Maxwell: Replacing old drywall often easier than trying to resurface it
Q: Is there any kind of plaster that can be applied over old drywall that’s getting damaged as we try to remove old wallpaper? Our house was built in the 1950s, and even though we’ve tried saturating the surface with a wallpaper-removing solution, it still doesn’t come off without lots of gouges and damage.
A: There comes a point in some home improvement situations when replacement makes more sense than salvaging. You may have arrived at that point with your walls.
While new drywall is messy and troublesome to install, this operation will probably be less hassle than repairing old wall surfaces that may not have much life left in them anyway.
Interior walls built in the 1950s were often made using first-generation drywall, which came into use after World War II. It’s not unusual for this material to be easily damaged, especially now that it’s more than half a century old. Before giving up on removing the old wallpaper safely, however, try a wallpaper steamer if you haven’t yet.
Any kind of wall damage can be repaired with patching compounds or plaster, though this is messy and slow if extensive areas need to be repaired. It may be that adding new drywall over your existing walls is the easiest option. You can simply apply it directly over the old stuff, with screws long enough to penetrate at least three-quarters of an inch into the underlying wood frame.
Q: Is it safe to use click-together, engineered hardwood flooring over a radiant in-floor heating system? I’ve heard warnings against this application, but would like to have a heated wood floor in my home, if possible.
A: The issue comes down to the possibility that warm floor temperatures during the heating season will cause unacceptable shrinking of hardwood floors. And though you should check with manufacturers specifically about warranty issues when installed over in-floor heating, I don’t think you’ll have trouble.
The best engineered hardwood flooring is made with a thin layer of high quality hardwood on top of a laminated plywood substrate made of less valuable species. This laminated construction makes engineered flooring much less prone to seasonal expansion and contraction, especially over a heating floor.
Even solid wood floors typically perform surprisingly well over in-floor heating installations. In tests I’ve conducted using shrink-prone white pine flooring, shrinkage rates were acceptable even when repeatedly heated to the 90F levels typically found in heated floors running full blast.
Removing Hardwood Flooring - News
You can simply apply it directly over the old stuff, with screws long enough to penetrate at least three-quarters of an inch into the underlying wood frame. Q: Is it safe to use click-together, engineered hardwood flooring over a radiant in-floor
Some Minot houses -- which all have basements and many with hardwood floors to strip, a difficult job -- take as long as a week to mud-out. "What draws me to do this is, I just want a way to show Jesus' love to other people," said Dick.
If you prefer real wood, Mullican St. Andrews prefinished solid-wood flooring rated very good. It costs around $6 a square foot. If you have a very busy kitchen and you live with people who often drop things, Consumer Reports says consider vinyl
Another detail I notice is the hardwood floor. Except for the kitchen which was covered with tiles and some kind of black cement product, they managed to refinish and save them. Antique woodwork can be seen throughout the house, especially in the
When my husband and I moved into our home nearly three years ago, we put wood flooring everywhere except the two guest bedrooms. Forty-year-old yellow linoleum made to simulate terrazzo covered those floors, but we decided to live with it until we
How can I remove old glue residue from hardwood floor?
I want to redo the hardwood floors in my kitchen. There was industrial tile placed in the kitchen when we moved in. We ripped that off and now there is glue residue stuck to the hardwood floor underneath. We have tried removing it using water, which seems to work well but takes forever, a scrapper and a belt sander, which end up clogging the gadget and still take forever. Rather than pay someone an arm-and-a-leg to do this job, we would like to do it ourselves. What are some other ideas we could use to complete this job? I would cover the floor with paint/adhesive stripper, then cover with plastic. Wait the recommended time, then scrape the floor with a long-handled, metal, floor scraper. After this, sand it off with a rented, walk-behind, floor sander. This should do it. Remember to wear eye protection, gloves and a good mask. Also, always allow proper air circulation.
RUBBING ALCOHOL…..It is the best thing to use on any sticky residue. It will break down the residue and should wipe up very easily and will not harm the floors because it evaporates so quickly. We used the same thing on our hard wood floors and it worked wonders…Hope this helps. Also a small tip..this will work on any surface with anything sticky.
There is no quick answer. That glue is supposed to last forever. It seems to live up to that as you have found out. Hot soapy water is the cheapest way. You run the risk of soaking the wood if you leave it on long enough to make the job easy. Wood stripper or varnish remover works well. This is still a slow process. An industrial belt sander is the best bet.
Try fingernail polish remover or rubbing alcohol. If the glue is still kind of sticking or soft rub some peanut butter into it and let sit for couple hours. peanut oil will break down the gummy in the glue and will come up with a towel. Peanut Butter also works GREAT when you get bubble gum out of your kids hair or anything else that is sticky/gummy.
I would cover the floor with paint/adhesive stripper, then cover with plastic. Wait the recommended time, then scrape the floor with a long-handled, metal, floor scraper. After this, sand it off with a rented, walk-behind, floor sander. This should do it. Remember to wear eye protection, gloves and a good mask. Also, always allow proper air circulation.
Your problem, when you’ve tried sanding the floor with a belt sander, was the grit you’ve used. You will need to start sanding with a grit 16 or 24 sanding paper. Also, the type of floor sander you use is important. If you are renting the sander from the home depot, their machines run on 110, therefore don’t have as much power as a professional sanding tool that runs on 220 V.
Removing Hardwood Flooring - Bookshelf
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