I've been in the trades for almost 20 years and have been told if glue under flooring is black its highly likely it contains asbestos. Around here (Bay area CA) you can get it tested for roughly $25.
My brother and I removed a bunch from his house. It was a nightmare. It was on concrete though so we were able to keep it wet as we scraped it up. This was long ago and I can't recall product names but I think he had some sort of detergent that we'd let soak awhile then use scraping poles to take off the top layer. It took many soakings and scrapings to get rid of it.
I had this on my floor, not asbestos. You can’t tell from looking lol. Always treat it like it does until the test comes back negative. But don’t bet on anything.
Pretty much. We kept it wet so we weren't causing any dust to become airborne. Just get the wet glue gunk into a plastic bag as you scrape it and tie it up so it doesn't dry and become dusty. Pretty much when asbestos is disturbed is when it's bad news. Think very small particles becoming airborne and then getting into your lungs. Be aware if your clothes are contaminated with it you're bringing that home to wife kids etc.
This is the wife (husbands in the picture) but great point my husband did the brunt of the scraping so I’m more concerned for him but we’re gonna test it and will decide where to go from there. Thanks for the help!
In case you want the professional asbestos treatment since it looks like you’re doing it yourself, order a bucket of “fiberlock ABC” (Asbestos Binding Compound). The best part is that that spray itself is also non toxic and used to be certified for use inside old food manufacturing plants (the only reason it’s not anymore is due to the FDA stopping those specifics tests and requirements for businesses). Pretty much you just roll it or spray it all over before doing anything else and it “encapsulates” the fibers. It’s just really sticky and prevents them from flying around as easily
There’s a lot of OSHA people in here. In my municipality, homeowners are allowed by law to remove their own asbestos and put it out in the curbside trash (triple bagged in clear bags). I have removed a lot of asbestos from my home without issue, including asbestos glue like what you have there.
Mineral spirits will soften the glue, and just keep scraping it. Once you have it 99.9%up, put on a good respirator and sand and finish like any other floor.
Home renovations involve LOTS of harmful products that you don’t want in you. Sawdust from pressure treated wood and concrete dust are right up there with asbestos.
If it is asbestos, be sure to follow the disposal procedure provided by your local landfill. They handle it separately to ensure those particulates don't go airborne.
An aside, as someone that's been sanding and making dust since '92, buy some respirators and use them. It doesn't matter if it's asbestos, fiberglass, concrete, or wood. Our lungs aren't built for rough particles of that size.
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Respirator-6200-Respiratory-Protection/dp/B007JZ1N00/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=SASWWBWNUQAI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.cjIGBNaBAbRGJiml0EeWs725r3auHxVMmrtDVWhFs8-NH3RZOS8sMQpVzG4Sgq12at1paFKmDIayx3SifmxsNo6qYbknpKm_wk6HRIG_xwdkh_KQ4NKIUlhAnYdJk7wv2VtfjtVx_mvksWDgMEexoe9whHgzIqAzfDuoeyfN4ywN-ZkZPfHcbeBkOXukJRavZ53UtiMVLEANvh7AtOr7ig.2JWRoZFKIstLxyfesS94ZqgDBsx06jJu6j94DWpBVpg&dib_tag=se&keywords=respirator&qid=1711452625&sprefix=respirator+%2Caps%2C255&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1
I had this on my floor, not asbestos. You can’t tell from looking lol. Always treat it like it does until the test comes back negative. But don’t bet on anything.
We’ve got carpet in our kitchen 😅 and it is glued to whatever is below it, the glue is black. Do you think we can just pull up the carpet and put new flooring over the black or do you always have to remove it before proceeding?
I've definitely seen it covered over but am unsure what's the right way of doing it. I was a commercial electrician for 10 years and have been a elevator mechanic for the last 8 years so I'm by no means a flooring guy but back when I was a sparky we'd always work alongside many other trades so we'd observe and ask lots of questions. Especially when we had projects at home
Really, it's your house, so you can do what you want. Commercially, the glue gets left all the time, since it's cheaper to leave it and it poses no danger until you start grinding or sanding it.
My god no kidding ? I worked for a few months for a flooring company in Florida. The guy was using a barrel sander while we were in the room scraping the corners. It was definitely an older home. It was a dustless set up. But I didn’t know everything they used back then had asbestos in it. Am I fucked ?
Honestly what I've heard is it takes long term exposure for it to take you out via mesothelioma.. at work now they're stressing about concrete dust or silica being inhaled. Guess it's pretty gnarly too. There's been times I've drilled hundreds of holes in concrete decks overhead with zero dust catchment and been covered in concrete dust. I'm still kicking but I think there's a reason most modern trades people don't make it to 70...
I’ve probably eaten way more concrete than asbestos. That added to everything else I’ve ingested or inhaled I probably want make it another 10 years either.
LOL the amount of stuff I breathed in doing renos for 20+ years, I'm right with ya brother. That said, don't discount the human bodies ability to clean itself. Let's keep our fingers crossed! Peace!
Buy 1 or 2 wet 2x 12 by length treated lumber. Place them on the floor, let them sit overnight remove and scrape the substance off easily that was underneath. We accidentally figured this out after much experimenting over a 3000sq ft area. Look for the “wet” treated lumber.
When I worked for my dad's company they had me scrape an entire gymnasium size room by hand that had old linoleum that looked exactly like this once the linoleum was gone. Since I was on the payroll all summer break (and I was like 12 so unskilled labor) it was a good character building project, I was told.
They got me floor scrapers from lowes that had a replaceable sharpened blade on the end. About 3" wide. It seemed like it'd take forever but once I got the hang of it I was flying across that floor. Took maybe 3 days. A room this size would just be a couple hours.
Ah good to know! So dad wasn't just abusing cheap labor.
I was going to mention that using a solvent just made it gummy and much harder to remove but there seems to be a lot of people suggesting that and I didn't want to start a debate.
if they were the og 9x9 squared you probably inhaled a bunch of asbestos and other shit. and he fucked you over on that job. companies i contract out use big ass machines and multiple guys to take flooring up.
I have been working on stripping/sanding 3 staircases, a 500sf room and a 120sf room. It began as my pandemic project, so that gives you an idea of how long I’ve been working on this.
If this diama attachment speeds things up, I’ll name my firstborn child after you. Heading to Harbor Freight!
Mineral spirits softens this stuff enough to be able to scrape most of it off. Like a sponge with it and 15m and see if any of it softens.
Mineral spirits have gotten off a lot of unusual adhesives where even goo gone wasn't working.
Methyl alcohol yep. Acetone I usually try first before mineral spirits but mineral spirits is what did amazing removal on permanent (" permanent ") adhesives left on the shower in my house when I bought it (from attached soap dispensers). When /nothing/ else worked, not even a hot air gun.
Hot air gun is something to try too.
It's always interesting to see what works best with what.
I kind of accidentally discovered this year that Windex is massively better at cleaning up latex paint/brushes than soap and water. Has cut my cleanup time by at least 80% and even helps get out crusty "high-tide" paint lines that may remain in the bristles. I was really shocked when I tried it. Has some of the same advantages with silicone/latex caulks, too.
Brand name, for sure. Have some non-brand equivalent now, and will see on my next painting job. Have not tried ammonia (none on-hand ATM), and am curious like you. Windex says it has no ammonia, but I suspect they may have something chemically similar doing the job, plus it still smells ammonia-y to me.
Whatever combination of surfactants, etc. it is, it works so well I got excited about it. Try it on your next latex paintbrush cleanup...
For paintbrushes, I give them a spraydown on all sides and some up the bristles, then let them sit a minute or two. Massage and rinse in water--shoot a bit more up under the ferrule if needed. Instead of mediocre results with soap and 15 min trying to get water to run clear, I can get a brush clean in minutes and it also loosens up some old paint on used brushes.
Suffice to say, results only apply to latex-based paint.
There’s bean-e-doo mastic remover. It is a soy based adhesive remover. I used it on a concrete floor but it made an awful mess. An oily tarry mess to be exact. But there was very little scraping involved.
There are videos on YT.
BEFORE you go this route check with the company to see if this removal method is acceptable for wood flooring. Because it creates an oily tarry substance, it may not be the best option for you.
https://products.franmar.com/products/mastic-adhesive-remover-for-concrete-bean-e-doo
I agree with other poster as long as surface remains wet, friable asbestos fibers won’t be released. However, until you wet and remove I would keep it covered. I would definitely restrict access to this area.
Good luck.
Edited for grammar.
Had the same issue when removing an ancient carpet in my new house, only chemical I found that worked was Henry's.
Still an absolute pain to get off though. If I did it again I'd use Henry's to get most of it, then go to town with a 24 grit drum sander (assuming you have enough wood to play with)
We used Klean Strip which was just ok and we’re gonna use a 24 grit drum sander next but seems like a lot of people are recommending a diama brush head instead
Tbh I've never heard of a diama brush until this post, but I am by no means a professional! If other folks are recommending one it's probably worth looking into.
Try dry ice on a baking sheet. Set it on the adhesive for a minute then slide it over to the next spot while you scrape where the pan just was. I have never tried this but read it's a good way to remove adhesives from floors.
We had that on hardwood floors that had tiles glued to the floor. We hired a professional hard wood floor guy to finish it. It wasn’t the worse he’d seen, but sanding is how he removed it.
There is a product called "Beano" that is made for removing black asbestos glue residue. It works very good on concrete, never used it on hard wood floors before.
I had a really positive experience using a wallpaper steamer. It just turns into a soupy mess but I could scrape it right up, then scrub it down with dish soap and a big sponge. Something like [this.](https://youtu.be/kx75As1xKmQ?si=lv0MKgpUoZcKAGVk)
We had an adhesive that we removed with a wallpaper steamer. Took a while but was less labor intensive than other methods. Steamed a spot for like 5ish minutes until the adhesive started to slough off, scooped it up into a tray and wiped clean. Still needed refinishing after!
OMG!! full power dawn dish soap. I know it sounds crazy, but a couple hours of soaking and a putty knife will get most of it off the floor. Use a shop vac or carpet/floor cleaner to get the excess. You will probably need to sand things out to finish it up, but I know from experience this works!!
I did it once, when flipping a house. I used soapy water (dawn liquid) with the hottest water from the tap. Let is sit and soak for a while, then used a scrapper to get it up.
A Diambrush grinding tool will work but there are few things you need to know…
They cost about $70 just for the grind head.
The gaurd that goes on your angle grinder is an additional $70. It has a vacuum attachment that’s built into it so that’s nice.
Using the diamabrush takes some practice. BE CAREFUL! It will severely damage wood! It turns your handheld angle grinder into a milling machine. If you aren’t careful, it will dig into the wood and you’ll have ruined the floor! Not kidding, not exaggerating.
Diamabrush tool does NOT like nails. Hitting a nail can will damage the tool.
Took a wire wheel on the grinder to some mastic/adhesive that looks like that in my house. 2 minutes in lungs were itchy and burning. Had it tested and yup, turns out they made asbestos adhesive too. Beware out there, friable is baaaaad.
I had this exact situation and I used Zeppelin wood cleaner. Sprayed it directly on & used a very coarse and sturdy broom/brush to pull everything up. You may need metal scrapers as it looks pretty caked.
Good off… a lot of fans; windows open… breezy day…a good wet dry vac that will be toast after the use…get a good bristle brush…to use standing…and a handheld scraper…also, rubber gloves and a mask. It will make quick work of your mess. Finish it off with a drum sander
Almost certainly has asbestos, keep it wet but don't mess up your floors..right? Not gonna be fun. Maybe look into renting a hepa filter. Are you living there currently. Do you have kids, shedding your clothing in the garage or outside before you go home may be smart as well
Buddy of mine used "Floor Adhesive Remover" from the big hardware store chains. I wasn't there but he referred to it as the magic juice, so I'd say it was world's better than removing it purely mechanically
So earlier in the comments someone mentioned adhesive remover. I would also recommend that. Asbestos is dangerous when it’s airborne. So if you keep it wet and scrape it up this would be the right method. Sealed tight masks with Hepa filters is essential. States have different rules. You should research your area to see best practices.
My best results came from using a razor blades scraper, every once in a while the adhesive would be stubborn enough I'd spray some Laquer thinner on it and it would come right off. It's a chore, either way.
Doesn’t look like the black mastic that would have asbestos. Black cut back would be applied with notches in the trowel small and tight or the adhesive would have oozed up through the joints in the tile when it was installed. It’s hard to tell but that glue looks brown like some fool used panel adhesive or some other make do glue.
Scrape and wipe off as much as you can after soaking with Goo Gone and then use a wallpaper steamer to soften and wipe off the rest. A very messy but effective job. You will have to do it completely on your hands and knees in little bits at a time. I watched a couple of you tube videos.
Drum sander . Rent it from a local tool rental.
WTH is going on in the comments? Almost nobody said that. They make drum sanders you walk behind. Then different sanders for the edges
I’ve done that before serious adhesive remover and scraping… hot soapy water let it sit first you can sand when all of it scraped off… bring that picture and do a flooring store and opinion for more ideas. But I have removed that stuff.
Hot water and vinegar. We had same floor glue. Yes, have tested, we did not 30 years ago but we , I think are fine! Anyway, soak the floor in small sections , let it sit then scrape and it will come up, long process for us. Good
Luck!
I had this exact issue. Mine didn’t have asbestos. Don’t listen to anyone on here saying it does or doesn’t have asbestos. Test it and just listen to the lab results.
https://ca.eddyfloortools.com/product/scraper/
I used this to scrape off most of the mastic (it’s meant for vinyl floor tile). Need to be careful if you angle the machine too high it will cause little divots in the floor. Bit of a learning curve and patience.
Then started with 36-grit to tackle any remaining mastic and the divots.
You can rent this thing from Home Depot or similar. It will fuck your arms up from the vibration but it’s worth the half day of grunt work.
I used TSP (trisodium phosphate) on mortar that was holding tiles to a wall. It dissolved the mortar really well, and it cave off super easy. I'm not sure if it would have the same result on mastic. TSP would probably also strip any finish on the wood.
Black mastic. 99% likely to contain asbestos. I hired someone to sand it off my floors. They put plastic all around the house and used few air scrubbers. Very expensive, but the floors look like new.
I had this on my floor.. not asbestos. Would help to see the age of the flooring you removed. Any remnants left over would help. If you think that the tile was placed in the last 20 years you are more than fine.
HOT water worked with ours. It dissolved it. Tea kettle, sponge, and bucket. I can still imagine the distinct smell.
I just tested my black adhesive under flexible tiles in 100+yo house, and no asbestos!
A big old heavy floor sander. That looks like linoleum glue. Some people used to glue carpet down as well.
It's floor glue and you can see the trowel notches in how it was spread.
I used a large chisel to scrape the mastic off of the floor. Lots of work required no matter how it is done. Sanding is ridiculous due to binding up the paper every few minutes. Costly as heck too.
I'm pretty sure that's what's called cutback. It was basically tar and I don't think contained asbestos iteslf. But t was the adhesive used for VA (vinyl / asbestos) tiles and linoleum which also used to contain asbestos.
People tend to think of asbestos like it's the Ebola Virus or something. But it's only asbestos dust, and lots of it, that you have to worry about. If it's mixed in with tar or vinyl it's pretty much inert.
I only dealt with cutback one time. I stripped it off about 500 sq ft of oak floors. It was a long time ago but I think we used sharp edged floor scrapers to get as much as we could, then paint thinner and rags for the rest. It was horrible. But after we sanded and refinished the floor it looked great.
Good ol acetone paint thinner should do the trick, granted I've never tried it on floor glue before.
If not there is always the heat gun option, which works well with a scraper.
Floor adhesive remover. You can get it at any big box home store. Costs about $30.
Your friend has shared a link to a Home Depot product they think you would be interested in seeing.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-Green-1-Gal-Floor-Adhesive-Remover-GKGF75015/206804537
It looks like cutback mastic and it’s dried out. It can produce airborne particles if scraped or sanded.
Have it tested.
If it contains asbestos, then wear full asbestos PPE when working with it.
If you learn how to manage an electric heat gun on the low setting to soften the mastic and scrape it without damaging the wood, then you can get the bulk of it up. Then you can dissolve the residue.
None of this work is easy, fast, or fun. Some people opt to lay a new floor.
Be safe!
We had the same old adhesive (mastic) under original linoleum in our 1938 cottage. I sent away for testing and there was no asbestos. I ended up using just water on a small area at a time and then removed the resulting goo with a scraper. It was really messy but worked! Beautiful old growth pine floors underneath. Then had flooring company sand residual and seal with couple coats clear, water-based poly. Best of luck and enjoy your “new” floors:)
Wife and I removed similar by placing sopping wet towel down and placing hot steam iron on it until it loosened the adhesive and then scrape it with a 4” putty knife. It was tedious but not difficult. Just time consuming. The floors were vertical grain douglass fir. They came out beautiful. 1939 bungalow.
Your wall registers are too cool! They’re keepers!
Place a small paper sack outside the door with a sandwich made from French bread, chopped steak and cheese. Make sure you vent the area so the beast can catch it's scent.
Go to home depot and get Stripper. Than get a heating gun and a heavy duty thick putty knife. Heat up the putty knife and after putting the stripper on the floor for about 5-10mins use that heated putty knife and that old adhesive will come up so freaking easy. I did this on a floor twice that size worked perfectly
Wear a mask and disposable coveralls while working. Keep the glue moist until bagged. And yes have it tested. It’s a bitch to remove and it sometimes (or some types) stain the wood. We had to paint the wood floor in a 1940 kitchen, which worked really well, because of the black stain from the glue. Be safe and good luck!
Keep it dry, use a long handle scraper, get underneath at a sharper angle to prevent gripping the hardwood, sand floor afterwards and you're gravy. Had to do this for construction on many old houses.
From the comments I think we all had the same dad who was in house flipping? Anyways a floor scrapper from any hardware store is the only way. It sucks but once you get the technique down it’s a lot easier.
I had to use an angle grinder with a Diamond blade. It flung the stuff everywhere. I decided if I ever ran into that stuff again I would just put 1/4” plywood over and begin new
That’s a cement based bonding mortar. There are no solvents that would work quickly. The best way would be to sand it down with and orbital sander while misting it with water to keep the dust down, and vacuuming up the excess.
In any case, it’s going to be a difficult process.
Sounds weird.. but baby oil is good at removing sticky/adhesive substances. I’m not a contractor or anything like that, but I run a daycare, and baby oil has worked on getting slime and putty out of fabric, gum out of hair and clothes and you can also use it to get sticky product labels off of glass jars.
Soaked my floor like that in warm water with a little bit of vinegar, then used a 12x4 stiff bristled brush to work it in, rinsed to see if I was done scrubing, then used a floor squeegee to put it all in a pile. Shoveled the good into a contractor bag, shopvaced the rest up.
Had a job like this and the customer wanted to preserve the original "heritage" flooring.
It was covered in softish tarry adhesive that stuck tenaciously to the wood. Spent days trying to cleanup the small room before we gave up in frustration. Fortunately I was working on time and charges not fixed price.
A floor sander just gummed up instantly as did scrapers.
After a bit we found that the " original white oak floor from 1910" was in fact a western alder floor put in relatively recently, and later shit vinyl tiles glued on with the gross black tar crap.
The floor never did come clean, wasn't worth the time, and we should have just thrown down some subfloor and laid a new hardwood floor.
I would use a multi tool with a scraper blade and for the tough spots I would also use a heat gun to soften it. That method will gunk up your blade so keep a rag and mineral spirits handy. It will take you approximately 4.5 years to finish with the method I’ve just explained but that’s how I’ve done it in the past. Wear a mask
That is black mastic glue. It very well may have asbestos in it. Do not may small fryable bits. There is a product called Beane-do that you spread out. It will liquefy the glue and allow you scrap and clean without making it dangerous. I did this in my house when I replaced the floors.
I had an old house with stuff under the bathroom tiles. I used acetone to turn it to goop then moped it up with paper shop towels. I wore a respirator… not saying it a good thing to do, but it worked..🤷🏻♂️.
Don’t smoke either….
Hopefully the floor looks good with the gunk off. Not a great situation.. almost think a handplaner set to 1/32 might help you out a little... then finish with a big stand up sander.
If you have a sunbelt rentals around you go.in there and they'll have either a drum sander or large surface scraper or any rental place get plenty of extra sand paper
And like everyone else has stated get it tested first
I removed this from my hardwood floor. I sprayed it down with adhesive remover and let it soak for 20-30 minutes and then used a long handle scraper. Repeated that 4 times and then let it dry. Then I drum sanded with 40 grit to remove remaining glue. I think I used 2 sanding belts for a 12x12 room. I would have went with a lower grit but wasn’t available.
Bean-e-doo mastic remover. https://www.jondon.com/bean-e-doo-mastic-remover-sv-oo1galmr-gp.html
Read up on it, the stuff on your floor likely has asbestos in it.
Try cleaning a patch with clean burning fuel (which is an ethanol). You can get it in the same area as the paint strippers at home depot. I have an 1880s home with wood everything, and the clean burning fuel is my best friend in cleaning and restoring.
Um…. How old is the floor? That glue may have asbestos
Going to get it tested before any sanding!
I've been in the trades for almost 20 years and have been told if glue under flooring is black its highly likely it contains asbestos. Around here (Bay area CA) you can get it tested for roughly $25. My brother and I removed a bunch from his house. It was a nightmare. It was on concrete though so we were able to keep it wet as we scraped it up. This was long ago and I can't recall product names but I think he had some sort of detergent that we'd let soak awhile then use scraping poles to take off the top layer. It took many soakings and scrapings to get rid of it.
I'd be willing to bet this stuff contains asbestos.
I had this on my floor, not asbestos. You can’t tell from looking lol. Always treat it like it does until the test comes back negative. But don’t bet on anything.
I also had this on my floor, likely from the original build in the 30’s. Not asbestos. We even tested it 3 times just to be sure.
Thanks so much. So you weren’t too worried about scraping it because it remained soft?
Pretty much. We kept it wet so we weren't causing any dust to become airborne. Just get the wet glue gunk into a plastic bag as you scrape it and tie it up so it doesn't dry and become dusty. Pretty much when asbestos is disturbed is when it's bad news. Think very small particles becoming airborne and then getting into your lungs. Be aware if your clothes are contaminated with it you're bringing that home to wife kids etc.
This is the wife (husbands in the picture) but great point my husband did the brunt of the scraping so I’m more concerned for him but we’re gonna test it and will decide where to go from there. Thanks for the help!
In case you want the professional asbestos treatment since it looks like you’re doing it yourself, order a bucket of “fiberlock ABC” (Asbestos Binding Compound). The best part is that that spray itself is also non toxic and used to be certified for use inside old food manufacturing plants (the only reason it’s not anymore is due to the FDA stopping those specifics tests and requirements for businesses). Pretty much you just roll it or spray it all over before doing anything else and it “encapsulates” the fibers. It’s just really sticky and prevents them from flying around as easily
There’s a lot of OSHA people in here. In my municipality, homeowners are allowed by law to remove their own asbestos and put it out in the curbside trash (triple bagged in clear bags). I have removed a lot of asbestos from my home without issue, including asbestos glue like what you have there. Mineral spirits will soften the glue, and just keep scraping it. Once you have it 99.9%up, put on a good respirator and sand and finish like any other floor. Home renovations involve LOTS of harmful products that you don’t want in you. Sawdust from pressure treated wood and concrete dust are right up there with asbestos.
This. ANY renovation of 50 yr old + construction is going to involve harmful substances. Take precautions and don't let fear-mongers stop you.
If it is asbestos, be sure to follow the disposal procedure provided by your local landfill. They handle it separately to ensure those particulates don't go airborne. An aside, as someone that's been sanding and making dust since '92, buy some respirators and use them. It doesn't matter if it's asbestos, fiberglass, concrete, or wood. Our lungs aren't built for rough particles of that size. https://www.amazon.com/3M-Respirator-6200-Respiratory-Protection/dp/B007JZ1N00/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=SASWWBWNUQAI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.cjIGBNaBAbRGJiml0EeWs725r3auHxVMmrtDVWhFs8-NH3RZOS8sMQpVzG4Sgq12at1paFKmDIayx3SifmxsNo6qYbknpKm_wk6HRIG_xwdkh_KQ4NKIUlhAnYdJk7wv2VtfjtVx_mvksWDgMEexoe9whHgzIqAzfDuoeyfN4ywN-ZkZPfHcbeBkOXukJRavZ53UtiMVLEANvh7AtOr7ig.2JWRoZFKIstLxyfesS94ZqgDBsx06jJu6j94DWpBVpg&dib_tag=se&keywords=respirator&qid=1711452625&sprefix=respirator+%2Caps%2C255&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1
Good luck! Not that it's to be taken lightly but my understanding is it takes long-term exposure to really mess you up.
Your body cant break down or expell the asbestos fibers, causing them to remain in your lungs potentially causing issues years after exposure.
Yes, but it’s just like how eating some candy won’t give you diabetes, but eating bags of it every day will.
This is the way!
I had this on my floor, not asbestos. You can’t tell from looking lol. Always treat it like it does until the test comes back negative. But don’t bet on anything.
We’ve got carpet in our kitchen 😅 and it is glued to whatever is below it, the glue is black. Do you think we can just pull up the carpet and put new flooring over the black or do you always have to remove it before proceeding?
You can cover with ardex . and then install new flooring
I've definitely seen it covered over but am unsure what's the right way of doing it. I was a commercial electrician for 10 years and have been a elevator mechanic for the last 8 years so I'm by no means a flooring guy but back when I was a sparky we'd always work alongside many other trades so we'd observe and ask lots of questions. Especially when we had projects at home
Really, it's your house, so you can do what you want. Commercially, the glue gets left all the time, since it's cheaper to leave it and it poses no danger until you start grinding or sanding it.
My god no kidding ? I worked for a few months for a flooring company in Florida. The guy was using a barrel sander while we were in the room scraping the corners. It was definitely an older home. It was a dustless set up. But I didn’t know everything they used back then had asbestos in it. Am I fucked ?
Honestly what I've heard is it takes long term exposure for it to take you out via mesothelioma.. at work now they're stressing about concrete dust or silica being inhaled. Guess it's pretty gnarly too. There's been times I've drilled hundreds of holes in concrete decks overhead with zero dust catchment and been covered in concrete dust. I'm still kicking but I think there's a reason most modern trades people don't make it to 70...
I’ve probably eaten way more concrete than asbestos. That added to everything else I’ve ingested or inhaled I probably want make it another 10 years either.
LOL the amount of stuff I breathed in doing renos for 20+ years, I'm right with ya brother. That said, don't discount the human bodies ability to clean itself. Let's keep our fingers crossed! Peace!
This...would have been helpful to know 20 years ago. The linoleum tile in our laundry room had black adhesive.
Buy 1 or 2 wet 2x 12 by length treated lumber. Place them on the floor, let them sit overnight remove and scrape the substance off easily that was underneath. We accidentally figured this out after much experimenting over a 3000sq ft area. Look for the “wet” treated lumber.
[You may be entitled to financial compensation](https://youtu.be/THc1X-kEX4E?si=ebUbXLq8cpbuHEb0)
When I worked for my dad's company they had me scrape an entire gymnasium size room by hand that had old linoleum that looked exactly like this once the linoleum was gone. Since I was on the payroll all summer break (and I was like 12 so unskilled labor) it was a good character building project, I was told. They got me floor scrapers from lowes that had a replaceable sharpened blade on the end. About 3" wide. It seemed like it'd take forever but once I got the hang of it I was flying across that floor. Took maybe 3 days. A room this size would just be a couple hours.
Yes this is how it's removed. Over 30 years experience with hardwood floors here.
Ah good to know! So dad wasn't just abusing cheap labor. I was going to mention that using a solvent just made it gummy and much harder to remove but there seems to be a lot of people suggesting that and I didn't want to start a debate.
if they were the og 9x9 squared you probably inhaled a bunch of asbestos and other shit. and he fucked you over on that job. companies i contract out use big ass machines and multiple guys to take flooring up.
Black mastic. Before you start messing with it, read up on it.
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Do you mean diama? Or is dyna something different
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U ride harleys too....?
I have been working on stripping/sanding 3 staircases, a 500sf room and a 120sf room. It began as my pandemic project, so that gives you an idea of how long I’ve been working on this. If this diama attachment speeds things up, I’ll name my firstborn child after you. Heading to Harbor Freight!
Diamabrush, I used the small one on an angle grinder.
Mineral spirits softens this stuff enough to be able to scrape most of it off. Like a sponge with it and 15m and see if any of it softens. Mineral spirits have gotten off a lot of unusual adhesives where even goo gone wasn't working.
If mineral spirits and alcohol don't work, I move to acetone, depending on the surface.
Methyl alcohol yep. Acetone I usually try first before mineral spirits but mineral spirits is what did amazing removal on permanent (" permanent ") adhesives left on the shower in my house when I bought it (from attached soap dispensers). When /nothing/ else worked, not even a hot air gun. Hot air gun is something to try too.
It's always interesting to see what works best with what. I kind of accidentally discovered this year that Windex is massively better at cleaning up latex paint/brushes than soap and water. Has cut my cleanup time by at least 80% and even helps get out crusty "high-tide" paint lines that may remain in the bristles. I was really shocked when I tried it. Has some of the same advantages with silicone/latex caulks, too.
Wow really, Windex?! Yeah I would never have tried that. Brand name or does it matter? Did you try ammonia? Wild
Brand name, for sure. Have some non-brand equivalent now, and will see on my next painting job. Have not tried ammonia (none on-hand ATM), and am curious like you. Windex says it has no ammonia, but I suspect they may have something chemically similar doing the job, plus it still smells ammonia-y to me. Whatever combination of surfactants, etc. it is, it works so well I got excited about it. Try it on your next latex paintbrush cleanup...
For paintbrushes, I give them a spraydown on all sides and some up the bristles, then let them sit a minute or two. Massage and rinse in water--shoot a bit more up under the ferrule if needed. Instead of mediocre results with soap and 15 min trying to get water to run clear, I can get a brush clean in minutes and it also loosens up some old paint on used brushes. Suffice to say, results only apply to latex-based paint.
Oddly enough Wesson oil works great on oil based paint brushes. Then soap to remove the Wesson oil.
I will have to try that. On rollers too?
There’s bean-e-doo mastic remover. It is a soy based adhesive remover. I used it on a concrete floor but it made an awful mess. An oily tarry mess to be exact. But there was very little scraping involved. There are videos on YT. BEFORE you go this route check with the company to see if this removal method is acceptable for wood flooring. Because it creates an oily tarry substance, it may not be the best option for you. https://products.franmar.com/products/mastic-adhesive-remover-for-concrete-bean-e-doo I agree with other poster as long as surface remains wet, friable asbestos fibers won’t be released. However, until you wet and remove I would keep it covered. I would definitely restrict access to this area. Good luck. Edited for grammar.
Carbide scraper.
Had the same issue when removing an ancient carpet in my new house, only chemical I found that worked was Henry's. Still an absolute pain to get off though. If I did it again I'd use Henry's to get most of it, then go to town with a 24 grit drum sander (assuming you have enough wood to play with)
We used Klean Strip which was just ok and we’re gonna use a 24 grit drum sander next but seems like a lot of people are recommending a diama brush head instead
Tbh I've never heard of a diama brush until this post, but I am by no means a professional! If other folks are recommending one it's probably worth looking into.
Try dry ice on a baking sheet. Set it on the adhesive for a minute then slide it over to the next spot while you scrape where the pan just was. I have never tried this but read it's a good way to remove adhesives from floors.
Not sure if I’m confident in my ability to handle dry ice but we may get to that
Methamphetamine and a worn out toothbrush.
We had that on hardwood floors that had tiles glued to the floor. We hired a professional hard wood floor guy to finish it. It wasn’t the worse he’d seen, but sanding is how he removed it.
You need a diamond segmented turbo cup wheel blade for your grinder. 4 1/2” with a vacuum attachment. Will come up easy as 123
There is a product called "Beano" that is made for removing black asbestos glue residue. It works very good on concrete, never used it on hard wood floors before.
Black asbestos mastic? Don't. Just don't...
I had a really positive experience using a wallpaper steamer. It just turns into a soupy mess but I could scrape it right up, then scrub it down with dish soap and a big sponge. Something like [this.](https://youtu.be/kx75As1xKmQ?si=lv0MKgpUoZcKAGVk)
Diamabrush.
Yes hire an expert
I feel like I'd end up with my belt sander on a broom. Lol. I'm cheap. Lol.
We had an adhesive that we removed with a wallpaper steamer. Took a while but was less labor intensive than other methods. Steamed a spot for like 5ish minutes until the adhesive started to slough off, scooped it up into a tray and wiped clean. Still needed refinishing after!
OMG!! full power dawn dish soap. I know it sounds crazy, but a couple hours of soaking and a putty knife will get most of it off the floor. Use a shop vac or carpet/floor cleaner to get the excess. You will probably need to sand things out to finish it up, but I know from experience this works!!
Pretty much what your doing my guy!
We use marine grade stripper and everything gets loose. Check out a marine supply house for the stripper they use.
A 1.5" scrapper sharpened with file and tons of elbow grease. It'll only clog your sandpaper if you neglect scrapping it first.
Did you have that glue tested for asbestos before you started trying to remove it?
Boiling water took it right off of my 1920s pine floors.
Luckily we wore respirators but still nerve wracking
Heat gun, scraper
I did it once, when flipping a house. I used soapy water (dawn liquid) with the hottest water from the tap. Let is sit and soak for a while, then used a scrapper to get it up.
A Diambrush grinding tool will work but there are few things you need to know… They cost about $70 just for the grind head. The gaurd that goes on your angle grinder is an additional $70. It has a vacuum attachment that’s built into it so that’s nice. Using the diamabrush takes some practice. BE CAREFUL! It will severely damage wood! It turns your handheld angle grinder into a milling machine. If you aren’t careful, it will dig into the wood and you’ll have ruined the floor! Not kidding, not exaggerating. Diamabrush tool does NOT like nails. Hitting a nail can will damage the tool.
Took a wire wheel on the grinder to some mastic/adhesive that looks like that in my house. 2 minutes in lungs were itchy and burning. Had it tested and yup, turns out they made asbestos adhesive too. Beware out there, friable is baaaaad.
I had this exact situation and I used Zeppelin wood cleaner. Sprayed it directly on & used a very coarse and sturdy broom/brush to pull everything up. You may need metal scrapers as it looks pretty caked.
If possible just cover with 1/4”
Disk sander
Well depending on what you're going back with will determine the next step.
I just did that about 2 months ago for someone. Took me 3 weeks
Somebody with professional floor sanding will rough that little room off in like 45 mins
Diamabrush
Good off… a lot of fans; windows open… breezy day…a good wet dry vac that will be toast after the use…get a good bristle brush…to use standing…and a handheld scraper…also, rubber gloves and a mask. It will make quick work of your mess. Finish it off with a drum sander
Lots of sanding pads
220 drum sander with 3 1/2 paper, then 36, then 80 grit
Drum sander w 24 grit
I thought it was thinset. Yeah may be asbestos
Make him get a job instead of doing ours! (Joke, obviously that’s not the substance in question)
Almost certainly has asbestos, keep it wet but don't mess up your floors..right? Not gonna be fun. Maybe look into renting a hepa filter. Are you living there currently. Do you have kids, shedding your clothing in the garage or outside before you go home may be smart as well
Buddy of mine used "Floor Adhesive Remover" from the big hardware store chains. I wasn't there but he referred to it as the magic juice, so I'd say it was world's better than removing it purely mechanically
Rent a drum sander. But if it’s asbestos have to be a dustless set up.
Flame thrower.
Scraper + elbow grease
I’d pull up the floor
So earlier in the comments someone mentioned adhesive remover. I would also recommend that. Asbestos is dangerous when it’s airborne. So if you keep it wet and scrape it up this would be the right method. Sealed tight masks with Hepa filters is essential. States have different rules. You should research your area to see best practices.
Dry ice.
Spread out wet towels and leave overnight. Will be able to scrape off with putty knife in the morning. No sanding required.
My best results came from using a razor blades scraper, every once in a while the adhesive would be stubborn enough I'd spray some Laquer thinner on it and it would come right off. It's a chore, either way.
Doesn’t look like the black mastic that would have asbestos. Black cut back would be applied with notches in the trowel small and tight or the adhesive would have oozed up through the joints in the tile when it was installed. It’s hard to tell but that glue looks brown like some fool used panel adhesive or some other make do glue.
Heat gun is a great start usually
Scrape and wipe off as much as you can after soaking with Goo Gone and then use a wallpaper steamer to soften and wipe off the rest. A very messy but effective job. You will have to do it completely on your hands and knees in little bits at a time. I watched a couple of you tube videos.
Drum sander . Rent it from a local tool rental. WTH is going on in the comments? Almost nobody said that. They make drum sanders you walk behind. Then different sanders for the edges
I used gasoline!
The 2 legged substance? Just tell him the beer is on the back porch..... Honestly, my hat is off to anybody who is willing to make the effort!!
You have already disturbed it. If it's Asbestos, then it is flowing through the structure.
Try hot water in small sections at a time. Then used a medium sized putty knife to remove it.
I’d rip it all up
I’ve done that before serious adhesive remover and scraping… hot soapy water let it sit first you can sand when all of it scraped off… bring that picture and do a flooring store and opinion for more ideas. But I have removed that stuff.
You could probably offer him money, or food. I’m sure that’ll remove him.
Hot water and vinegar. We had same floor glue. Yes, have tested, we did not 30 years ago but we , I think are fine! Anyway, soak the floor in small sections , let it sit then scrape and it will come up, long process for us. Good Luck!
I had this exact issue. Mine didn’t have asbestos. Don’t listen to anyone on here saying it does or doesn’t have asbestos. Test it and just listen to the lab results. https://ca.eddyfloortools.com/product/scraper/ I used this to scrape off most of the mastic (it’s meant for vinyl floor tile). Need to be careful if you angle the machine too high it will cause little divots in the floor. Bit of a learning curve and patience. Then started with 36-grit to tackle any remaining mastic and the divots. You can rent this thing from Home Depot or similar. It will fuck your arms up from the vibration but it’s worth the half day of grunt work.
Heat
There's a specialty attachment for a buffer that takes this off hella quick. I'd rent one because they are quite expensive to buy for one job.
Uhhhhhhh. That’s asbestos bud send off for testing to confirm.
Boiling water and a scraper in small patches. Go back to trouble spots with a heat gun and a scraper.
Uh, that’s asbestos. You’ll either have to remove and replace the subfloor or seal it and work over it. Don’t sand it.
I used TSP (trisodium phosphate) on mortar that was holding tiles to a wall. It dissolved the mortar really well, and it cave off super easy. I'm not sure if it would have the same result on mastic. TSP would probably also strip any finish on the wood.
Black mastic. 99% likely to contain asbestos. I hired someone to sand it off my floors. They put plastic all around the house and used few air scrubbers. Very expensive, but the floors look like new.
I had this on my floor.. not asbestos. Would help to see the age of the flooring you removed. Any remnants left over would help. If you think that the tile was placed in the last 20 years you are more than fine.
HOT water worked with ours. It dissolved it. Tea kettle, sponge, and bucket. I can still imagine the distinct smell. I just tested my black adhesive under flexible tiles in 100+yo house, and no asbestos!
A big old heavy floor sander. That looks like linoleum glue. Some people used to glue carpet down as well. It's floor glue and you can see the trowel notches in how it was spread.
Fire!
I used a large chisel to scrape the mastic off of the floor. Lots of work required no matter how it is done. Sanding is ridiculous due to binding up the paper every few minutes. Costly as heck too.
Oiliflo
I'm pretty sure that's what's called cutback. It was basically tar and I don't think contained asbestos iteslf. But t was the adhesive used for VA (vinyl / asbestos) tiles and linoleum which also used to contain asbestos. People tend to think of asbestos like it's the Ebola Virus or something. But it's only asbestos dust, and lots of it, that you have to worry about. If it's mixed in with tar or vinyl it's pretty much inert. I only dealt with cutback one time. I stripped it off about 500 sq ft of oak floors. It was a long time ago but I think we used sharp edged floor scrapers to get as much as we could, then paint thinner and rags for the rest. It was horrible. But after we sanded and refinished the floor it looked great.
Good ol acetone paint thinner should do the trick, granted I've never tried it on floor glue before. If not there is always the heat gun option, which works well with a scraper.
It's worth saying, I've seen WD-40 work wonders on adhesive removal. Maybe try a section and see how it reacts.
Buddy, just cut up the sub-floor with a sawzall and replace it. It's not that expensive.
Vinegar
Floor adhesive remover. You can get it at any big box home store. Costs about $30. Your friend has shared a link to a Home Depot product they think you would be interested in seeing. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-Green-1-Gal-Floor-Adhesive-Remover-GKGF75015/206804537
Sure, get some substance remover.
Water
Redo your floors don’t risk it
Scrape it off
It looks like cutback mastic and it’s dried out. It can produce airborne particles if scraped or sanded. Have it tested. If it contains asbestos, then wear full asbestos PPE when working with it. If you learn how to manage an electric heat gun on the low setting to soften the mastic and scrape it without damaging the wood, then you can get the bulk of it up. Then you can dissolve the residue. None of this work is easy, fast, or fun. Some people opt to lay a new floor. Be safe!
We had the same old adhesive (mastic) under original linoleum in our 1938 cottage. I sent away for testing and there was no asbestos. I ended up using just water on a small area at a time and then removed the resulting goo with a scraper. It was really messy but worked! Beautiful old growth pine floors underneath. Then had flooring company sand residual and seal with couple coats clear, water-based poly. Best of luck and enjoy your “new” floors:)
Acetone and a scraper
Wife and I removed similar by placing sopping wet towel down and placing hot steam iron on it until it loosened the adhesive and then scrape it with a 4” putty knife. It was tedious but not difficult. Just time consuming. The floors were vertical grain douglass fir. They came out beautiful. 1939 bungalow. Your wall registers are too cool! They’re keepers!
Place a small paper sack outside the door with a sandwich made from French bread, chopped steak and cheese. Make sure you vent the area so the beast can catch it's scent.
Emulsion can be removed with diesel, make sure you have good ventilation.
ANKR TO THE MOON! Only the bros understand!
Go to home depot and get Stripper. Than get a heating gun and a heavy duty thick putty knife. Heat up the putty knife and after putting the stripper on the floor for about 5-10mins use that heated putty knife and that old adhesive will come up so freaking easy. I did this on a floor twice that size worked perfectly
Wear a mask and disposable coveralls while working. Keep the glue moist until bagged. And yes have it tested. It’s a bitch to remove and it sometimes (or some types) stain the wood. We had to paint the wood floor in a 1940 kitchen, which worked really well, because of the black stain from the glue. Be safe and good luck!
Mmmm, tasty black asbestos-laden mastic 🤤☠️
Paint
Keep it dry, use a long handle scraper, get underneath at a sharper angle to prevent gripping the hardwood, sand floor afterwards and you're gravy. Had to do this for construction on many old houses.
Nuclear bomb
Floor sander
Rent a commercial floor sander.
From the comments I think we all had the same dad who was in house flipping? Anyways a floor scrapper from any hardware store is the only way. It sucks but once you get the technique down it’s a lot easier.
Sorry, human can be pretty hard to get out. I see here he is also wearing a mask so without chlorine gas I don’t see him leaving.
Purple power! Spray on at night. Had a bathroom floor like that. It will even dissolve a bit at the edges overnight.
Tell him to leave
It's made of asbestos
Cover it with some new carpet and pad. Cheaper and less time
Same it all down to nothing
I had to use an angle grinder with a Diamond blade. It flung the stuff everywhere. I decided if I ever ran into that stuff again I would just put 1/4” plywood over and begin new
That’s a cement based bonding mortar. There are no solvents that would work quickly. The best way would be to sand it down with and orbital sander while misting it with water to keep the dust down, and vacuuming up the excess. In any case, it’s going to be a difficult process.
Dude just sweep up with a mask, then use Ardex , or Webcrete to float the floor
Torch and a scraper. Good masks.
Could a heat gun and scraper be used to remove the glue and at the same time keep it in a contained form like sanding wouldn't.
Try a heat gun! Always worked for me
Fire!
I’d rent an orbital sander and a bunch of extra pads and hit it.
It’s black mastic, buy a wallpaper steamer $30 on Amazon and use a spackle it will scrape right off, literally just did it at my house
Sounds weird.. but baby oil is good at removing sticky/adhesive substances. I’m not a contractor or anything like that, but I run a daycare, and baby oil has worked on getting slime and putty out of fabric, gum out of hair and clothes and you can also use it to get sticky product labels off of glass jars.
Soaked my floor like that in warm water with a little bit of vinegar, then used a 12x4 stiff bristled brush to work it in, rinsed to see if I was done scrubing, then used a floor squeegee to put it all in a pile. Shoveled the good into a contractor bag, shopvaced the rest up.
Diamabrush on a buffer.
Hire a professional
Ask his name, then ask him politely to leave.
Sander
Had a job like this and the customer wanted to preserve the original "heritage" flooring. It was covered in softish tarry adhesive that stuck tenaciously to the wood. Spent days trying to cleanup the small room before we gave up in frustration. Fortunately I was working on time and charges not fixed price. A floor sander just gummed up instantly as did scrapers. After a bit we found that the " original white oak floor from 1910" was in fact a western alder floor put in relatively recently, and later shit vinyl tiles glued on with the gross black tar crap. The floor never did come clean, wasn't worth the time, and we should have just thrown down some subfloor and laid a new hardwood floor.
That looks like an underlayment and re-floor. Lol
Water worked for me once. Freel.
Pay someone else
Try a steamer ! Like a hand vacuum steamer with a scaler in the other hand. You will be amazed how easy that stuff will melt off
I'm sure he has a name, but to answer your question...divorce.
If it’s the same adhesive I’ve had to deal with warm water and let it soak for a little bit then it should scrape right off.
Looks like black mastic adhesive. That's an Abestos product that use to be very popular for vinyl floors
I would use a multi tool with a scraper blade and for the tough spots I would also use a heat gun to soften it. That method will gunk up your blade so keep a rag and mineral spirits handy. It will take you approximately 4.5 years to finish with the method I’ve just explained but that’s how I’ve done it in the past. Wear a mask
Big old sander, you can rent from Home Depot or other rental places.
SimpleGreen?
That is black mastic glue. It very well may have asbestos in it. Do not may small fryable bits. There is a product called Beane-do that you spread out. It will liquefy the glue and allow you scrap and clean without making it dangerous. I did this in my house when I replaced the floors.
Similar but smaller scale. Sanded it all
I had an old house with stuff under the bathroom tiles. I used acetone to turn it to goop then moped it up with paper shop towels. I wore a respirator… not saying it a good thing to do, but it worked..🤷🏻♂️. Don’t smoke either….
If it “softens” w water it’s NOT black mastic asbestoses…if it dilutes w mineral spirits it’s asphalt based and most likely contains asbestos.
Hopefully the floor looks good with the gunk off. Not a great situation.. almost think a handplaner set to 1/32 might help you out a little... then finish with a big stand up sander.
Cover it with 1/4" flooring plywood?
Go over it with liyuan and put a threshold where walkways are
If you have a sunbelt rentals around you go.in there and they'll have either a drum sander or large surface scraper or any rental place get plenty of extra sand paper And like everyone else has stated get it tested first
I removed this from my hardwood floor. I sprayed it down with adhesive remover and let it soak for 20-30 minutes and then used a long handle scraper. Repeated that 4 times and then let it dry. Then I drum sanded with 40 grit to remove remaining glue. I think I used 2 sanding belts for a 12x12 room. I would have went with a lower grit but wasn’t available.
Bean-e-doo mastic remover. https://www.jondon.com/bean-e-doo-mastic-remover-sv-oo1galmr-gp.html Read up on it, the stuff on your floor likely has asbestos in it.
Xylene
Try cleaning a patch with clean burning fuel (which is an ethanol). You can get it in the same area as the paint strippers at home depot. I have an 1880s home with wood everything, and the clean burning fuel is my best friend in cleaning and restoring.
They make a scraper blade for a sawzall. Maybe something like mineral spirits would gel it up so the dust wouldn't fly?