I am trying to remove self-stick vinyl tile from a cement slab. How do I do this? How do I get the glue off?
Answers:
I suggest renting or using a heat gun..get the tile hot, the glue will soften, and the tile can be scraped up easily. Scraping is not a good idea on vinyl...too much work. Good luck
Other answers:
go to a paint supply store ask for xylene. this stuff can even loosen hard stuck titles. be sure to ventilate well and wear protective chemical gloves.
go to a paint supply store ask for xylene. this stuff can even loosen hard stuck titles. be sure to ventilate well and wear protective chemical gloves.
a utility knife, a heavy duty floor scraper, a spray bottle of water, and some adhesive remover is one way that I know of. You'll want to work in small sections, because it is a time-consuming process!
with the utility knife (make sure its a heavy duty one that can handle cutting through the tile) cut the tiles into smaller pieces you can work with easier (strips are usually the quickest)
Once you're able to lift off a small piece with the floor scraper, you may want to try spraying some water to see if that helps loosen it up at all. If that doesn't quite do it, try spraying the adhesive remover. And that's pretty much it - just keep spraying and scraping!
A trip to a home improvement store (like home depot or lowes) would be a good idea, because they can offer some other suggestions as well! There could also be some new products out there that I haven't tried that would help make it a lot easier and faster!
So long as all it is, is a residue, you can safely go over it with a latex modified thinset. Any more than that, use a 4" razor scraper (you can find it in the paint aisle at HD or Lowes) and get up as much as you can with that. You DON'T want to use any chemical solvents because the chances are good that they'll leave behind a residue that'll inhibit the thinset bond afterward.