VCT Flooring Question
Hey Stan,
Can you post my flooring questions to our knowledgeable fellow Rummer people?
I'm redoing the carpet and vinyl in our Rummer home and I was wondering if anyone could help me with these questions:
1. Has anyone tested the old VCT tiles and black glue for asbestos?
2. Does anyone have any flooring suggestions to replace the vinyl sans concrete refinishing?
3. Has anyone had any problems with gluing down the tack strips for the carpet?
What adhesive did you use?
Ever glue the tacking strips to vinyl?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
MM
ALSO:
Hi everyone,
We'd like to clean/prep our concrete for staining but we've got that black adhesive on the floor in the kitchen/dining room which used to have a linoleum on it when we moved in. Has anyone dealt with this yet and if so, how did you deal with it? Did anyone of you do it yourselves? We realize it may be that asbestos adhesive so we want to proceed carefully. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
ML
1. Has anyone tested the old VCT tiles and black glue for asbestos?
No, but given their appearance and installation date the odds are high that they both have asbestos.
2. Does anyone have any flooring suggestions to replace the vinyl sans concrete refinishing?
We installed tile and have been happy with the result. Planning to install more.
-- ML
Hi Stan and MM,
See some history from my house below. It was built in 1963 and had the vinyl tiles through out, covered up with carpet when we moved in. 1. Has anyone tested the old VCT tiles and black glue for asbestos?
Ours tested negative. Usually, if the tile is 12-inches square in size they do not have asbestos. 2. Does anyone have any flooring suggestions to replace the vinyl sans concrete refinishing?
We removed the old carpet, leaving the vinyl tiles in place. We had a flooring contractor in and they installed a ¼-inch underlayment plus leveling of the floor surface right over the old VCT, then installed glue-down bamboo tiles (12-inch square) in a quarter-turn pattern. The tiles have a tongue-and groove jointery. 3. Has anyone had any problems with gluing down the tack strips for the carpet? What adhesive did you use? Ever glue the tacking strips to vinyl?
If you choose to stay with carpet, I believe you could fasten the tack strips thru the old VCT into the slab using a powder-actuated gun. Regards,
KJ
1) The best answer I have is if it's black it's either asphalt, asbestos or both. Given the period Rummers were built it's more probable that it's asphalt. Apart from having it tested, treat it like asbestos. There are some good removers for black mastic that are safe. Asbestos is only dangerous when it's disburbed.
2) Maroleum and carpet tile are becoming more popular. Carpet tiles are vinyl tiles with carpet embedded in them. They are also a green product. The benefit is if a tile gets damaged or stained you can replace it yourself and very cheaply. the companies that make them will also recycle them. Cork tiles are nice also, but the better looking ones are still a bit more expensive.
3) While the practice is to put the new flooring over old, save yourself the headache and remove the old flooring first. Because of unique problems Rummers have due to the slab foundation (namely cracks and leaks), you'll be happy you did. Also because of the concrete, most stuff won't adhere to it like it would to standard wood subflooring. Your new floor could bubble up due to spills and weather changes. I removed some glued down carpet with just hot water. In addition it's healthier because you won't have mold and other allergens and contaminants that have built up over the years living in your floor covering.
AM
Our tiles were glued down with asbestos. We had it removed, which is a pain.
Cork flooring works great on these floors, doesn't stop too much heat, and is in keeping with the period and design. You might want to check that out.
Have fun!
JMC
HI MM-
We remodeled our kitchen/familyroom last year and replaced the tiles. Yes, they are asbestos, but according to my uncle who has been in the floor covering business for 50 years, it is so compressed there shouldn't be a big deal removing it.
We updated the kitchen about 12 years ago and put vinyl over the top of the asbestos. The vinyl helped lift the asbestos tiles easily. You just need to find someone willing to get rid of the tiles without charging you $1000 to do it. If you remove the asbestos yourself, use gloves, cover your mouth and nose with a mask, and put it in plastic. That is what our guy did.
Now, we ended up using Armstrong Natural Fusions on our floor. It comes in planks, it's industrial grade and is easy to maintain. Our floor looks like bamboo. Our Interior designer found it, I had the Uncle verify that it would be low maintainance and work with radiant heat. We have been very pleased. We looked at hardwoods, tile, pergo, vinyl and this worked the best for your lifestyle.
As far as the carpet goes, I would suggest you just talk to a good carpet company.
When we had our carpeting replaced by my Uncle, the main thing he said was the padding was most important.
I'm at the coast until Monday and have business meetings until Thursday. You are more than welcome to give us a call and come by if you are interested in the natural fusions and how it has performed.
LH
Can you post my flooring questions to our knowledgeable fellow Rummer people?
I'm redoing the carpet and vinyl in our Rummer home and I was wondering if anyone could help me with these questions:
1. Has anyone tested the old VCT tiles and black glue for asbestos?
2. Does anyone have any flooring suggestions to replace the vinyl sans concrete refinishing?
3. Has anyone had any problems with gluing down the tack strips for the carpet?
What adhesive did you use?
Ever glue the tacking strips to vinyl?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
MM
ALSO:
Hi everyone,
We'd like to clean/prep our concrete for staining but we've got that black adhesive on the floor in the kitchen/dining room which used to have a linoleum on it when we moved in. Has anyone dealt with this yet and if so, how did you deal with it? Did anyone of you do it yourselves? We realize it may be that asbestos adhesive so we want to proceed carefully. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
ML
1. Has anyone tested the old VCT tiles and black glue for asbestos?
No, but given their appearance and installation date the odds are high that they both have asbestos.
2. Does anyone have any flooring suggestions to replace the vinyl sans concrete refinishing?
We installed tile and have been happy with the result. Planning to install more.
-- ML
Hi Stan and MM,
See some history from my house below. It was built in 1963 and had the vinyl tiles through out, covered up with carpet when we moved in. 1. Has anyone tested the old VCT tiles and black glue for asbestos?
Ours tested negative. Usually, if the tile is 12-inches square in size they do not have asbestos. 2. Does anyone have any flooring suggestions to replace the vinyl sans concrete refinishing?
We removed the old carpet, leaving the vinyl tiles in place. We had a flooring contractor in and they installed a ¼-inch underlayment plus leveling of the floor surface right over the old VCT, then installed glue-down bamboo tiles (12-inch square) in a quarter-turn pattern. The tiles have a tongue-and groove jointery. 3. Has anyone had any problems with gluing down the tack strips for the carpet? What adhesive did you use? Ever glue the tacking strips to vinyl?
If you choose to stay with carpet, I believe you could fasten the tack strips thru the old VCT into the slab using a powder-actuated gun. Regards,
KJ
1) The best answer I have is if it's black it's either asphalt, asbestos or both. Given the period Rummers were built it's more probable that it's asphalt. Apart from having it tested, treat it like asbestos. There are some good removers for black mastic that are safe. Asbestos is only dangerous when it's disburbed.
2) Maroleum and carpet tile are becoming more popular. Carpet tiles are vinyl tiles with carpet embedded in them. They are also a green product. The benefit is if a tile gets damaged or stained you can replace it yourself and very cheaply. the companies that make them will also recycle them. Cork tiles are nice also, but the better looking ones are still a bit more expensive.
3) While the practice is to put the new flooring over old, save yourself the headache and remove the old flooring first. Because of unique problems Rummers have due to the slab foundation (namely cracks and leaks), you'll be happy you did. Also because of the concrete, most stuff won't adhere to it like it would to standard wood subflooring. Your new floor could bubble up due to spills and weather changes. I removed some glued down carpet with just hot water. In addition it's healthier because you won't have mold and other allergens and contaminants that have built up over the years living in your floor covering.
AM
Our tiles were glued down with asbestos. We had it removed, which is a pain.
Cork flooring works great on these floors, doesn't stop too much heat, and is in keeping with the period and design. You might want to check that out.
Have fun!
JMC
HI MM-
We remodeled our kitchen/familyroom last year and replaced the tiles. Yes, they are asbestos, but according to my uncle who has been in the floor covering business for 50 years, it is so compressed there shouldn't be a big deal removing it.
We updated the kitchen about 12 years ago and put vinyl over the top of the asbestos. The vinyl helped lift the asbestos tiles easily. You just need to find someone willing to get rid of the tiles without charging you $1000 to do it. If you remove the asbestos yourself, use gloves, cover your mouth and nose with a mask, and put it in plastic. That is what our guy did.
Now, we ended up using Armstrong Natural Fusions on our floor. It comes in planks, it's industrial grade and is easy to maintain. Our floor looks like bamboo. Our Interior designer found it, I had the Uncle verify that it would be low maintainance and work with radiant heat. We have been very pleased. We looked at hardwoods, tile, pergo, vinyl and this worked the best for your lifestyle.
As far as the carpet goes, I would suggest you just talk to a good carpet company.
When we had our carpeting replaced by my Uncle, the main thing he said was the padding was most important.
I'm at the coast until Monday and have business meetings until Thursday. You are more than welcome to give us a call and come by if you are interested in the natural fusions and how it has performed.
LH