How to Remove Adhesive-Backed Floor Tiles

Adhesive floor tile squares can be removed with scraping.

Adhesive-backed floor tiles are an inexpensive and easy way to quickly cover an old floor. The tiles typically have a paper backing that is peeled away, and then the tiles are laid directly over the older floor surface. Over time, this temporary update will wear down and need to be replaced. Removing the floor tiles can be difficult if the adhesive has hardened to the old flooring surface. There are a few tricks to making this process easier.

Things You'll Need

• Utility knife
• Heat gun
• Towel
• Citrus or soy adhesive remover
• Solvent (optional)
• Rags
• Floor scraper
• Hand chisel
• Hammer

Instructions

1. Cut along the seam of a tile. Look for a tile that seems to be coming up on its own, since your objective is to remove a tile so you can use your scraper to help remove more tiles.

2. Heat the tile with a heat gun. Hold the heat gun a few inches above the tile, moving it slowly back and forth until the tile is well-heated. Pry up the lip or edge of the tile and peel it away from the underlying floor. Keep in mind that there is often additional glue left behind, so try not to step in the spot where you removed the tile.

3. Heat the next tile and use a floor scraper to help lift and peel the tile. It is often helpful to have one person heating while the other scrapes. Usually you will discover exactly how much heat or scraping you need to do to peel the tiles as quickly as possible.

4. Dissolve remaining adhesives with an adhesive remover. Try a citrus-based remover first. This type has low toxicity. Often you will need to apply the remover and let it sit (dwell time) for a period of time. The remover dissolves the adhesive left on the tiles. If you try to hurry the process with scraping, it is likely you will make more work for yourself by creating a glue slurry.

5. Apply a soy-based remover if the citrus is not effective enough. Your last choice should be solvents, since you will need to ventilate the room significantly and take greater care with protective gloves, glasses and masks as well as by using special disposal methods for the volatile rags and other items.

Tips & Warnings

• Often removing one floor partially removes the floor underneath as well. It is easy for a scraper to cut through an underlying vinyl floor to the subfloor. You may have to remove several layers of floor once you begin removing the top layer.

References

• Ask The Builder: Adhesive Removers