Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - More Questions About Floor Sanding

Actually, its sort of the same black-foam-glued-to-wood-floor question. I did not get much response to my last question (http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=262280) because I probably did not give enough information.

When I asked if the black foam rubber glued to the floor can be sanded, I mean that bit of it that is left over from the pad already having been scraped up.

What we have left on the floor is glue plus a very thin, often transparent layer of black foam. Its what was left attached to the glue.

I'm in a pickle here. I can't afford to recarpet, I can't afford to put in a new floor, I can't leave the old carpet, I can't use a chemical stripper, and once I remove the carpet, I can't have the floor as it is for more than a day or two.

I would like to be able to sand the stuff off in one go. Is that doable? Is it a DIY or a something I need a pro for?

Heat gun or blow dryer and scraper will remove the adhesive and old pad according to most internet forum posts. If you have remaining adhesive residue, be prepared to change your sandpaper as it will tend to get gummed up.

The only issues I have read about chemical strippers and adhesive removers is that residues can cause adhesion problems for new finish.

There are many good web sites that address the topic of floor finishing. Type wood floor finishing into your favorite search engine. Most tend to prefer Google. You can purchase the technical manual for floor finishing at www.nofma.org

Thanks for the info, twelvepole. I'll try the heat gun idea. That's something I can do and lay the carpet back down when I've finished an area.

I don't mean to be a jerk or a pest or anything, and I do know how to use a search engine. I've done quite a bit of searching for an answer to my specific question, but couldn't find what I was looking for.

Rent a big professional hardwood belt sander, like a Lager Hummel. Buy several 36 grit belts, and several 60 grit belts and several 80 grit belts.

Get after it!!! and GOOD LUCK! If you can't afford carpet, you can't afford a professional to do it right, either. If you burn throught the wear layer of the wood flooring, can you afford to replace your wood floor at a cost of almost 5 times that of carpet. :wall:

If you can't afford carpet, you can't afford a professional to do it right, either. If you burn throught the wear layer of the wood flooring, can you afford to replace your wood floor at a cost of almost 5 times that of carpet. :wall:
Well, no.

I know, because the previous owner told me so, that the floor has some rough patch jobs, so I'm not expecting it to be perfect. It also runs horizontally down the hallway (the house was reconfigured at some point in its life).

But, money or no, I need to have the carpet out of here. So in the meantime, I'll deal with the imperfections with paint, or I'll live with them, don't know til I see the whole thing. What I can't live with is black foam glued to the floor.

One of my main concerns with sanding the foam is what kind of hazard that might cause.