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Old 07-06-2018, 09:13 PM
 
Location: broke leftist craphole Illizuela
10,326 posts, read 17,328,538 times
Reputation: 20321

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Sorry to bring up another thread so soon but now I have another problem. They took out the carpeting and I imagined it would just get ripped out and there would be nice hardwood underneath. Well there is nice hardwood but there is green 40 year old carpet pad dry rotted to the wood. It was rubbery when new now it is green and brittle and cumbly. Some spots are more tightly adhering to the floor than others. I have almost 1,000 ft2 of this stuff throughout the house where the carpeting was. Is there an easy way to get rid of it? Not to mention all the bleeping staples. I got as many as I could with channel lock pliers but there is so much and some is hard to get or embedded in the wood deeply.
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Old 07-06-2018, 10:50 PM
 
13,046 posts, read 20,703,285 times
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There are pads and screens that are used with those rotary floor buffers to remove various items dissolved into the floor finish. Sometimes the screen & pads are enough; other times you may need some chemical help. But, I imagine it requires all fasteners to be removed otherwise it will rip the pad or screen apart. Any good flooring maintenance company can do it for you, or you can rent one at most equipment rental location, Often the rental place has various types of pads and screen you can but. You may be able to get advice on the proper screen/pad/chemicals to use from a quality flooring store if they also rent equipment.
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Old 07-25-2018, 11:05 AM
 
Location: broke leftist craphole Illizuela
10,326 posts, read 17,328,538 times
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Still struggling with it. In a lot of places it is on their very hard on others it crumbles a bit more easily with some scraping. In most areas I have to chissel away at it with a 12" scraper and it is very slow and leaves some behind.

I've tried:
-renting floor buffer and coarsest black buffing pad from HD. The minute I turn the thing the whole thing spun arround nearly hurting anyone nearby.
-ammonia water no effect
-drill brush too hard no effect
-drill wire wheel almost no effect
-heat gun needs to get super super hot on maximum to soften too slow, uses too much power, creates too much heat
-Citristips starts to turn it to goo buy very messy and is too expensive to use throughout 1000ft2 of that crap.

Angle grinder and either Diamabrush or diamond cup? I am running out of ideas.
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Old 07-25-2018, 11:12 AM
 
11,230 posts, read 9,155,710 times
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Paint thinner/mineral spirits and Scotchbrite, NOT the kind with embedded abrasive. Do not try any kind of power tool. I have a mop which allows you to clamp any kind of rags, rather than requiring a specific mop head. If you can find one of these then you can attach the Scotchbrite to it and eliminate stooping. You could probably use a regular "kitchen floor waxing mop" and just rest it on the Scotchbrite pad.

As for staples, pull all of them you can. Some will break off, and you just drive them a bit deeper with the smallest nail set you can find.

When you finally get to waxing the floor (I recommend Trewax Indian Sand) the wax will fill in most of the little dingleberries.
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Old 07-25-2018, 11:38 AM
 
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Oh man. This is going to suck. I had the exact same thing on a foreclosure I bought in 2010. It had been sitting empty baking in Texas heat for 2.5 years and the prior tenant had just let their dog **** all over the place. Glued the pad to the hardwood.

Start with a pole mounted flooring scraper, and chisel up what you can.
soak a large hand towel or bath towel in mineral spirits and lay that on the problem areas, let it sit a good while, until the stuff under begins to turn to goo.
Scrape the goo off.

It works well if you have 2-3 towels running at a time in a rotation.

Then rent a floor sander (not a buffer), sand, stain and refinish.
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Old 07-26-2018, 10:44 AM
 
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If the OP is not capable of operating a rented floor buffing machine I would suggest they hire this out. If they are so foolish as to consider using a hand-held angle grinder and an abrasive cup designed for entirely different material the hardwood floors will be irrepairably damaged in minutes... https://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-...eel-98729.html
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Old 07-26-2018, 10:46 AM
 
11,230 posts, read 9,155,710 times
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You almost certainly do NOT need to sand and refinish wood floors that have been under carpet for 40 years. You just need to get the stuck-down carpet residue off. I have told you above how to do it. I have done this twice with excellent results.
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Old 07-26-2018, 12:33 PM
 
Location: Johns Creek, GA
17,403 posts, read 65,535,896 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by turf3 View Post
You almost certainly do NOT need to sand and refinish wood floors that have been under carpet for 40 years. You just need to get the stuck-down carpet residue off. I have told you above how to do it. I have done this twice with excellent results.


Perhaps the amount of time and effort you put forth is not in the OP's scope of work(?)

I get the impression that the OP wants the fastest, easiest, way out- finish. That would be to hire it out- short of that would be of some mechanical means- like a drum sander and a 60grit belt to start (hint, hint).
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Old 07-26-2018, 01:38 PM
 
11,230 posts, read 9,155,710 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr View Post
Perhaps the amount of time and effort you put forth is not in the OP's scope of work(?)
Looks like it.

I see a lot of people posting here that seem to think house stuff (painting, waxing floors, etc.) is just SO HARD and SO TECHNICAL and I just don't understand it. Heck, all our parents, grandparents, great-grands, etc., etc., did this stuff. Sure, if you are made of money, or crippled, or elderly, or working ridiculous hours just to keep food on the table, I can understand paying someone and trying to go "fast and easy". I have done it myself, plenty of times. But for crying out loud, at least give yourself the credit for being able to do stuff yourself, and being able to figure it out (especially with all the resources available today) and give it a try.
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Old 07-27-2018, 07:46 AM
 
Location: broke leftist craphole Illizuela
10,326 posts, read 17,328,538 times
Reputation: 20321
Quote:
Originally Posted by turf3 View Post
You almost certainly do NOT need to sand and refinish wood floors that have been under carpet for 40 years. You just need to get the stuck-down carpet residue off. I have told you above how to do it. I have done this twice with excellent results.
With the amount of nail and staple holes in the wood I think it probably does need to be sanded and refinished and probably filled with putty in spots. Whoever installed the carpet went nuts with the nails and staples. I think the floor buffer was just the wrong tool/attachment for the job. The course buffer was just too much friction. Believe me there was no way to control that thing. There is a button you had to press then a handle and the second it went on it just spun out of control.

I freely admit I have never been very good with carpentry. I am much better with plumbing and a bit with electrical which I use on the job.
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