The nightmare that is bitumen

DonL

So we very recently bought a new house.

Before we moved in, we knew that there was a lingering smell of dog about the house and thought that this would be remidiated by having a carpet cleaner, this seems to have made the smell worse in one room in particular.

We have ended up ripping up the carpet and underlay and the smell was still there (this is in a small office).

Everything in the room has been washed down and the viynl tiles have also been ripped up, these were glued down with bitumen adhesive and now the room smells even more.

We need to either get rid if the bitumen smell or get the bitumen off the floor.

Does anybody have any ideas on what we can do? What we have done so far:

Heat gun and a scraper - but this is time consuming and very tiring (a long process indeed
Sanding down with most tools inclusive of an angle gringer and a spinny bit on the drill (not very technical I know - but the other half knews what it is - which might not help here... apologies). but extrenly messy and the room requires a full wash down again afterwards.
Use of a adhesive disolver - This is really strong and sends you high, so high it made me sick (not pretty).

I have spoken to the man who is due to fit our carpets soon and he recommended cement dust, but the internet states that this is not a safe alternative.

Would anybody else have any recommendations?

DaftyDuck

Oh God, I'm sorry to even mention this, to bring it up but...

... some older bitumen mastic/adhesive contains asbestos... Yikes!

When does it date from? If post early 1990's, yu shouldn't have a problem. Earlier, you might...

I'm not one to worry too much about it (it's a vastly over-hyped threat) and, anyway, I've got enough asbestos on and in one of my barns to keep me happy for years to come. Oh, and I also spent days scraping bitumen off old parquet tiles before relaying them.... and helped my mum take apart some storage heaters full of fluffy stuff back in the 60's ( I must have been six years old at the time) ... Still here, but I might have liked to make a more informed decision - even at six!

Anyway, apologies for mentioning it. Others with a better knowledge of the stuff will have better advice.

DonL

Thanks for the heads-up here DaftyDuck, Unfortunately it is an 1980's house and have considered this when working in the heap of mess that we create.

We have been wearing masks but we do manage to kick up a sticnk whilst working and it still does get to us, but trying to be as cautious as possible, I have heard that the risk is low due to it being used as a glue - but I am not 100% sure.

So long as it is not prolonged exposure, I think we will be fine? its sticks more than anything!

keith969

What are the tiles stuck to? Floorboards? You could just lift and replace them.

DonL

Unfortunately the tiles were stuck to the concrete.

The tiles came up fine and now we are left with the black mess which is rather pungent.

Norman_Castle

Can you put damp proof membrane on top of it?

DonL

I'm not sure. Is this something that would raise the level of the floor? If so then it will be a no go as we can't afford for the level to be raised anymore than it already is.

Is there any way to strip the bitumen other than the ways that have already been tried?

Norman_Castle

Its a plastic sheet. There may be good reasons not to use it if its not commonly used for this.

https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Construction+Materials/d210/Damp+Proofing/sd2787/Damp+Proof+Membrane/p21675

DonL

Hmm.. will speak to the OH later on see what he thinks. Anything to keep the smell at bay I guess if we can't remove it.