Removing Carpet From Kitchen Linoleum
In a few rehabs we've dealt with the removal of kitchen carpeting glued down to linoleum. Of course wanting to go back to a linoleum it was always painstakingly difficult to get the glue/pad off after years of being stuck there but it had to come off so that the new linoleum could be applied. Does anybody have a really good way of getting the stuff off without spending days scraping or sanding etc? I'm looking at a rehab possibility with carpet in the kitchen again and I want to figure out a faster way. Thanks!
Carpet glued on linoleum in the kitchen? Who would do something like that? The best way to fix that problem so it doesn't happened any more in the future is to ask the local radio station for the minute of the air time for you to scream loud on those who did it
Just kidding but the truth is, you are after a tough one. The way you do it is the only way I know that would work fine unless you want to use the lawn mover first in case the carpet hair has grown to long.
The good side of that problem is that if the people leaving there are so dumb to do that, they are most likely dumb enough to sell it cheep so what if you got to do some work? Hire some labor guys and they'll go through that kitchen like a hurricane Isabel through Georgia.
Good Luck! @ the filed. [ Edited by NC_Yank on Date 02/02/2004 ]
Funny how you seem to think that it is so unusual. I see it ALL THE TIME! I think that in the 70's around here it was a popular way to cover up older linoleum. Interesting how I so often see in the same houses the carpeted kitchen along with the red z-brick and dark brown paneling. I want to know what anybody was thinking in the 70's to do that to places! And just think about that 70's carpeting after 30+ years of having milk and softdrinks and food spilled on it. How yummy! Anyway, I deal with it quite a lot. I try to use mineral spirits, glue dissolvers etc. Nothing works very well. Then you sometimes have to deal with the old asbestos floor tiles underneath so you don't want to sand it either. Somebody must have some ideas to make this easier!
wow, i have to agree with omega. carpet on linoleum. i've never EVER heard of that. actually i've never even heard of asbestos tiles either, so i'm completely not qualified to answer. however ...
i was about to say why not try a heating gun to go underneath the linoleum and pull it up with the carpet all in 1 sweep. time consuming but less messy. but since you said asbestos tiles under that, i say get old school and get the hand-held tile remover - the long scraper looking device and just sweep all that shat up at once and start from scratch. i'm surprised with all those layers that you don't have to step up into the kitchen! hahaha.
i'd actually dig it all up and just refinish the hardwood underneath or if plywood underneath tiles, restart there with grout and tile newly.
whew!
Oh well guys..... It's obviously a bit different here in Sheboygan WI. We see all kinds of weird stuff....you wouldn't have believed what I saw in that house today. A mix of classy features along side of "what were they thinking" features. In what is considered one of the best neighborhoods in the city it's a handsome looking brick exterior with excellent curb appeal. It has some nice leaded glass windows in the entryway. A large livingroom and formal dining room with crown moldings and natural wood floors. A lower level bar area with fireplace and a large workroom. The kitchen has natural wood cupboards in nice shape, and cute wood shutters. On the other hand there was the carpet in the kitchen with a couple of square holes cut out here and there, you know, to remove the bad spots. Lime green vitrolite (a glass substance) countertop that someone had already started to tear out and then left. Crown molding painted (not stained) brown and the tub surround plastered over a filled in window. The window still looked like a window from outside. Oh, and the biggest problem... there was obvious mold starting to build up on the window sills etc. and certainly under the 30 year old carpeting. Believe it or not,,,, this place has potential!
If the price is right and you have room to work, now is the time to do it right.
Back to primatives. I take a hoe and straighten out the blade, I sharpen it with a nic file. Then I shove it underneath the tile and push and shove. In time it all gets lifted out and away.
I hope that I have a plywood underfloor, but if not I may now attach such an underlayer and then come up with a proper tile floor. Nice black and white squares sound about right given the formality of the exterior. If you find mold underneath the carpet cum tiles. Please treat prior to insertion of new flooring.
Frankly you might consider other solutions to the kitchen floor. But I have a love affair with black and white formal tiles.
The bathroom tube installation and the treatment of the window, now that is grounds for divorce. Just tear it all out, check for moisture and now do if you can a classic old time bathroom with the claw legged tub and the plumbing coming rightup and free standing. My god by the time you get through you might photo it up and write a really arm flailing story and submit to Arts and Arch or some other foo foo magazine.
I think you have the beginning of a winner of a rehab. I am jealous. All I ever get are bad taste Calif. Bungalows or Psudo Calif Spanish.
Cheers Lucius
I'd just do like the vinyl floor installers do. They simply lay a 1/4" or 1/2" layer of hardboard or plywood(depending on uneveness of floor) over the existing floor and go from there.
I appreciate the advice here but I think that everyone's thinking on this is going beyond what is necessary. I'm not talking at all about removing the linoleum undeneath the carpet or installing a new subfloor at all. The type of situation I'm talking about is one where I need to find a way to get the remaining remnants of pad and stuck on glue off of the existing linoleum or subfloor underneath so that a new layer of glue and tiles or linoleum will stick to the surface. I can't believe that no one on this forum has ever had to deal with getting up carpet pad and glue from a surface. Rehabinator.... what about you?? Any ideas?
i might be misunderstanding your question, but i thot it was addressed a couple times.
i mentioned gettin a tile remover/scraper and scratching it up. lufos said the same thing, except he recommended using a hoe and straightening out the blade and sharpening it. both of these ideas are the same and will get you the results you want. i've never heard of an easier way to acheive this, nor a work-around. maybe you could help loosen it up by adding something to it, some hot water, paint thinner, or the heating gun ...
<IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_cool.gif"> [ Edited by jackman on Date 02/02/2004 ]
How I solve the problem of carpet glued to linoleum is to scrape up as much as I can. Then I place luan over the old flooring. When doing this you have to place a nail approx. every 4 inches.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But there is no simple way. For my time and effort(= $) I would just take a tile scraper that looks like the straightened out hoe and get to work. Doing the whole kitchen down to the subfloor should only take you about an hour or less, and since you are going to cover all the tile with new the time spent on replacement is the same. You will have a much better floor if you take it down to the subfloor. Good luck
Sandbahr - I know exactly what you are describing and want to do.
I have to sheepishly admit that in the couple of times I have ran into this problem I changed my original plan and once just layed pad and carpet over it which of course worked out just fine. The second time I chose even a worse route and scraped off what I could and layed new linoleum over the top, turned out really nasty, so I ended up leaving what I had done, and tiled over the top of all of it which then looked great.
My solution now is to scrape what you can lay down some cement board and tile over it. Covers up all the sins of the past son of a biatch owners before you.
But if you are really determined to do what I know you want to do here is what I would do: I have found that he who is the most motivated has the best chance of solving his problem.
I don't have the quick answer to exactly what your solution is but I know that if I was faced with trying to achomplish what you want I would be able to find the solution.
In my opinion the answer will lay with asking the right group of people, which I would think would be people who deal with this stuff on a daily basis.
I am pretty sure that there exists some industrial product that will remove the glue and residue from the linoleum. But to discover it you will probably have to go through a wholesale house that caters to floor professionals.
I would start by calling the wholesale houses that flooring people use for their supplies, you will probably hit on the product pretty quick or they will send you in the right direction pretty fast. If that all fails the next thing I would do is start calling linoleum installers, you will have to be pretty nice to them and explain right up front that you don't want to waste their time, but you are calling to see if they could shed some light on your problem.
I would be surprised if you don't have this licked in the next 24 hours if you try that out.
Good luck and of course let us know what you find out.
My fear is that your solution may involve a heat gun - scary stuff - toxic fumes and all, Yikes![ Edited by The-Rehabinator on Date 02/02/2004 ]
Hello!
Ah, carpeting over linoleum. What dreams are made of!
Razor knife, twine to roll up & tie carpet, 55 gallon garbage can for the linoleum scraps and a Home Depot, Menard's or Lowe's credit card for the new linoleum -better yet, for the new high impact, industrial strength, honkin' tile floor!
I've never been able to save linoleum.
Thanks,
OnTheWater
I've done this a number of times, and IF you really want to clean up your existing floor, a 5" or 7" heavy duty razor scraper, some odorless mineral spirits or I prefer industrial citrus cleaner works-if you have the patience and stamina. You might get away leaving tiny bits and cover with laminate flooring using a thicker foam underlayment; but really I'd prefer to lay a simple and fast 1/4" ply subfloor over it, or better yet use hardibacker, then thinset nice tile down, giving you the chance to level the entire floor out and upgrading the place in the process. Certain flooring hides variances better, such as flat rather than glossy, thicker commercial linoleum, vinyl tiles, cork, wood, or laminate flooring.
I could have had this job done with one finger before his post. You bring in two guys with tatoos and you POINT, you start here and bud start over there. Remove the carpeting using these scrapers I've provided you. When they're done you put done underlayment. Next you install the VINYL sheet goods (who calls it linoleum any more). End of story. Time to quite looking for the easy way out. It's just a labor intensive odeous task.
Sandbahr,
It doen't sound like you are trying to salvage the old linoleum, only get it clean to put another floor over. Still, I can only go back to what the I have seen the pros do in my experience. They don't try to clean, or patch bad areas. They simply lay a new layer,1/4"generally, of plywood or hardboard over the old floor and go from there. This is no big deal to them. I have tried scraping floors before and I learned that it was far to much work for too little return for me personally. I am assuming you are going to have someone else lay the new vinyl. Surely you aren't going to try glueing down a new linoleum floor are you? If its a rental, there are easier ways to go. If its for resale, new vinyl is had to beat unless you want to tile the whole thing as REHABINATOR www.mentioned.I haven't had any vinyl put down recently, but it doesn't seem like it cost much more to have the underlayment put down.
Thanks everyone. Sounds like no matter which solution I choose, depending on the extent of the problem it's going to be good old fashioned hard work (unless of course, I hire the two tatooed guys to do it for me). That's a scary thought! Who knows how they'd leave it!
It can be done (old thick glue removed from linoleum). We pulled up old nasty carpet, to reveal linoleum matching the rest of the kitchen, den, and laundry area. $$$ of flooring marred by a patch of 30-year old yellow hard glue. Since the best option for us was to use the existing linoleum (rather than spend $3000 on all new flooring or mis-matched portion:
We used mineral spirits and LOTS of elbow grease, to remove most of the glue, then while it was still sortof damp, used "Krud Kutter", a spray (about $5), to pick up the residue. After using the mineral spirits, when wet, it looks like the glue is gone, but when it dries, the yellow reappears. The "Krud Kutter" helps wipe up the glue. You can see it on the rag, and then when it dries, it looks great, just like it was never there. What joy!!!!
I've had this problem, too. Best /fastest/makes the finished product look best way is 1/4" plywood..but I put a coat of latex coating (not paint, but a product designed for the purpose)down on top of the new plywood to help the linoleum stick. Make sure you nail the plywood well.
just rent the machine at the home depot i've done that twice now takes everything off real quick real clean rent a daylabour at the same time and all your problems fade away....