What is the best way to remove an old linoleum floor?
by
Sheila
+2
We are re-doing a floor and would like to stain the concrete underneath. The room is pretty big about 18'x24' and we have tried a steamer but the glue must be really thick. The house is about 30 years old and it is driving us nuts. Can someone please help us or refer us to an easier way? This will be a do-it-yourself project. Many thanks!
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Hello Sheila! Getting linoleum or carpet glue off a concrete floor is a really tough job. This article suggests using boiling water and a scraper. I finally gave up on my basement concrete floor and had new carpeting put in. My other choice was a floating floor. https://www.doityourself.com/stry/removing-linoleum-floor-from-a-concrete-base
Thank you! I am getting to that point of throwing my hands up and doing carpet. Thank you for the link. One of our neighbors came over and said that we should use a blow torch to remove it. That scared me and I am not at that point...yet!
Back then linoleum was glued down with a black tar based adhesive. Pain in the b*tt to remove. Only way would be to heat it up with a heat gun and hope it peels off. Then you still have glue residue to remove. Boiling hot water or solvent based removers and lots of scraping and newspapers.
There are scrapers that are intended to remove tile, asphalt, shingles. I wonder if it could also remove linoleum.
You should have the linoleum tested for asbestos before you start your project.