[Greenbuilding] removing tar moisture barrier

[Alan Abrams]

   We did just that in my condo--took up the parquet and hauled it down to the
   Community Forklift, a materials recycling center in Bladensburg, MD--then
   scraped the worst of the ridges of the "tar" or asphalt based ("cut-back")
   mastic,  and  covered with two coats of a sealer formulated to control
   outgassing from the subsurface.  It was easy to apply with a medium nap
   roller and dried very quickly.

   If Jason Holstien of Amicus is reading, perhaps he can remind me what the
   sealer was.

   The surface was still too rough for a really thin flooring material--for
   instance a sheet application of linoleum.  however, with a resilient cushion
   it was fine for "click-type" cork and bamboo tiles; any floating engineered
   floor would do ok; so would ceramic tile over a Schluter type membrane.

   but mercy, to try and remove ancient asphalt from a concrete deck...i'm
   getting blisters just thinking about it.

   BTW--we were most gratified to see someone purchasing the old parquet on a
   subsequent visit to the Forklift.
   Alan Abrams AIBD
   Abrams Design Build LLC
   202-726-5894 o
   202-291-0626 f
   www.abramsdesignbuild.com
   
     What are you going to put down for floors instead? Would it be possible
     to just leave the tar there and put another floor over it?
     --Leslie
     Mike Kelly wrote:
     > We are getting started on remodeling our house. When we are done, the
     > houes will be quite open. We removed the wood floors in the study and
     > found a tar moisture barrier all over the slab. Any suggestions for
     > getting this off without the use of harsh chemicals?
     >