> Any tips for removing a linoleum floor that is glue directly to concrete? I
> want to know what to expect before I start on the task.
How old is it? Tile or sheet?
You might want to pull loose a piece and find an asbestos-testing lab
nearby. You may have asbestos in the flooring (more common with tile, I
think, than sheet) or you may find the adhesive contains asbestos. If
you don't then most of the following is irrelevant.
During a remodeling project we found tile glued to the concrete slab
under the carpeting in our step-down master bedroom and living room. We
were going to put sleepers on the concrete and raise the floor to the
height of the rest of the house but the engineer wanted to see the slabs
first, so we had to pull off the tile. I had a chunk of tile tested
and the tile was not asbestos-bearing but the adhesive was.
As of three years ago 47 states considered floor tile non-friable
(unlikely to release asbestos into the air) and permitted the property
owner to remove asbestos flooring as long as it's kept damp as you knock
it loose. California, needless to say, was not one of the 47.
There's also regulations regarding chain of custody - making sure that
everyone who touches it is properly licensed and that it's disposed of
at a licensed facility.
We had a crew remove about 350 square feet, took them half a day
including taping up a negative-pressure containment area. I don't
recall exactly what it cost but I remember being surprised that it was
fairly cheap.
Flooring removal tools involved a crew of about five guys pushing big
broom-size scrapers.
John.
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