Hi there. I'm not new to applying flooring as I did a thousand sq ft. of engineered hw flooring over ply sub floor in my previous home. I did borders in two rooms as well as a "multi-media" floor in the kitchen using 3" plank and Marble tile.

My new home's on a slab however and I suddenly find myself on the computer trying to gain some perspective on how to do a gluedown.

First things first- I have removed the carpet and padding and checked the floor beneath for flatness and luckily it's 95% flat with no high spots and a couple of minor depressions.....

My question is this- What's the best way to clean the slab of all drywall compound and what appears to be white paint used as primer on the walls?
I intend to rent a machine to prep the slab but what kind of machine?
Advise is surely appreciated as I don't want to go overboard on prep. I'm anxious to get going on the install...

Thanks in advance-
Bob T.




Multi Media flooring I did in my old house...Marble/3" engineered plank-

Hmm....Well I've read, just a couple minutes ago, that a floor polisher machine (anyone's that ever been in the military is an expert using one of these and I have a doctorate in the use of a Floor Polishing machine ) with an abrasive disk can be used to prep the concrete....

Great, but given the photos I've posted, is it even necessary to sand/abrade the slab before the glue down or is all that's necessary is to knock down and remove the globs of compound, vacuum and then maybe I'm good to go? I dunno....

I lack perspective and a frame of reference here and that's what I'm looking for from you guys.

Anyone?

Thanks,
Bob T.

You can find paint remover products that go on 7 inch grinders all day long. Or use a diamond grinding wheel on one.

Thanks _meintucson....I take this to mean that I do need to scuff up this mess on the floor. I should say that the floor is smooth and clean except for what's seen in the photo. There appears to be some glue (carpet glue?) around the borders that I will remove one way or the other.

I have a 7" grinder but was looking to avoid hand grinding on my hands and knees..... If I were to use the Floor Buffing machine what paper/ grit would I need and where would I get it? HD? Lowes?
I should say that the area I now live in is a virtual desert in terms of building supplies and flooring outlets.
Most went out of business during the depression of the past few years. There's not a heck of a lot of building going on here in Florida anymore!

If you don't mind it being dusty a buffer will work easily enough. I think the box stores have a dustless vac you can rent with the buffer but not sure they have the dustless hook-up capability. I'd use a medium grit.

Thanks. I just got back from HD and they have Buffers and 60 grit pads. Anything finer is the form of a screen (100 grit I think). No VAC hookup to the buffer though.

They also have a flat floor sander (Uses self stick paper) that has dust collection. What do you think, possibilities? It's not a drum sander. Once again, not too much of a choice in grits- I only saw 60 grit.
Lastly, they a a small Scarifier. No dust hookup......

In the meantime I bought a floor scraper and have already removed a good amount of compound from the concrete. It's hard work but when I look at the amount that I'm removing and imagining all that stuff airborne I'm glad I took this route.

I still need a bit of clarification on what my goal is....Obviously I know I want as much of this stuff (compound and glue) to be removed from the slab, that's a no-brainer, but am I looking to scuff up the surface of the concrete to provided "tooth" for the glue? Overkill?
The slab's been steel trowelled IMO as it's pretty smooth/slick in the field area as well as being relatively clean.

Thanks again-
Bob T.

Well, I've made my mind up to use the Buffer with a 20 grit rock paper.....Rental cost- #36/day + $6.50/sheet paper......
First I need to cover all my walls/doorways to protect from what's likely going to be lots of dust. I have newly applied wainscotting on the walls and they certainly will collect the dust for sure!

I put together a simple dust collection system for this purpose. Take some 2" hose, crimp one end closed. Then drill 1/4" holes, about 1" apart, in a staight line down one side of the hose. Secure it around the buffer, ( just above the disc), holes facing down. Connect the open end into a shop vac hose. Works pretty good.

My buddy set me up with this buffer, cut out the hole for the 2" hose which I can connect to most any dustless set-up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13772863@N ... hotostream


Then there's the grinders I use here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13772863@N08/page9/

Lol, thanks guys. This is certainly good info for a novice installer to use that might be on his/her learning curve but I don't think Sunbelt, er...or is it Suncoast, I forget.....would be happy with my cutting holes in their equipment to attach my ShopVac hose, lol....

The first suggestion with wrapping a hose around and using my ShopVac is definitely a good one, and the second about poking a hole in the casting of the machine is really a great idea, but alas not in my current plans......

My solution is to have my complaining wife (always complains she has nothing to do in these projects) follow me around with the ShopVac hose.

I've already covered the walls with plastic and am ready to go. I just hope that operating a buffer is like riding a bike; I haven't used one in 40+ years!!! I'm sure it's going to have a significant 'kick' when I hit the switch with that 20 grit paper on it, lol.....

Branded,

Go to a professional paint store where they sell garage floor paint and rent their concrete grinder which is like a big orbital grinder using special diamond abrasive grinder heads. Perhaps HD or Lowes rents them also in FL?

This will make it effective, the buffer with abrasive will only work marginally. The abrasive will wear awfully fast, you need special diamond abrasive material which is available with the rental machine for garage floor prep.

The thing to remember is that you want the flooring to stay stuck and not pop loose in spots where the prep was insufficient, do it right!

ps. from the image it appears there is a lot of overspray paint on the concrete, leave anything on and the adhesive will pop loose in thiose spots, also the steel troweled concrete (read too smooth) needs to be opened up.

Johannes.

Johannes, it sounds like a Scarifier, NO? I've already used the Buffer with 20 grit and the floor is really clean but not 'rough', it's still smooth....I did those areas I coudn't get to with the buffer with my 4" grinder. Almost all the paint and compound is gone. Those areas that still have some are areas that likely would never be walked on anyways.

I'm trying to understand what a regular floor installer does under most circumstances. I tend to believe that they do no more than I just did, some I've read do less such as using just a floor scraper to knock of the loose stuff, NO?

Scarification is extreme, NO? Shotblasting too, NO?-

Maybe etching? Funny I haven't read anyone mention this in all my research for this install....

Please respond with opinions......

Don't use chemicals on the concrete.

Last time I looked in the HD rental dept here they had a scarifier for rent. You can check other tool rental stores.

Yes they do, but is it necessary? I lack perspective here in terms of surface prep...I long for the days when I had a frame house with ply floors....life was easy- nail or staple...EASY!

Slabs are HARD (no pun intended), lol.....Do I need to scarify? If so I will do it. Thus far I thought going over clean concrete was all that's necessary.....

Read Bostik's adhesive installation requirements/installation lit. They call for a broom type finish on concrete. Not that everyone follows that advice but it sure helps grab.