How to remove peel and stick vinyl tile adhesive?

[someguy01]

I put peel and stick vinyl tile adhesive tiles in my kitchen 20 years ago. Over the years they have started buckling and breaking and they need replaced. So i bought some new vinyl tiles and i am taking up the old tiles with a heat gun. They are coming up easy but they are leaving adhesive stuck to the wood sub flooring. It seems like i should try to get the old adhesive off before trying to stick down the new tiles.

I have been looking up what to use to remove it and i have seen a lot of recommendations like WD40 but i have an entire floor to do and i need the new tiles to stick to the wood and spraying the wood sub floor down with WD40 is a guarantee that they will never stick.

How should i do this? So far i have tired a few recommendations like dish soap and water as well as denatured alcohol and neither worked.

 

[C.J.]

A lot of installers would cap the floor with a new layer of 1/4” underlayment and start over with a clean substrate but if you don’t deal with the stickum you will likely end up hearing noise down the road because of it.

Sand or grind it off. I would dust the floor with floor patch or even skim the floor to bind with the stickum so it doesn’t gum up as much while sanding or grinding the existing adhesive.

Best of luck cus that doesn’t sound like fun.

 

[someguy01]

A lot of installers would cap the floor with a new layer of 1/4” underlayment and start over with a clean substrate but if you don’t deal with the stickum you will likely end up hearing noise down the road because of it.

Sand or grind it off. I would dust the floor with floor patch or even skim the floor to bind with the stickum so it doesn’t gum up as much while sanding or grinding the existing adhesive.

Best of luck cus that doesn’t sound like fun.

I had thought about trying to remove the old sub flooring and installing new. But there is a dip in the floor under the refrigerator i would say a good 5 foot area thats dipped about 1/4". I was originally wanting to install a click and lock floating floor but i knew the dip with cause problems i didn't want to deal with. So i thought vinyl stick floor would at least conform to the dip.

But if i rip up the sub floor and or lay more sub floor over the top i will have that dip to deal with. Even though that wood sub flooring stuff is pretty thin i dont know how well it would take to the dip (dont want it popping up).

 

[C.J.]

You can fill the dip in with layers of roofing felt. I would skim coat the floor twice to deal with any residual stickum. Then I would fill in the dip with layers of roofing felt to bring it within flatness specs for a floating floor. It should look like a topographical map. Now you can lay a floating floor right over that mess and be done with it. Just say no to self stick tiles.

 

[someguy01]

I would like to know why the floor is dipped to begin with. I can't look at the floor joist because there is a finished basement under it and i dont want to tear out the drywall. There was a refrigerator there for years that didn't have a drip pan and it leaked on the floor The wood under the fridge was a little soft so i suspect this joist needs attention. But this house is lived in so i cant just go tearing everything about because the kitchen is used daily. I would have no problem doing a proper repair but with people using it i am forced to do a "good enough" rush job. I have a lot to think about.

 

[C.J.]

Heavy fridge that never moves and a slight leak for long enough will make a floor dip for sure. Unless the floor was soft and needed some obvious attention I wouldn’t worry that much about a 1/4” dip that’s under a fridge.

 

[someguy01]

What floor leveler do you recommend? I leveled the floor on the opposite wall in a small area using pieces of sub flooring glued down with liquid nails then feathered it out with more liquid nail then used a level to get it level and it worked well.

I been dreading doing the kitchen because the dip is so much bigger. And it will require much a much longer level and more materiel to get right. It would be nice if they had some kind of self leveling stuff similar to liquid nails. But the only self leveling i seen was some type of concrete stuff that dries hard. What is the best product to use on plywood that i can nail though?

 

[C.J.]

You have about a 5’ area with a 1/4” dip? Roofing felt is the answer. Up to 6 layers is approved. 6 layers of 30# roofing felt is 3/16”. Now your floor is only 1/16” out of wack which is not bad. You can nail and screw through the roofing felt and it will roll with the seasonal changes your house goes through.

As far as the wood and patch, that works too but I prolly wouldn’t go that route unless you had a sizable area to fill.

I guess you could fasten down a piece of 1/4” in the dip then sand it flat. You got options.

 

[JPfloor]

Agreed… There are Portland based self-leveling and underlayment products that would work well but I would say the best advice, as already mentioned, is felt paper. Easy, effective, and you can nail through it… Liquid nails is NOT the best choice.

But I have to ask? If you’re installing a floating floor why do you need to be able to nail through the subfloor?

 

[someguy01]

Agreed… There are Portland based self-leveling and underlayment products that would work well but I would say the best advice, as already mentioned, is felt paper. Easy, effective, and you can nail through it… Liquid nails is NOT the best choice.

But I have to ask? If you’re installing a floating floor why do you need to be able to nail through the subfloor?

I want to rip up the subfloor that is there now with adhesive on it. Then level the floor them put new subfloor down over the top of the now level area. So when i staple down the new subfloor i dont want to be shooting staples into concrete.

 

[C.J.]

When you say subfloor you’re talking about the layer of plywood or OSB that is directly on top of and fastened to the joists, right. Anything else is a layer of underlayment. If you were to cap the floor with another layer of 1/4” ply, you would be adding a layer of underlayment on top of the subfloor. If there is already a layer of 1/4” underlayment down and you remove it you would simply be removing underlayment and not touching the subfloor at all.

So what you’re saying is that you want to remove your existing subfloor, flatten all the joists in relationship to each other then reinstall some new subfloor (subfloor is 3/4” T&G) on top of your newly flattened joists?

That’s a lot of work but I’m all for it.

 

[JPfloor]

Yes, it sounds like you’re confusing underlayment with subfloor. If you have an existing layer of underlayment (1/4” plywood) and you remove it, you can then use the felt paper to level the structural subfloor (3/4” plywood). If you’re installing a floating floor, you don’t need to install another layer of underlayment. That would be more for glue down installations. You can go right over the 3/4” subfloor and felt paper. If you want to strip it down to the joists that is indeed a lot of work. That would only be necessary if it were somehow seriously damaged.

 

[someguy01]

When you say subfloor you’re talking about the layer of plywood or OSB that is directly on top of and fastened to the joists, right. Anything else is a layer of underlayment. If you were to cap the floor with another layer of 1/4” ply, you would be adding a layer of underlayment on top of the subfloor. If there is already a layer of 1/4” underlayment down and you remove it you would simply be removing underlayment and not touching the subfloor at all.

So what you’re saying is that you want to remove your existing subfloor, flatten all the joists in relationship to each other then reinstall some new subfloor (subfloor is 3/4” T&G) on top of your newly flattened joists?

That’s a lot of work but I’m all for it.

I am not not good with construction terms i am a mechanic so i may be getting my words wrong. The wood on top of the joists in my house is 3/4" plywood with some thin "underlayment?" plywood over the top of that. It is thin im not even sure if it is 1/4" it might be thinner.

It originally had sheet vinyl flooring glued to it before i put down the vinyl tiles. Now there is adhesive from the vinyl tiles all over the floor i will not be able to get off. So my plan is to rip up this thin later of plywood "underlayment?" down to the bare 3/4" plywood underneath and start from there.

I want to level this then install new "underlayment" over the 3/4" plywood and the filler for the dip in the floor. Then install a floating floor over that. I dont ever want to mess with adhesive tiles ever again.

 

[someguy01]

My original plan was vinyl tiles and now my plans have changed and i am wanting to go to a floating floor and fix the dip.

So here is another question and kind of another reason i might possibly have to ad underlayment on top of the 3/4" plywood....

It transitions to a 3/4" hardwood floor and i dont know how to bridge the gap between the 2 or what to use. They dont need to be level i just need some kind of transition strip to go from 3/4" hardwood to a floating floor. And floating floors come in different thicknesses I'm sure but the transition i have now probably wont work and im assuing i might have to change the height of the floor with the appropriate thickness underlayment?

 

[C.J.]

What you want to do is solid so keep on keepin on, Peter Brady.

As far as transitioning to an adjoining floor, what is it that you want to look at? You can adjust the thickness of your underlayment so the finished floor height of your new floor flushed out with the finished floor height of your existing floor. Or you can use a T-molding. What’s your end goal.

 

[someguy01]

What you want to do is solid so keep on keepin on, Peter Brady.

As far as transitioning to an adjoining floor, what is it that you want to look at? You can adjust the thickness of your underlayment so the finished floor height of your new floor flushed out with the finished floor height of your existing floor. Or you can use a T-molding. What’s your end goal.

well i'm not removing the kitchen cabinets and i dont want to build up the floor 3/4" around them. I'm not really sure i just want it to look somewhat decent.

 

[JPfloor]

i just want it to look somewhat decent.

you can use a T-molding.

By using a reducer like T-molding you can save yourself the trouble and expense of installing an underlayment.

 

[someguy01]

By using a reducer like T-molding you can save yourself the trouble and expense of installing an underlayment.

When i think of T-molding i picture this and i cant see it working

Do they make a T-molding somewhat like this?

 

[JPfloor]

Yes… Oodles to choose from. Inquire when you buy your floor.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/PERFORM...d49a546d33e11bbc4fb1305e44dda455&gclsrc=3p.ds

 

[C.J.]

A T-mold would angle down from the higher finished floor height down the the lower finished floor height.

The other transition piece you show is a Multi Purpose Reducer and will work just fine for your needs. Most brands of floating floor offer matching transitions so pick the one that best suits your needs.