Hi All, First post here, looking for some advice on the above please....

Think this might be a typical problem, but have a floor to tile soon where the old Marley tiles have been lifted, and the bitumen adhesive residue is left on the sand cement screed surface.

According to BAL technical this needs to be removed by mechanical means...but they didn't specify what 'means'

Been to the local Jewson Tool Hire depot, and they laughed, saying that they've had a few chaps in there trying to solve the same problem with various sanders and wire brushes to no real effect.

So has anyone here discovered some cunning method that they would be willing to share??

Cheers

Remove any easily shiftable "loose" stuff then prime over with Ardex P82 epoxy primer. Leave to dry then tile away!

hi and welcome to the forum!

Tile my own floor about 6 years ago which had old marley tiles, tiled straight on and had no problems

Thanks for the replies folks. Will look into using the Ardex Primer. I'd rather do the job once and not have a problem. Either way if I don't get rid of the bitumen and the tiles lift then BAL won't honour any kind of guarantee so I'll see how bad the situation is and make a decision. Like you say I'll probably get away with it, but if there is a way to remove the bitumen I'd still love to hear about it!!

My advice was from Ardex tech support for a very similar issue.

Thin coatings like that can be removed no probs....try one of these..


Wire Brush for Angle Grinder


A very aggressive wire brush for use in an angle grinder - You will be amazed how fast this works!

Use to remove all kinds of unwanted paint, adhesive, rust and other surface contaminants etc

Very good for 'keying' smooth surfaces.

- Hardend & twisted 0.5 mm steel strands
- 75 mm Diameter
- Standard M14 thread (fits all standard angle grinders)
- Max speed 12,500 Rpm

We recommend you wear suitable eye protection overalls and gloves while using this tool



Price: £4.49 £5.16 Including VAT at 15%

Hi, not sure exactly what your problem is with the bitumen, you don't say, mine is the smell, if this Ardex stuff works then that's a right result! Re mechanical means, I can tell that the only reliable way of losing all vestiges of this stuff is to kango both it the the screed below it up and the replace the screed. In one room I sanded off the bitumen coating with an angle grinder fitted with tungsten-carbide disc from Machine Mart about 18 months ago and the screed is still humming like a good un!

Don't take it up, very dirty and time consuming job. I apply a very thin layer of latex based floor leveling compound when I come up against this, the compound sticks to the Bitumen, then when dry the Cement based adhesive will stick to the leveling compound. Job jobbed.

Originally Posted by Blazin-saddles

Don't take it up, very dirty and time consuming job. I apply a very thin layer of latex based floor leveling compound when I come up against this, the compound sticks to the Bitumen, then when dry the Cement based adhesive will stick to the leveling compound. Job jobbed.

It is the right way to to do it.. you might be ok doing it but we will tell members to best way to do it..

We do a slurry coat of slc/primer applyed with a brush on bitumen floors ,never had a comeback

.. the phrase never had a come back is old and not really an excuse.. IF the residue is solidly adhered then yes i too will slurry coat to aid in the bond but if loose then removal is the way forward..

Never had a comeback is not a excuse its a reality. this is what I do and I have never had a problem. I m just passing on my real world advice.

It is the right way to to do it.. you might be ok doing it but we will tell members to best way to do it..Best for who?? I've been doing it this way for 15 years. It works, why go to all the expense and mess in a customers house if it's not needed?

I realize yours is the 'by the book' answer, but there's more than one way to achieve the correct job in the real world sometimes.

Customers DO worry about costs and mess, our job is to get what they want whilst making sure the job is sound.

I agree but each job is taken in it's own merit and we cannot see what a member can see, so we advise the best way without actually seeing it and any loose residue has to be removed.. you must agree with that.. Then you can slurry bond or latex SLC..

Ah, there's the crux. LOOSE residue, I would never leave loose anything on a floor that was to be retiled, always scrape up. If firmly attached then leveling compound over.

I don't think we're disagreeing here at all.