PSA: A small patch of old tile adhesive under a kitchen floor cost me an extra three hours

I was pulling up old vinyl in a 1970s house in Springfield, and a section about two feet square had this black, tar-like adhesive that was rock hard. I tried my floor scraper, a heat gun, and even a rented floor grinder, but nothing was working fast. The homeowner finally mentioned her dad had used some industrial-grade mastic decades ago. I ended up using a specific solvent called Mastic Remover Pro, letting it sit for an hour, and then it finally came up. Has anyone else found a better way to deal with that super old, hardened mastic without eating up half a day?

3 comments

3 Comments

blairc901mo ago

Ugh, tell me about it. I hit the same thing in my own kitchen last year, this nasty black glue under the linoleum. I tried everything, even a chisel and hammer, and just made a huge dusty mess. I finally caved and got that same mastic remover stuff, the kind that smells like death. It worked, but yeah, it totally killed my whole Saturday. That old adhesive is no joke.

phoenix_lewis1mo ago

But what if the dusty mess was the fun part?

wade2501mo ago

Nah, that dusty mess was the best part!