# Help! Tearing up old linoleum floor



## seige101 (Jan 14, 2013)

Started to tear up the old linoleum floor in my bathroom and laundry room floor yesterday. The top plastic like layer peeled off the paper/cardboard undercoat relatively easily. Now i am stuck with this paper/cardboard like layer glued to plywood. I have tried saturating it with water and scrapping it up with limited success. Tried a round sander but i think i need more aggressive sand paper, only have 80 grit in the house, was gonna run off to depot to get something more aggressive.

Any suggestions or tips? I will be installing another linoleum glue-less floor so i don't want to damage the plywood to much or i will have to skim coat it with floor leveler.

Thanks!
Tim


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## eclecticcottage (Jan 14, 2013)

STOP!  WAIT!!  How old is old??  A lot of the older stuff (at least back as far as the 50's and probably up to the 70s or 80s) has asbestos in it.  DONT sand it unless you know it doesn't.  You don't really want to breath that.

We used a hand planer to remove a layer of wood and black glue from our floors.  Mineral spirits will supposedly work-they didn't for us and the fumes are something else.  You can also try a steamer and scraper, or a heat gun and scraper.  If you're putting a new layer down, the steamer should remove the big pieces, then you can just lay a thin layer of luan or even some self leving compound over the remaining glue.  We wanted the hardwood floors exposed so we couldn't go the "easy" route.


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## seige101 (Jan 14, 2013)

No asbestos in it. Ended up renting a power scraper from the depot it is getting about 80-85% up and i picked up some more aggressive sand paper for the rotary sander. About an hour into it and i am 3/4 done, just waiting for the last bit of underlayment to soak through with water i hosed it down with. I did dig into the floor a little bit here and there but nothing major minimal patching or sanding the area down and i will be good.


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## seige101 (Jan 14, 2013)

Well i returned the power scraper and came home and fired up the sander. This sucks! Trying to sand the last little bit of paper and glue off, my buddy and i both using 40# sandpaper took a little over an hour to do a 4x7 area


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## ironpony (Jan 15, 2013)

seige101 said:


> *No asbestos in it*. Ended up renting a power scraper from the depot it is getting about 80-85% up and i picked up some more aggressive sand paper for the rotary sander. About an hour into it and i am 3/4 done, just waiting for the last bit of underlayment to soak through with water i hosed it down with. I did dig into the floor a little bit here and there but nothing major minimal patching or sanding the area down and i will be good.


 

and you know this because you had it tested?? Right??  even if the flooring is clean the glue may also contain asbestos


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## TMonter (Jan 15, 2013)

ironpony said:


> and you know this because you had it tested?? Right?? even if the flooring is clean the glue may also contain asbestos


 
Depends on the ages of the house mostly. Anything after 1983 should be safe for linoleum.

When we do a kitchen remodel we're going to have to have this done and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm considering just having the subfloor replaced with AC grade plywood.


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## seige101 (Jan 15, 2013)

House was build 20 years ago, no asbestos in it


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## ironpony (Jan 15, 2013)

if you did not test it, you do not know that. I work with this stuff everyday and 20 years old means nothing. I have tetsed newer materials that have contained asbestos. if you are comfortable with your decision so be it.


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## Sisu (Jan 16, 2013)

Yes, in order to know definitively, a sample of the paper backing needs to be collected and sent to an accredited laboratory.   This type of asbestos-containing material is also considered "friable" which means a lot of the asbestos fibres will become airborne during improper removal practices.


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