Removing Bitumen Adhesive From Concrete Floor

When removing an existing floor bitumen is easily identified as a black substance.

Removing bitumen adhesive from concrete floor.

Concrete floors aren t the eyesore they used to be. Asphalt is some nasty oily stuff. It is also a reasonable waterproofing agent and as a result quite successful as both an adhesive and a moisture barrier. Fortunately there are some good strong concrete cleaners on the market that can cut the oils in asphalt and lift the discoloration from your concrete walkway or drive.

And if the people applying it aren t careful it can get onto concrete and create an unsightly difficult stain. However if you do this odds are that some adhesive will be left behind in the process. Common in homes built in the 20th century black mastic was used as an adhesive for ceramic tile linoleum and other flooring materials. Run the grinder over the glue in rows overlapping each row by about 3 inches to ensure complete coverage.

When you remove that floor covering to make way for new flooring you may encounter the mastic and wonder whether it is safe to remove the main concern surrounding this question is that black mastic often contains asbestos. In the past many types of flooring including semi flexible tiles sheeting and wood floors were installed using bitumen based adhesive. There are plenty of methods for decorating them that can make you want to pull up old carpet and tiling in an instant.