Need suggestions and help

[harry strasil]

Anybody got any easy solution on how to get tile up off a wood floor in a house without destroying or scarring wood underneath, many layers of wall paper and paint are gone off walls, carpet and pad are up and gone.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/irnsrgn/odd/diningroomfloor2-12-09.jpg

Boy what kind of a sick mind did that.

[bob hertle]

Might try heat--I've been successful with a heat gun in the past. Play the heat over the entire tile to evenly heat, and use an icepick to lift a corner so that a putty knife can be slid under. I removed all but about 5 tiles in one piece like this once, from an entire kitchen/hall/bath/closet.

YMMV:)

Bob

[Randal Stevenson]

Heat gun is an excellent suggestion. You might also get lucky, and once one goes, you can get under the rest.

Are you sure they didn't add a luan subfloor under these (putting even MORE nails into hardwood underneath)?

[Mike Cutler]

Harry

Are those ceramic, or linoleum tiles? They're ugly, that's for sure.
A heat gun will work to loosen any of the old adhesive making the job easier, but it's still going to be a lot of work. If it's linoleum, set on top of luan I used a circular set with the blade set to about 3/16", (deep enough to cut into the luan, but not through it) and just scored everything to make the Wonder Bar work easier.
You may want to pop in on John Bridge's Tile Forum and ask the question. Lot's of nice folks on that forum.

Personal experience tell me ya' got a ton of work ahead of you.

[Dave Norris]

Not trying to be a party pooper but those aren't asbestos are they?

[george wilson]

Even if they are asbestos,they are mixed with vinyl(?) or some other binding material,and won't make dust to breathe. Nevertheless,we had some old asbestos tiles in a portion of our Williamsburg shop. they hired a bunch of non English speaking men to come in in space suits,remove them,and clean the floor with citrus cleaner. Williamsburg is perpetually obligated to gather and remove the old tiles if where they were dumped ever gets turned into a building site!!!!!

[Bill Houghton]

A good home center will sell you a scraper designed for this kind of project. I concur on the heat gun, although I also concur that those probably are vinyl/asbestos tiles, and you should at least be working with a serious dust mask and gloves - consider a bunny suit. It's almost impossible to remove something like that without some breakage, and you'll get some fibers in the air.

Depending on your time frame, you should consider having a sample tested for asbestos.

[Michael Wildt]

Just some ideas, may not be easy since I was thinking of not destroying the wood floor.

- heat gun, just enough heat to soften the glue so it lifts
- dry ice in case they are very brittle so they can be removed with a painter spacle.

Michael

[Michael Conner]

I got to vote heat as well. Should loosen the glue right up.

[Rob Cooper]

I have used a roofing torch (plumbing torches for small areas) a heat gun might be too slow. Heat until the tile is good and loose then remove in one piece. Scraping the glue off the wood is going to be the worst part if you are refinishing hardwoods. Asbestos or not use fans and open windows if heating the old glue.

[Phil Thien]

Heat gun is where I'd start.

Nine by nine tiles are nearly a sure bet for asbestos. If they are brittle I'd keep 'em wet while working with them.

[Rick Moyer]

What, you don't like the tile that's there!!??:D I don't have anything to add to help you but I thought I would tell you about our experience in buying our new house. We knew there was hardwood flooring under the wall-to-wall carpet because the steps and upstairs floors were beautiful, and we pulled back the carpeting at the floor vents to check ot the first floor. What we didn't know was that the floorplan was changed at some point and then the carpet was put down, so we found unfinished and patched-in flooring where there had previously been walls and a closet.
No one knew this as the previous owner had been deceased for a year or so and had lived alone. I have some flooring work to do myself now.

[george wilson]

The heat gun is the best idea. Personnaly,I think the whole asbestos thing is overblown,if it's not loose. I grew up on Coast Guard light houses where everything was coated with asbestos.It wasn't floating around,though. For 2 years I taught at a high school that had water from asbestos pipes. The science teacher boiled a beaker dry one day,discovering a white residue. It was microscopic needles of asbestos!!. That was when I was in my 20's. I'm 69 now. Drinking it DID make me nervous!! I won't advise you to NOT wear a mask,though. That would be counter productive on my part.

[Charles Lent]

I vote for the dry ice ! I removed a similar floor many years ago using dry ice and the ice popped most of the tiles loose from the floor without the need for scrapers. This looks like the same asphalt vinyl asbestos type tile. They shrink when exposed to severe cold, breaking their adhesive bond to the floor.

Make a 2x4 frame about 2' square and place a piece of burlap or heavy cloth in it to hold the dry ice. Fill this with dry ice and cover it with newspaper. With it on the floor you should hear popping noises in a very short time. When the popping subsides, move the frame to a new spot on the floor and pick up (maybe lightly scrape) the loose and very cold floor tiles. You should definitely wear a good mask with a rubber face seal while doing this, and wet scrub the floor after the tiles have been removed.

Dry ice is available from ice cream plants and other industrial facilities nationwide. The yellow pages should help you find a source in your area. Take gloves to handle it, lots of newspaper to wrap it and a large cooler to carry it in and buy it the same day that you will be using it. Exposed to the elements it doesn't last long.

Charley

[Rich Lightfoot]

Check your rental places and see if you can rent a Novastrip N100 or its equivalent. This type of heater is deigned to heat up whole tiles for removal without chipping or breaking. The heaters are set up to target the mastic rather then the tile itself making MUCH easier to pull whole tiles. Also if the tiles have asbestos, the mastic probably has some as well.

Unless your your local regs forbid it the EPA actually has an exemption for homeowners when it comes to removing asbestos. If you can pull the tiles without breaking all you should really need is a good mask and good ventilation for the room.