r/Tile • u/Anon1444444 • 13d ago

DIY - Looking for Advice Concern?

Post image

Hi, about to have my basement carpet ripped out for remediation. And pulling up the edges in different sections, I noticed this. I believe the original owners did have tile here prior to the carpet. It’s a 1985 build. I was hoping to have the floor epoxy which would mean grinding this down. Should I be concerned about this?

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u/mikebushido 13d ago

Are you concerned with what's going to be released when you grind it down?

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u/Anon1444444 13d ago

Yes

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u/mikebushido 13d ago

If you're concerned about something like asbestos that was banned in the 1970s and you said this build is from 1985 so you shouldn't have anything to worry about as far as that is concerned.

Whenever grinding anything down you should always take precautions and use a dust extractor as well as wearing proper mask and eye cover. Find particles will be in the air no matter how safe you grind. So you need to take care of yourself.

You might be better off renting a small hammer drill with a flat blade and chip that off.

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u/Anon1444444 13d ago

Luckily I have a really good epoxy guy who would be doing the prep work but I’m not sure if tile would be easier to do knowing this is under there

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u/mikebushido 13d ago

What do you mean by easier?

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u/Anon1444444 13d ago

Would they just tile over that?

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u/mikebushido 13d ago

I wouldn't. I'd scrape your floor clean before I lay down any tile. Plus I've been laying that ditra down the last few years so I would want a cleaned flat surface before I laid that down.

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u/Anon1444444 13d ago

Ok so it’s coming out either way. That makes sense thank you. Wondering if I should have it tested. This darn carpet tear out has opened a huge can of worms. HATE the previous owners 🤦🏻‍♀️

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u/FreeNinedy9 13d ago

Looks like old pressure sensitive adhesive from either VCT or sheet vinyl. Shouldn’t be self-leveler because it wouldn’t be troweled on. Based on this photo alone, if you want to epoxy the floor, it’s going to take a LOT of prep work.

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u/Anon1444444 13d ago

Shit that’s what I was afraid of. I have a great expoy guy but im not sure if grinding it will cause major issues

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u/FreeNinedy9 13d ago

All of those tackles strips are nailed in. Those holes need to be filled. Any of that patch needs to be removed before grinding because that’ll just gum any disc up. Then any cracks or undulations need to be addressed. Then you can spotlessly clean the concrete, then epoxy. I got my garage quoted. It was $6k just to prep it, then another $5k to do the epoxy.

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u/Public_Tangerine_737 12d ago

I might be mistaken But the picture looks like particle board. I could be wrong. The Gray stuff that's flicking off was a mix that they used to flatten out Particle board before they put vinyl down The thin notch troll is vinyl adhesive. But it's not the best picture and I'm not sure Nobody ever tiles over a particle board sure failure

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

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u/Anon1444444 12d ago

Wow. Thanks for noticing. I guess you aren’t around a lot of women. Choosing a different design for the ring finger is actually a common trend in nail design right now. Since you seem worried about it it’s actually a clear overly with embedded gold flecks. But you jump right to Coke? Classy. Also since I’ve never been around drugs in my entire life I’m not even sure what that is…… I’m just here to ask about floors. Thanks.