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SummitWanderer OP t1_iy4jzfl wrote

Reply to comment by Nonanonymousnow in Removing mastic while preserving hardwood floors underneath? by SummitWanderer

I had seen a guy doing that on his concrete floors, but I was under the impression steam is very bad for hardwood floors?

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plaidbanana_77 t1_iy51gix wrote

The tar is also not good for hardwood floors. Steam is at least less bad than tar.

At this point you cannot fuck it worse than it’s already fucked. Outcome options are horrible failure which results in some nice looking LVP, or shining success resulting in perfectly refinished hardwood. Both outcomes are wildly better than where you are now with carpet ripped up and linoleum partially removed down to the uneven adhesive.

Most adhesives will come up with heat or a solvent. Try steam and heat gun before solvent(diesel, mineral sprits, turpentine) but keep a fire extinguisher and water bucket nearby when using the heat gun. Use a 4” metal putty knife, so you don’t melt it to the floor, to scrape away tar loosened by the steam/heat gun.

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WhyKnott2Day t1_iy6uhyr wrote

Agree except NO heat gun... use steam and a putty knife. A heat gun used on mastic and/or unknown "varnish" can (and will) cause toxic fumes...

Source: I have refinished a third of the wood floors in my 122 yr old house, most of which have/had at least 3 layers of linoleum and 1 or 2 layers of carpet and foam padding... ended up hospitalized for acute respiratory distress due to chemical pneumonia from using a heat gun to soften the mastic... Took 5 months to recover fully.

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SummitWanderer OP t1_iy5dlm6 wrote

Thank you for the input! Looks like I'll be pulling out my heat gun!

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dynobadger t1_iy52nts wrote

It's not great, but the varnish should resist water to some extent. And the flooring will dry out after the steaming. If you go this route, be careful scraping wet wood. It becomes very easy to start tearing fibers out of the wood.

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SummitWanderer OP t1_iy55vtp wrote

Thanks! I appreciate your input!

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n0tjamesfranc0 t1_iy6cr2j wrote

Hardwood floor guy here. If you do this with the steamer and it works let the floor moisture content lower back before refinishing it. I'd recommend about 2 weeks to let it dry and reacclimate to the house's humidity.

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n0tjamesfranc0 t1_iy6ddq9 wrote

If you get the heavy chunks of mastic on some floor refinished might be willing to just use a belt sander with a really aggressive grit for the remaining bits. It gunks up the drum and wheels on the sander so many will refuse to do that. I've done it a few times and it worked well, just needed to clean the machinery throughly afterwards.

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WhyKnott2Day t1_iy7b6z5 wrote

No offense, but it is never a good idea to dry sand anything that has even the slightest possibly of containing asbestos, that's how it becomes airborne and gets into your lungs. Always keep anything you suspect that may potentially contain asbestos wet so it doesn't become airborne...hence using a wallpaper steamer and a putty knife to remove the mastic...and then do a light damp sand, wiping down as you go, to make sure you have removed every bit of it before letting it completely dry (a good 2 weeks, or more if it's humid) and then begin your refinishing sanding.

Source: https://inspectapedia.com/hazmat/Asbestos_Wetting_Procedure.php

Edit: added source

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