A STICKY SUBJECT
What’s the best way of removing adhesives and sealants when preparing a subfloor? Paul Igo Technical Director at The Preparation Group explains.
Subfloor preparation, particularly the removal of adhesives, sealants and other sticky substances, has always been a challenge for flooring contractors. Traditional methods are usually unsuccessful and have a tendency to generate surface heat, rendering the surface residue softer and stickier and displacing the adhesive rather than removing it.
Before you start, it is useful to know the properties of the adhesive or sealant that you are dealing with. How thick is it? What is its composition; soft, hard, very sticky? Things like the environmental temperature are a key factor, as at low temperatures adhesives can be brittle and at high temperatures even tackier.
Consideration must also be made of the condition and composition of the subfloor and the surface profile that needs to be achieved in order for a new material to be applied – a second process may be required.
Thick, hard adhesives can be removed with milling flails fitted to the drum of a planing machine, but this method is less effective on soft sticky materials.
When removing vinyl or tiles, scraping blades fitted to a multi-stripping machine will lift the underlying adhesives along with the surface material and any levelling compounds in one go.
However, the most effective method of dealing with adhesives, sealants
and other sticky substances is by using a grinding machine fitted with Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) shoes. PCDs came to the market approximately 10 years ago and aren’t often considered or even known about.
The benefit of PCD’s is that they scrape rather than grind to efficiently ‘lift’ these problem materials. Polycrystalline Diamond is formed when diamond is sintered with a bond under high temperature and high pressure, resulting in a shoe with a longer life and high thermal stability. They generate less heat so during the grinding operation their cutting edges remain clear.
There are plates onto which fit PCD shoes, specifically designed for 110v, 240v or 415v walk behind machines and the STG450 machine. PCD shoes can also be fitted to all machines with plates that hold standard grinding shoes and they are interchangeable with regular grinding shoes. In this way a floor can be cleared of adhesives using the PCD’s, and then cup discs fixed to the plate ready for grinding. To save time, the PCD’s can be left attached ‘in the background’.
PCD shoes are available in Double Tooth, for the removal of thick materials e.g. carpet backing and sealants and Triple Tooth, for the removal of thin coatings such as adhesive and for creating a ‘closer’ profile.
There are also PCD discs to fit 9’’ hand grinders, consisting of a cup disc onto which fit interchangeable outer rings. These are ideal for removing adhesives in confined spaces and for edgework or small areas. There are two PCD rings available; 6 Piece for the removal of thick coatings and 18 Piece for the removal of thin adhesives and paint.
PCD accessories have many additional uses over and above adhesive removal, including the removal of other soft thick materials from latex screeds and certain asphalts.
We have found PCD’s to deliver exceptional results and offer considerable time savings. An example of PCD’s in use is a project where our contracting team had to remove thick combed white adhesive in order to install a DPM and levelling compound. A smooth and clean surface was specified in order that the new materials would bond.
The project was an office unit which had restricted access, so we employed our 110v Grinder, fitted with a triple tooth PCD plate. The PCD’s effectively removed 50m² of the adhesive in less than one hour. Without them it would have been a lengthy task and most likely, unsuccessful.
For project advice or a demonstration on PCD’s, contact
sales@ppcgroup.co.uk.
www.thepreparationgroup.com
twitter.com/TContractFloors
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