# Forum Home Renovation Flooring  Carpet underlay stuck to floor boards...

## jessh

Hi
Long time lurked first time poster! 
This is such a great forum usually I can find my answer ! However I'm a bit stuck on what to do in preparation for standing my floor boards.
As you can see the yellow glue and underlay is quite stuck to the boards. I started to scrap back with a paint scraper but thought there may be a better way ... any thought appreciated!!!

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## goldie1

Ah! foam back carpet glued to floor boards other wise known as the floor covering from hell. 
I know a slow tedious labour intensive way of getting rid of it. If any one knows an easy one I'd love to hear it.

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## polly

This may not help with carpet glue but, for future reference, I have had success using De-solv-it from Bunnings to remove the sticky rubber residue left by old underlay stuck to a timber floor.

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## goldie1

Kero is allso ok but not easy

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## nww1969

I think it may depend on the type of glue used.
I was lucky recently with just wetting the underlay that was left after pulling up the carpet,
let it soak in for a while and it scrapped off easy.
I suspect I had a water based glue.

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## goldie1

> I think it may depend on the type of glue used.
> I was lucky recently with just wetting the underlay that was left after pulling up the carpet,
> let it soak in for a while and it scrapped off easy.
> I suspect I had a water based glue.

  This is correct.  The OP had foam back carpet where the carpet and foam back underlay is all one piece. When pulled up the  
surface layer seperates from the foam bcking layer which is totaly glued to the floor. This is a total PITA to remove.

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## Middoes

I have used a small jackhammer with a scapping blade attached worked great..Make sure you go at a very small angle so the scrapper doesn't cut into the boards..

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## Dusty

Quick, short, straight to the point answer.  
Spray it with Kerosene, then sand the guts out of it with 24 grit sandpaper. It will come off quite fast this particular product.

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## mrp

Hit it with a Fein Multimaster with a scraper blade and it will come off like butter!

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## serapax

Hey all, 
I can't even claim to be a long time lurker - but I had to post after seeing the exact same carpet and glue problem that I dealt with a couple of years ago.  Same pattern, same disintegrating yellow foam backing - it could have been a pic of our floor.
One thing that haunts me now though (and yes, I do have an anxiety problem) is that I didn't get the stuff tested before my young daughter and I got stuck into removing as much as we could with a scraper - a daddy/daughter bonding thing.  We wore nuisance dust masks (tho I have a beard and hers hardly fit well) but we took no other precautions. 
Does anyone know if asbestos was ever used in this glue?  I know of it being used in the black stuff sometimes used under tiles & lino, but it didn't occur to me at the time that it could be a problem here. 
Now of course I've convinced myself that I've doomed my gorgeous little girl  :Cry:

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## goldie1

[QUOTE=serapax;900162]Hey all, 
I can't even claim to be a long time lurker - but I had to post after seeing the exact same carpet and glue problem that I dealt with a couple of years ago. Same pattern, same disintegrating yellow foam backing - it could have been a pic of our floor.
One thing that haunts me now though (and yes, I do have an anxiety problem) is that I didn't get the stuff tested before my young daughter and I got stuck into removing as much as we could with a scraper - a daddy/daughter bonding thing. We wore nuisance dust masks (tho I have a beard and hers hardly fit well) but we took no other precautions. 
Does anyone know if asbestos was ever used in this glue? I know of it being used in the black stuff sometimes used under tiles & lino, but it didn't occur to me at the time that it could be a problem here. 
Now of course I've convinced myself that I've doomed my gorgeous little girl  :Cry:  
QUOTE]   Most probably no asbestos in the glue but lets not get ahead of our selfs. Firstly do you know when your 
house was built?

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## r3nov8or

I have 3 recommendations 
1. Acetone
2. Acetone
3. Acetone

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## johnc

> Hey all, 
> I can't even claim to be a long time lurker - but I had to post after seeing the exact same carpet and glue problem that I dealt with a couple of years ago. Same pattern, same disintegrating yellow foam backing - it could have been a pic of our floor.
> One thing that haunts me now though (and yes, I do have an anxiety problem) is that I didn't get the stuff tested before my young daughter and I got stuck into removing as much as we could with a scraper - a daddy/daughter bonding thing. We wore nuisance dust masks (tho I have a beard and hers hardly fit well) but we took no other precautions. 
> Does anyone know if asbestos was ever used in this glue? I know of it being used in the black stuff sometimes used under tiles & lino, but it didn't occur to me at the time that it could be a problem here. 
> Now of course I've convinced myself that I've doomed my gorgeous little girl

  In a word "no" asbestos was used in some flooring products but not in the glue and tacky stuff you lifted up, your daughter has nothing to worry about. The other thing to consider is that scrapping it up causes minimal dust anyway, unlike some power tools, other than wear and tear on the knees there would be no health issues from a product that is long dry. Dust from the carpet would be more troublesome than the stuff you have peeled up.

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## TheHammer

My Father-in-law's response would be to "pour some diesel on it and light it."  He says it so often in so many situations that it must have some bearing on this problem. 
I would do a quick rough scrape with a sharp paint scraper(not the flat putty knife type. You want one with a handle and a sharp edge you can sharpen with a file) to remove as much material as fast as you can. Then use 36 grit paper to carefully grind off the remaining foam and glue. You will then be ready for a 60 grit belt. 36 grit will mow through most anything.

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## TheHammer

Put the 36 grit on a grinder or fast orbital sander(not random orbit) not a belt sander. The 60 grit should be done with a belt sander.

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## Bloss

No asbestos use one of these floor scrapers Spear and Jackson - FLOOR SCRAPER 200X125MM or DTA Australia - Wall & Floor Scrapers Bunnies and others sell them.

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## grantbudd

I would go acetone too and a good scraper although be careful it is a carcinogen and the vapor will blow your head off! Get a vapor mask from Bunnings so you dont smell a thing and a thick towel for your knees!! 
If you use any water based products you will be adding water to a very dry timber board and you may cause problems? Most timbers swell with water?? At least Acetone is a vapor just open a window or have an extraction fan or something to blow out the fumes..... 
Oh happy day!!! Makes my lack of floor a lot better..

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## Larry McCully

I got the answer.......Do nothing about trying to remove it yourself. let the floorsander do it. He will use 24 grit and rip that of in 10 minutes...... :Smilie:

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## grantbudd

ahh yes the man who knows how! It is at times like this when the professionals come in handy and do the job in 1/4 of the time. I tried to sand my floors once and did the edges perfectly with the edging sander but the floor sander would not even touch the finish!! Good luck and you will love the floor and the fact it is costing you is nothing to worry about given all the stress you have just saved your self!! Enjoy!!!

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