I have a walk-in closet in my apt where half of it was the same parquet floors that are in the rest of my apartment, and the other half was linoleum. I want to replace this with new hardwood floors. I already ripped out the floors and found a ton of black glue / tar junk underneath the old parquet floors. Underneath the linoleum floors was concrete. Does this mean that they glued down the parquet... [more]
I have a walk-in closet in my apt where half of it was the same parquet floors that are in the rest of my apartment, and the other half was linoleum. I want to replace this with new hardwood floors.
I already ripped out the floors and found a ton of black glue / tar junk underneath the old parquet floors. Underneath the linoleum floors was concrete. Does this mean that they glued down the parquet floors directly to the concrete subfloor? I thought that they would have at least laid down a layer of plywood between the concrete and parquet floor.
My question is, what is the correct way to install a new floor here? I'm planning on going with an engineered wood floor for ease of installation and not to raise the floor level too much - the parquet floor was 7/16" thick.
Do I need to remove all the black glue and get it down to the concrete subfloor? Or could I put a sound-proof / moisture shield underlayment over the glue, put down a 1/2" thick plywood (just laying it over, no nailing down), and then glue the engineered wood floor over it? Is the plywood layer even necessary? I've heard of people just putting down the underlayment and floating the engineered wood over it, putting glue at the tongue/groove.
I'm planning on going with a good quality engineered wood floor, that has a 4 mm wear layer and can be sanded down / refinished.
Thank you!
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Response by Primer05
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 2103
Member since: Jul 2009
Do not remove the black glue (probably has asbestos which you already disturbed) I am not sure how you feel about that, you might want to test it and have it abated, if you dont care then you can proceed. You can also get a glue that has soundproofing in it has soundproofing, also wear a mask. I am not telling you this to scare you just to inform you, it might not be asbestos either
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Response by chobria
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 12
Member since: Jan 2014
Yikes, I didn't even think about asbestos. Could I skim over it with something to mitigate the health risk?
Do you suggest that I put down an underlayment over the glue, a sheet of plywood over that, and then glue the engineered floors directly to the plywood?
Thanks again Primer. As always, your comments are so helpful.
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Response by Primer05
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 2103
Member since: Jul 2009
Its a small area so I don't know if you should every concerned. It would be a bad idea to have someone check to see if it is asbestos. If you elect not to you can glue the plywood to the floor, then soundproofing then the floor
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Response by sp21
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 99
Member since: Feb 2013
Primer I'm not sure if you mean "it would NOT be a bad idea" to check for asbestos.... except for the fact that checking is going to lead to a possibly expensive abatement if you go that route. For the OP, I would just recommend not disturbing that area any more until you have a plan to abate or cover it.
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Response by alanhart
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 12397
Member since: Feb 2007
It WOULD be a bad idea to check.
The whole asbestos thing is nonsense. It's a natural material that was mined from a mountain. Unless you spent decades working daily with asbestos in its free form, WHILE CHAINSMOKING all the while, you are highly unlikely to be affected.
Fresh basil poses a greater carcinogenic danger to you than does the mastic under your 1960s faux parquet.
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Response by chobria
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 12
Member since: Jan 2014
Would it be safe to skim over it with Featherfinish Patch & Skimcoat? I figure it's better to skim over it, then put the sound/moisture underlayment, then plywood, then floor. I've heard that putting the underlayment directly below 3/8" engineered floors makes it feel a bit soft?
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Response by knewbie
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 163
Member since: Sep 2013
We used t21 Sikabond. It also acts as a sound barrier. Use a trowl to spread over , then plywood. We used natural wood floor, so we glued plywood on top + nailed into concrete. Belt and suspenders approach since we were using white oak, wanted to make sure floor stays down because the black stuff is friable. We had black stuff tested and no asbestos.
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Response by Primer05
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 2103
Member since: Jul 2009
I did mean it wouldn't be a bad idea. Alanhart does have a pop t that many agree with. I still would not take the chance but that is just a personal opinion.
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Do not remove the black glue (probably has asbestos which you already disturbed) I am not sure how you feel about that, you might want to test it and have it abated, if you dont care then you can proceed. You can also get a glue that has soundproofing in it has soundproofing, also wear a mask. I am not telling you this to scare you just to inform you, it might not be asbestos either
Yikes, I didn't even think about asbestos. Could I skim over it with something to mitigate the health risk?
Do you suggest that I put down an underlayment over the glue, a sheet of plywood over that, and then glue the engineered floors directly to the plywood?
Thanks again Primer. As always, your comments are so helpful.
Its a small area so I don't know if you should every concerned. It would be a bad idea to have someone check to see if it is asbestos. If you elect not to you can glue the plywood to the floor, then soundproofing then the floor
Primer I'm not sure if you mean "it would NOT be a bad idea" to check for asbestos.... except for the fact that checking is going to lead to a possibly expensive abatement if you go that route. For the OP, I would just recommend not disturbing that area any more until you have a plan to abate or cover it.
It WOULD be a bad idea to check.
The whole asbestos thing is nonsense. It's a natural material that was mined from a mountain. Unless you spent decades working daily with asbestos in its free form, WHILE CHAINSMOKING all the while, you are highly unlikely to be affected.
Fresh basil poses a greater carcinogenic danger to you than does the mastic under your 1960s faux parquet.
Would it be safe to skim over it with Featherfinish Patch & Skimcoat? I figure it's better to skim over it, then put the sound/moisture underlayment, then plywood, then floor. I've heard that putting the underlayment directly below 3/8" engineered floors makes it feel a bit soft?
We used t21 Sikabond. It also acts as a sound barrier. Use a trowl to spread over , then plywood. We used natural wood floor, so we glued plywood on top + nailed into concrete. Belt and suspenders approach since we were using white oak, wanted to make sure floor stays down because the black stuff is friable. We had black stuff tested and no asbestos.
I did mean it wouldn't be a bad idea. Alanhart does have a pop t that many agree with. I still would not take the chance but that is just a personal opinion.