Lino of concrete scree

[adamfausset]

Hello, I've seen a few threads about getting lino off quarry tiles and floorboards but not concrete. I tried to lift three layers of lino at the weekend, the first came up really easily the second not so bad, but the third comes up in layers, leaving a grey cardboard like stuff on the concrete, I think this may well have asbestos in, but who knows. So I gave up, resigned to lifting the entire floor and laying limecrete in its place. But I've got a quote of £4K to do this, which is madness given that if I could lift the lino I could just lay tiles down and save £4K. So does anyone know how to lift this sort of stuff? Someone mentioned evo stick solvent, others heat guns? Any help would be massively appreciated.

Many thanks
Adam

 

[Lime]

A heat gun would cause great danger if there is asbestos in the tiles, and the evostick solvent will have you flat out on your back with the fumes.
The old method of removal was to use dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) to freeze the adhesive which was then able to be easily broken with a chisel and come cleanly off the floor.
Alternatively the more laborious method is to use a very sharp chisel, cleaned and sharpened frequently, to lift the adhesive with water to damp down the dust.
Please be aware that the asbestos may be the more dangerous variety.

 

[tobydog]

How thick is the cardboard type residue left on the floor? A couple of mm? Just a thought but is it worth taking a test area, heavily scoring it with a Stanley knife and then soaking it with an NB510 type remover?

 

[adamfausset]

Yes, I'm going to get a sample tested first. Will know early next week if its asbestos. I think the problem is that the screed is quite rough that it sits on, so scrapers etc just cant get enough purchase on it. Its a solvent, heat gun or £4K plus professional asbestos removers and huge disruption. Maybe the lino isnt that bad after all. :evil: :twisted:

 

[AMc]

I was warned that my 60s plastic floor covering might have asbestos in it, so I had a full survey done which found the tiles were fine but the bath panels were reinforced asbestos - probably worth the cost of the survey not to take the risk.

 

[robgil]

Can you not tile over it?

 

[adamfausset]

yes I could tile over it, but the walls are quite damp, and whilst I'm reducing the ground level outside to help this, I really want the floor to be able to breathe, hence using pamments in lime over the concrete, which has about 16% damp reading

 

[MdB]

... the concrete, which has about 16% damp reading

Which means what exactly?

(I'm not saying that your concrete isn't damp just that using a two prong gadget won't give you anything apart from a relative damp measurement compared to another made in the same piece of concrete)

 

[masochists-r-us]

From what I've been told 16% is not damp. Low to mid 20s is perfectly fine to lay quarries on to. However, if you're planning to seal the quarries with anything afterwards and don't want to take the risk of the concrete allowing damp through to then get trapped inside the quarries, you may wish to apply a damp proofing product to the floor (just in case it spot fails or fails later) before laying the tiles. F.Ball have a good Web site worth looking at.
I think you're confused about breathable floors though. Concrete floors are not breathable and never will be. If you want a breathable floor you would need to dig up the concrete and then lay the quarries on a lime mortar. However, even if you do decide to go down this route, and then seal the quarries no or little moisture will be able to pass through them so you will be back to square one.
We have had exactly the same debate at our house and in the end have decided to live with the existing concrete floor and its lack of breathability. What this does mean is that moisture will continue to go into the walls and as we need to re-plaster anyway we're going for lime which we hope makes a sensible compromise.

 

[adamfausset]

hmm, not sure about this, if the concrete has a dampness of 16% then some moisture is getting through from the ground somehow, its not the most well put together bit of scree you've seen. I agree its not hideously damp but its still more than I'd like. By laying brick tiles (which are much more breathable than quarry tiles) this will mean that any dampness that does sit on the scree will be able to breathe under the tiles. I'll be using white spirit and boiled linseed oil as a breathable sealant. The clever trick might be to do something suggested by another person on a different thread which is to dig a channel 6' wide all around the floor by the walls, then fill that with limecrete meaning any moisture heading towards the walls will evaporate off before going up the walls. Thats the theory anyway!!! Its all a bit immaterial until I can find out if the lino has asbestos and then if it hopefully it doesn't, I've still got to work out to life the blighters. I'm pinning my hopes on a heat gun.
A