Tripod member stevevaus asks:
I'm renovating a wonderful old house... wonderful except for that awful old linoleum flooring in the kitchen! The top layer of the linoleum/vinyl comes up fairly easily, but the bottom layer/adhesive is driving me to drink! Any removal tips and tricks would be appreciated — I am trying to save the wood floor beneath the tile (otherwise I would have nuked the kitchen by now!).

Handy Girl Al suggests:
One word: elbow. Used for drinking and your safest option — scraping. Following the wood grain, use a putty knife or another sharp-edged implement to scrape the residue off. Grim task, but try a minimal daily work schedule (i.e. one square foot).

Chemical solvents (similar to paint strippers) can loosen up the gunk, making it easier to scrape off. Adequate ventilation is critical. Stripping can get messy and expensive! A heat gun will also soften up the remaining adhesive, but exercise extreme caution — you can start a fire, or, more likely, singe the floor beneath. Also, chemicals, heat, and even sanding can damage the underlying soft woods like pine.

Speaking of sanding, linoleum and vinyl floor tiles manufactured prior to 1986 may contain asbestos. Never use a sander on any residue that may have contained asbestos.

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