura
Ceram. it has a powered limestone base and textured vinyl coating.

How smooth does this floor have to be for the floating vinyl. I can't get
all the glue up and I have to re-epoxy or recoat the floor. Can I leave the
glue in place, smooth out any trowel marks and ridges as best I can and also
can I even re-epoxy over this glue or does all this glue have to come up.


Thanks for the pointers!

"The Henchman" wrote in message
...
A few weeks ago I posted a question regarding getting rid of ceramic tiles.
Thanks to all who posted their answers. I appreciate it. I elected to
use a hilti and floor scraper.

Now my problem is getting rid of the dry glue and dealing with the cement
floor.

This is a basement hallway and bathroom that will have heavy foot traffic.
I am having a really tough time getting the glue up. It's yellow in
color. I tried Maurtic acid, brute force, heat guns, with tile scrappers,
sanding, steel brushes. The only way I can soften it up a bit is steam
from a wallpaper steamer and scrape but it needs several minutes of steam
and then it only gets some of the glue up.

The new floor is a floating vinyl tile floor (15 1/2" tiles) called Dura
Ceram. it has a powered limestone base and textured vinyl coating.

How smooth does this floor have to be for the floating vinyl. I can't get
all the glue up and I have to re-epoxy or recoat the floor. Can I leave
the glue in place, smooth out any trowel marks and ridges as best I can
and also can I even re-epoxy over this glue or does all this glue have to
come up.


Thanks for the pointers!

Just a thought? Rent a round floor sander with a large grit. This should
grind it off. If you want good results on finished floor, preparation is
very important. WW

On Jun 13, 8:15*pm, "The Henchman" wrote:
A few weeks ago I posted a question regarding getting rid of ceramic tiles.
Thanks to all who posted their answers. * I appreciate it. *I elected to use
a hilti and floor scraper.

Now my problem is getting rid of the dry glue and dealing with the cement
floor.

This is a basement hallway and bathroom that will have heavy foot traffic..
I am having a really tough time getting the glue up. *It's yellow in color.
I tried Maurtic acid, brute force, heat guns, with tile scrappers, sanding,
steel brushes. *The only way I can soften it up a bit is steam from a
wallpaper steamer and scrape but it needs several minutes of steam and then
it only gets some of the glue up.

The new floor is a floating vinyl tile floor (15 1/2" tiles) called Dura
Ceram. *it has a powered limestone base and textured vinyl coating.

How smooth does this floor have to be for the floating vinyl. *I can't get
all the glue up and I have to re-epoxy or recoat the floor. *Can I leave the
glue in place, smooth out any trowel marks and ridges as best I can and also
can I even re-epoxy over this glue or does all this glue have to come up.

Thanks for the pointers!

Any uneveness will eventually telescope thru the vinyl, especially if
it is heavy traffic.

How about using a drum-shaoed sander like those used to refinish wood
floors, with a heavy grit, to bring all the glue down to a smooth
surface?

You need to get the glue up. The best tool for the job is a floor
scraper with plenty of elbow grease. It will take a lot of
pressure, but you may be surprised how quick it goes. This is a
two handed job with full body weight. Make sure we are both
talking about the same or similar tool:
http://www.craintools.com/fs-tear-outtools.html
Make sure to get a package of fresh blades - you'll know when you
need to change one.



--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
Keep the whole world singing . . .


"The Henchman" wrote in message
...
A few weeks ago I posted a question regarding getting rid of
ceramic tiles. Thanks to all who posted their answers. I
appreciate it. I elected to use a hilti and floor scraper.

Now my problem is getting rid of the dry glue and dealing with
the cement floor.

This is a basement hallway and bathroom that will have heavy
foot traffic. I am having a really tough time getting the glue
up. It's yellow in color. I tried Maurtic acid, brute force,
heat guns, with tile scrappers, sanding, steel brushes. The
only way I can soften it up a bit is steam from a wallpaper
steamer and scrape but it needs several minutes of steam and
then it only gets some of the glue up.

The new floor is a floating vinyl tile floor (15 1/2" tiles)
called Dura Ceram. it has a powered limestone base and textured
vinyl coating.

How smooth does this floor have to be for the floating vinyl. I
can't get all the glue up and I have to re-epoxy or recoat the
floor. Can I leave the glue in place, smooth out any trowel
marks and ridges as best I can and also can I even re-epoxy over
this glue or does all this glue have to come up.


Thanks for the pointers!

The Henchman wrote:
A few weeks ago I posted a question regarding getting rid of ceramic
tiles. Thanks to all who posted their answers. I appreciate it. I
elected to use a hilti and floor scraper.

Now my problem is getting rid of the dry glue and dealing with the
cement floor.

This is a basement hallway and bathroom that will have heavy foot
traffic. I am having a really tough time getting the glue up. It's
yellow in color. I tried Maurtic acid, brute force, heat guns, with
tile scrappers, sanding, steel brushes. The only way I can soften it
up a bit is steam from a wallpaper steamer and scrape but it needs
several minutes of steam and then it only gets some of the glue up.

The new floor is a floating vinyl tile floor (15 1/2" tiles) called
Dura Ceram. it has a powered limestone base and textured vinyl
coating.
How smooth does this floor have to be for the floating vinyl. I
can't get all the glue up and I have to re-epoxy or recoat the floor.
Can I leave the glue in place, smooth out any trowel marks and ridges
as best I can and also can I even re-epoxy over this glue or does all
this glue have to come up.

When using vinyl tile, think of the fairy tale of "The Princess and the
Pea." The least little thing will cause a bump in the tile (eventually). It
may not be reasonably possible to get sufficient stuff off the floor without
resorting to some sort of grinding technique.

If it was me, I'd just bury the corpse, so to speak; cover the stuff with
quickset or floor leveling compound.

Afterthought: As you're trying to remove the existing nastiness, application
of COLD might help. Buy a 25# block of dry ice, place it on a section of the
floor, let it sit for a minute. Move the block of dry ice to the next
section, and chisle away the frozen crap. Move to the next section.

Never tried it, but it would be a fun experiment.

Evan wrote:

When using vinyl tile, think of the fairy tale of "The Princess and
the Pea." The least little thing will cause a bump in the tile
(eventually). It may not be reasonably possible to get sufficient
stuff off the floor without resorting to some sort of grinding
technique.

If it was me, I'd just bury the corpse, so to speak; cover the stuff
with quickset or floor leveling compound.

Afterthought: As you're trying to remove the existing nastiness,
application of COLD might help. Buy a 25# block of dry ice, place it
on a section of the floor, let it sit for a minute. Move the block
of dry ice to the next section, and chisle away the frozen crap.
Move to the next section.

Never tried it, but it would be a fun experiment.


Umm... A floating vinyl tile floor is a floating floor with a vinyl
tile pattern
printed on the colored layer on the top of the rest of the floating
floor
system... It isn't vinyl tiles, nor is it attached or glued to the
floor...


Ah! Okay, thanks. Learn something new every year.

That said, what's the fuss about getting the floor smooth?