Watch out for old tile adhesive under that vinyl plank

I pulled up some old sheet vinyl in a Phoenix kitchen last week and found a thick, dried layer of black cutback adhesive. I thought I could just scrape it, but that stuff was like rock. I spent over 8 hours with a 4-inch scraper and a heat gun just to get the floor flat enough for the LVP. Has anyone found a faster way to deal with that old mastic without damaging the subfloor?

3 comments

3 Comments

andrew69328d ago

Oh man, that's the worst. That black cutback often has asbestos, so you really shouldn't grind or sand it.

elliotr9827d ago

My buddy learned that the hard way last year. He rented a floor sander for his old kitchen without testing the mastic first. The whole house smelled like hot dust for days. He ended up having to pay for a full asbestos abatement crew, which cost way more than the floor sander rental. He still gets nervous just talking about it.

thomas.piper28d ago

Heard some guys swear by a floor scraper with replaceable carbide blades for that exact job. They claim it chews through old mastic way faster than a standard putty knife. Just gotta be careful not to gouge the wood underneath.