Remove carpet glue from concrete?

[Mike Davis]

Our basement had carpet, had to take it out. Want to paint or epoxy the concrete floor but need to remove the old glue.

How?

 

[walnutjerry]

Mike-------I would try a floor buffer with sanding discs. A lot quicker than a 5" orbital sander.

Jerry

 

[ehpoole]

I've never tried it with mine, but there is a special scraper blade and carbide grinding blade for the Fein Multimaster that is often demonstrated for that task, but it is a small tool if you are applying to a large area.

You can try the sanding ideas already suggested, so long as the glue doesn't gum up the discs too badly. You might also be able to remove the glue with an appropriate solvent (and adequate ventillation where appropriate).

 

[Phil S]

I have had to do this too many times. There are machines built for that purpose and you may be able to find one at a good rental yard. If you have the time it can be done with a sharp floor scraper. I have a commercial heavy duty one that uses disposable blades that you can borrow if you want. The glue will clog sandpaper very quickly

 

[LeftyTom]

Mike, I got a gizmo from Klingspor some years ago, that looks like a large router motor with discs that can be used for removing paint or scuffing concrete. I still have that thing & 3 or 4 of the discs.

Here is what it looks like

Let me know if you can make use of it.

 

[RandyJ]

Mike-------I would try a floor buffer with sanding discs. A lot quicker than a 5" orbital sander.

Jerry

+1

My vote as well. Much faster than a smaller footprint!

Maybe try to scrape big globs first to reduce clogging the abrasive.

Good luck

 

[walnutjerry]

The proper name for the discs I was referring to is "sanding screens"------I used them under the brush of the buffer. I did not have a problem with them clogging. That may depend on the type of glue used also, and who knows how many types of glue have been used under carpet?

Jerry

 

[jerrye]

+2 on floor machine with sanding screens...or use a very aggressive, open celled stripping pad like the 3M 7300. If you can find a floor machine with a stripping brush that may work even better.

Always use sanding screens with a pad on a floor machine, otherwise you will end up sanding off the nibs of the pad driver. If you have access to a commercial supply house I'd recommend some floor finish stripper. Should work well on adhesive I'd think.

MTCW

 

[walnutjerry]

I also found out you can put a woven stripping pad under the brush and then put 4 to 6 5" H&L sand paper under the woven pad, pending the diameter of the buffer. The woven pad does a pretty good job of holding the discs and it is probably cheaper than 12" to 16" sanding screens or sanding discs. Worked for me.

Jerry

 

[petebucy4638]

Our basement had carpet, had to take it out. Want to paint or epoxy the concrete floor but need to remove the old glue.

How?

That is a really tought job. Carpet adhesive is essentially rubber. It resists both sanding and scraping. You can't even sand blast it. Burning it produces some bad fumes and really smells bad. I had the carpet on my pontoon boat replaced two years ago. Even with chemicals it took the guy forever.

There are commercial processes that can do this sort of thing better than just about anything else. Generally they involve a powerful rotary scraper and some harsh chemicals. The problem is that if you leave any adhesive on the floor that the epoxy will not stick to it. Because you are painting, they will have to do a much better job than if you were just going to put down vinyl or more carpeting. There some very powerful primer/sealers that you can use once the floor surface is clean but some of the residue still resided in the very top porous layer of the concrete.

Considering all the prep, you might get off cheaper with a vinyl flooring material.

Pete

 

[Canuck]

Mike.

Based upon the projected cost of renting equipment and work to strip the concrete clean enough to apply an epoxy, if it is just going to be a basement shop or rec area; have you considered putting down interloc tile? Like these...........

http://www.garagefloor.com/garage-floor-tiles-overview.htm

I know that Bas had something similar in his previous shop and looked good and seemed pretty durable.:icon_thum

Might be worth comparing the cost and labor.

Just a suggestion..........

Wayne

 

[Trent Mason]

Mike, I've had to do that several times and I've tried chemicals and the machine from Sun Belt, but I always ended up having to use a manual floor scraper. It is a miserable and long process, but that's all I've found that works. Others have made great points about the possibility of the epoxy not wanting to stick to the floor after it. I would consider something else, or at least try it on a small area first.

 

[Mike Davis]

Anybody need some extra work? Paying job.

 

[Glennbear]

A few years ago I removed glued carpet from a wooden hardwood floor (extension of a gymnasium) we used MS with scrapers to remove the softened glue followed by washing with citrus cleaner. As has been said, a lot depends upon the composition of the glue. You might also consider a scraper in conjuction with a heat gun prior to a MS wash. Whatever method you use, mechanical or solvent removal adequate ventilation is a must!! :wsmile:

 

[scsmith42]

Mike, when I was in my early 20's I removed a parquet floor that had been glued down, and replaced it with tile.

Like Trent, I ended up using a floor scraper to get the big stuff off, and did the final work with a large cup wire brush on a body grinder. A tedious job, to say the least.

 

[Mike Davis]

This is not real thick nor hard, but I have decided it will not come clean enough to paint or stain.

So, we'll scrape it and put down VC tile.