wood floors

Rehabbing, Fix and Flip, Rental Properties
1

Hi,
I am working on a rental that I have and now that the carpet is removed I have found that there are wood floors under. The problem is that there is also linoleum on top of the floor. It looks to be about 50 yrs. (the linoleum) old so it is coming up easily however it is leaving behind a tar residue that can be scrapped up but is very labor intensive.
Does anyone know a easier way to remove the tar residue? Some of it just crumbles away while some spots need scrapping.
It seems I heard somewhere that vinegar and water help.

I know we will rent a sander, or I will do it by hand as it is a small house but I don’t want to go through changing the paper every 10 seconds from the tar.
Thanks,
Wendy

2

I would suggest a heat gun and a scraper. Hopefully it comes up easily.

3

Thanks Mike
can I rent a heat gun from home depot? Or is it just as well to buy one? Do you know how much they run?
Sorry for all the questions.
Wendy

4

They’re not that expensive and Home Depot also does rent them. Perhaps renting would be the way to go so you can make certailn it’s going to work. Are you preserving the finish on the wood floors or re-coating them? If you are not re-fninshing be careful not to damage the exisiting finish. Try this technique out in a inconspicuous area first!
Good luck.
Mike.

5

Thanks Mike,
It’s my hope to save the floors so I’ll definetly start in a corner.
I’ve got some guys working there now and hopefully I’ll be on-site tomarow to see exactly how nice/rotten they are.
Wendy

6

Would love to see pictures of the floors when you are done. I know I tackled hard wood floors once and had a heck of a time.

7

I’ve done it before and loved it but it was for my own home not a rental. At my house I stenciled different designs and a beautiful borders, that is the floor I should take pics of.

Have any of you used wood floors in a rental? It seems like it will be cheeper over the long haul. Its seems I’ve been spending a small fortune in carpet.
One tennant who didn’t admit to owning a dog, let the non-exsitant dog have puppies on brand new carpet! Then since our carpet was so “nasty” they had to move! aghhh
Anyway…hoping to save$$
Wendy

8

Hey, I had the same thing in my house. Some friends helped me out. We took towels and covered the floor with them and then soaked them with water. The residue that is left is usually the glue from way back when and if you leave it soak with a wet towel, the glue turns from sticky and hard to soft and you can just wipe it up. If yours is similar to mine, it saves a lot of elbow grease.

Good Luck,

DB

9

wow, that sounds much easier, we have a little left we’ll give it a try. thanks
Wendy

10

When I did it, I was using a wood planer actually and left a lot of gouges in the wood before I learned the water trick. My brother told me to go ahead and gouge it and then bring a log chain and beat the heck out of the floor to give it the “old stressed” look, I guess that is the thing to do. LOL

Hope it works, let us know.

DB

11

I would not suggest the towel and water trick. Wood and water are not friends and the water will raise the grain of the wood and if the original finish was water based you will be left with an even more sticky mess.

It does not sound like you are going to get around sanding so I would recommend starting there. Yes, your paper will get gummed up and you will replace it often at first but I think you will save time in the long run since I think your going to be sanding anyway.

Rick

12

Hey, here’s another question regarding floors:

You know how in some older houses, you’d be walking and floor has a slight ‘decline’ – like they’re not quite level?

Is that a foundation problem? Subflooring joists? It’s very subtle, nothing that would make anyone trip.

13

Hi,
We have actually had that problem in almost all of our old rentals. Most is minor and we leave it alone. One was so bad you felt like you were on a roller coaster!
We had one of the workers jack up the “setteled” floor from the basement. You could do the same in a crawl space I imagine. Home Depot carries these jacks, just make sure that whoever does it knows what he’s doing because it can cause some problems in the walls, even if done properly. You have to weigh out the benefits.
That is why if it’s not too bad we leave it.
When I show these houses I always coment that older homes have such character!
Hope that helps,
Wendy

14

I read a recommendation to use the walk behind power sander available at Menards/Home Depot etc. It will take off the adhesive and then you can use it to sand the floor - just go with the grain.

15 
 I wonder if I'm too late.  I used a walk behind sander.  I suspect this is your best option.  I also used a fume mask as these are much more effective for protecting your lungs.  Depending on the age of the linolium, the adhesive may contain asbestos.  You're going to need this kind of mask if you refinish the floor anyway.
16

tHANKS,
Actually he finished last week and used the walk behind sander. We still need to stain and varnish but they turned out SOO beautiful and I’m sure just raised the value. I already promised a tenant for a certain amount per month now I wish I had quoted her more!
Wendy