How can you take glued cushion flooring off of plywood underlay .Hand scrappers only remove the top layer ?
Question:The paper layer scrapes off in some spots but for the most part it stays down.
Answers:
Outside of spending hours with a razor blade or using a chemical adhesive remover that could damage your underlayment (from moisture since most removers need to be washed off), you have two choices: Try to remove the underlayment - not fun if nailed properly and also costly since you will have to put new down. Or borrow or rent a floor buffer and buy some sanding disks for use with it.
It could be recommended to use a belt-type floor sander, but these sanders can and do sand off quite a bit of the surface fast - especially if you haven't run one before. This could lead to your having to replace the underlayment anyway.
A buffer with a sanding disk (usually 34 or 100 grit) will sand off the pad without getting as aggressive as a belt sander. NOTE: if you have never used a buffer they can be very tricky to use - once you get the hang of them then easy Also, using a buffer with a sanding disk requires more control than using a scrubbing pad because of the increased grab of the sanding disk.
More than likely you will need several sanding disks because the pad may "gum up" the disks. So buy more than one - you will need them. Also, you should buy them in pairs because it is moch easier if you glue two disks back to back - this created a surface for the buffer to grab on to. You usually can buy the disks at a rental shop - or most places that might rent floor buffers.
If you can not find a buffer or the sanding disks, you can always use a 5" orbital sander with 40 or 60 grit disks. This will take considerally more time than a buffer, but you can attach the hose of a shop vac to the orbital sander to keep down the dust - no can do on a buffer you will have dust.
If you are going to tile with ceramic or even vinyl, you should still remove all the pad. If you don't then you will have soft spots in your floor that will be felt when walking on it. Also with the soft spots, the tiles might start releasing because they are moving - countless homeowners I have worked for can back me up on this. For ceramic tile, they have movement and "popping tiles" when thick (1/2 inch) backer board was used. For the amount of money ceramic costs, I'd recommend that you don't take any chances. Do the job once and pay only once - if repairs have to be made because of the pad being under the tile, warranty won't cover.
I hope that this helps you with your question.
part of it depends on what you will put down next
but generally there are two methods one is to sand it off with a floor sander very messy ...or USE A LEVELING COMPOUND TO FLATTEN OUT THE SURFACE BEFORE LAYING NEW SHEET GOODS .IF YOU ARE PUTTING DOWN CERAMIC TILE SCREW AND GLUE DOWN A THIN CONCRETE BACKER BOARD TO THE SUB FLOOR ...
My electrician, who used to work at a prison told me to use that orange paint stripper that doesn't have lye in it. He said that they used it at the prison, because they couldn't have strong chemicals around the inmates. I used it to get up glue left after removing a tile floor, worked for that. He said it would work on the goo from cushion flooring too. I haven't tried it yet, but I believe he knows what he's talking about.
You can try using a heat gun. Holding it above the flooring to warm it while pulling it back at the same time. The heat will make it pliable. You may need to wet the paper layer underneath to help it come loose.
As some of the others have suggested:
It really depends on the type of flooring you plan to put back down, and which room it is in.
Do you really need the underlayment? It may have beautiful hardwood floors underneath.
The janitorial store where you rent your buffer/sander can also provide the Best tips on the stubborn cushion.
If you`re going back with ceramic, vinyl, or other tiles...Terazzo etc. It *Really* needs to be smooth and flat. A layer of black roofing felt with help smooth out for Vinyl.
Good Luck with it!
Since we can`t answer the same question twice and you need more help, feel free to email me for step-by-steps and we`ll "Gitter Done"(:>
RT
As long that you have removed the most of it ,this is the main thing , you are going to recover that floor anyway ,so just run a shop vac to it and proceed with your project.
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