We've found there's parquet flooring under our lounge carpet, and we'd
like to keep it. It seems to be sanding up quite nicely. The trouble is
some of it has been replaced by mortar, and some of it is a black
substance. So we intend to keep a bit of it, and recarpet the rest.

The bit we want to keep is part mortar so I'll have to move some bits
from a not-to-be-seen area to fix the bit we'll see.

Does anyone know how you lift it & refix it?

Andy

Vir Campestris wrote:

We've found there's parquet flooring under our lounge carpet,
Does anyone know how you lift it & refix it?

I think it's generally bitumened in place, if you can get an "in" then
protect with a scrap of wood and tap/whack sideways with a suitably
sized hammer. For re-setting presumably a burner and a fresh block of
bitumen?

Andy Burns wrote:
Vir Campestris wrote:

We've found there's parquet flooring under our lounge carpet,
Does anyone know how you lift it & refix it?

I think it's generally bitumened in place, if you can get an "in" then
protect with a scrap of wood and tap/whack sideways with a suitably
sized hammer. For re-setting presumably a burner and a fresh block of
bitumen?

+1 or try and work a bolster chisel under the blocks - and try to avoid
recutting the blocks into their new positions (unless cutting them to length
to fill in around the edges).

Cash

"Vir Campestris" wrote in message
news
We've found there's parquet flooring under our lounge carpet, and we'd
like to keep it. It seems to be sanding up quite nicely. The trouble is
some of it has been replaced by mortar, and some of it is a black
substance. So we intend to keep a bit of it, and recarpet the rest.

The bit we want to keep is part mortar so I'll have to move some bits
from a not-to-be-seen area to fix the bit we'll see.

Does anyone know how you lift it & refix it?

Andy

I agree that the fixing is normally bitumen based.
What thickness are the blocks and do you know what timber?
For lifting the blocks you might try a stout trowel or even a good and sharp
spade.
Some years ago I reclaimed a load of 1-1/4" x 9" x 3" pitch pine blocks.
Used an old turfing iron to lift them. Subsequently cleaned and laid about
100 sq. yds. Bugger of a job. Lovely floor though and the chair I sit upon
rests on it now. Still have some left.
I wish you good luck,
Nick.

On 21/07/2015 00:16, Nick wrote:
What thickness are the blocks and do you know what timber?

They're little blocks - maybe 4 inches long, and 1 wide, perhaps a 1/3
thick. I won't need to cut them - the missing bit is whole blocks.

I had thought of a heat gun on the top to see if the bitumen will soften.

Andy

On Tue, 21 Jul 2015 21:19:05 +0100, Vir Campestris
wrote:

On 21/07/2015 00:16, Nick wrote:
What thickness are the blocks and do you know what timber?

They're little blocks - maybe 4 inches long, and 1 wide, perhaps a 1/3
thick. I won't need to cut them - the missing bit is whole blocks.

I had thought of a heat gun on the top to see if the bitumen will soften.

Andy

How many do you need?
I took one of the floors up in our bungalow as so many pieces were
damaged or missing. Most of the pieces were dumped just 2 months ago
but I have kept a number in case repairs are needed elsewhere but I
doubt they ever would be so there may be enough for you..

I found that when one was dislodged quite large sections would pop off
as the joints separated; I was glad I did not want to stick them back
down again.

Mike
--

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 21 Jul 2015 21:19:05 +0100, Vir Campestris
wrote:

On 21/07/2015 00:16, Nick wrote:
What thickness are the blocks and do you know what timber?

They're little blocks - maybe 4 inches long, and 1 wide, perhaps a 1/3
thick. I won't need to cut them - the missing bit is whole blocks.

I had thought of a heat gun on the top to see if the bitumen will soften.

Andy

How many do you need?
I took one of the floors up in our bungalow as so many pieces were
damaged or missing. Most of the pieces were dumped just 2 months ago
but I have kept a number in case repairs are needed elsewhere but I
doubt they ever would be so there may be enough for you..

I found that when one was dislodged quite large sections would pop off
as the joints separated; I was glad I did not want to stick them back
down again.

Mike
--

Sounds like a 1970's floor - if so it is probably similar ours. The wood is
likely to be an African timber much used then, possibly Kiaat/African
teak/Pterocarpus angolensis. You can somtimes get reclaimed fingers on ebay
etc - ours came in six rubble sacks with all fingers loose

I've done a fair bit of repairing and alteration to our floors, after
alterations and moving walls about..... The first batch I laid on water
based bitumastic paint (wickes liquid damp course), held down with concrete
blocks while it dried - which worked fairly well, and was chosen to be
compatible with the remaining bitumen on the back of the blocks. However, it
was very messy, and for a second section I used water based flooring
adhesive of the type used for thermoplastic tiles. This sticks well to a
concrete sub base, and despite various warnings adhered fine to the bitumen
residue on the fingers. Overall the glue has lasted better than the bitumen,
with no loose fingers, whereas the odd finger has had to be re-stuck with
the bitumen.

One thing that I learnt the hard way is that the individual fingers vary in
size quite a lot. I think (looking at our untouched floors) that this is
probably because they were originally made up in 18" squares at the factory,
with the fingers marginally oversize, and then each square was edge machined
to exactly 18". Sizes were still imperial then. This means that the fingers
in the middle are untouched, and the ones at the edges of each square will
have been reduced on the side, end, or both, by varying amounts. I found
that one way to deal with this was to lay them dry, mixing the errors in
size so they averaged out as far as possible. Once a section was done I
surface taped them together with parcel tape criss-crossed, lifted them in
18" sections, and re-laid with the glue. Finally, boards and concrete blocks
to hold them down while drying were laid on top.

The old bitumen and variations in thickness in the blocks does mean that the
result will be pretty uneven, so sanding is really essential to get them
flat - but there is plenty of thickness to deal with, unlike ssome
engineered floors.

The process is quite long winded, especially as the laying stage is quite
painful because of the size variations, but produces good results in the
end.

Charles F

Charles F

On 22/07/2015 07:26, Charles F wrote:
The old bitumen and variations in thickness in the blocks does mean that
the result will be pretty uneven, so sanding is really essential to get
them flat - but there is plenty of thickness to deal with, unlike ssome
engineered floors.

I've been sanding already. There are a lot of paint splotches, and I
wanted to know if it would come up alright.

The process is quite long winded, especially as the laying stage is
quite painful because of the size variations, but produces good results
in the end.

Thanks for the tips.

Andy

Today I lifted a correct-sized section of parquet from somewhere that
won't show, chipped out the mortar where it needed to go with a bolster
(I was pleasantly surprised to find the old bitumen meant the mortar
hadn't stuck properly to the floor underneath) and dropped the parquet
in. It needed a touch from an engineer's adjuster in a few spots, but I
almost feel I could get away with not gluing it down. This was one of
those rare jobs that went much _faster_ than anticipated

Which tile glue should I use to make it permanent?

Andy

On 26/07/15 21:15, Vir Campestris wrote:
Today I lifted a correct-sized section of parquet from somewhere that
won't show, chipped out the mortar where it needed to go with a bolster
(I was pleasantly surprised to find the old bitumen meant the mortar
hadn't stuck properly to the floor underneath) and dropped the parquet
in. It needed a touch from an engineer's adjuster in a few spots, but I
almost feel I could get away with not gluing it down. This was one of
those rare jobs that went much _faster_ than anticipated

Which tile glue should I use to make it permanent?

Andy

Bitumen based if there is bitumen underneath - or evostik (ie solvent
based rubber type) otherwise I reckon. The latter will have some give
which might be useful with wood involved.

"Tim Watts" wrote in message
...
On 26/07/15 21:15, Vir Campestris wrote:
Today I lifted a correct-sized section of parquet from somewhere that
won't show, chipped out the mortar where it needed to go with a bolster
(I was pleasantly surprised to find the old bitumen meant the mortar
hadn't stuck properly to the floor underneath) and dropped the parquet
in. It needed a touch from an engineer's adjuster in a few spots, but I
almost feel I could get away with not gluing it down. This was one of
those rare jobs that went much _faster_ than anticipated

Which tile glue should I use to make it permanent?

Andy

Bitumen based if there is bitumen underneath - or evostik (ie solvent
based rubber type) otherwise I reckon. The latter will have some give
which might be useful with wood involved.

The adhesive I used with the most success (and it's not too expensive) was
Wickes multi purpose flooring adhesive
http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Multi...-75kg/p/240665
It's intended for laying such things as plastic floor tiles on concrete or
ply, and is water based but only while wet - so keeping up with cleaning is
important during laying. Wear gloves, or you will get covered with glue that
will take days to get off.... It doesn't dry totally hard, which is probably
useful.

As Tim says, conventional wisdom is that nothing sticks to bitumen, but it
worked, and there has been no sign of movement or lifting over the last five
years or so.

Charles F

On Monday, 20 July 2015 21:53:52 UTC+1, Vir Campestris wrote:
We've found there's parquet flooring under our lounge carpet, and we'd
like to keep it. It seems to be sanding up quite nicely. The trouble is
some of it has been replaced by mortar, and some of it is a black
substance. So we intend to keep a bit of it, and recarpet the rest.

The bit we want to keep is part mortar so I'll have to move some bits
from a not-to-be-seen area to fix the bit we'll see.

Does anyone know how you lift it & refix it?

Andy

The problem is they will be worn thinner is well trafficked areas, you will need to sand them after laying. Old ones are thick and will stand this.
They are likely stuck (not very well) with bitumen.
If sticking where there is already bitumen yo can try heating the bitumen (both sides) with a blow lamp and putting down when melted.
Otherwise, use fixing foam (aerosol cans).
Be sure to remove dust off the floor before starting.
You will need cement blocks or similar to weigh them down & prevent the foam from expanding and pushing the tiles up.
A light spray of water helps on the floor prior to fixing, the foam is activated by moisture.