Resilient Flooring

Removing Rubber Flooring and Rubber Base

Scraping off rubber tile, sheet and base: blade choice, scoring widths, old adhesive, and the asbestos rules that apply to older resilient floors.

Updated · 3 min read

Rubber comes up with the same machines as vinyl, but it's tougher and heavier, so blade choice and scoring width matter more. The adhesive underneath decides how much cleanup the next floor needs.

Presume older flooring and adhesive contain asbestos

For vinyl and asphalt flooring in buildings built no later than 1980, OSHA requires resilient flooring, including its mastic and backing, to be assumed asbestos-containing unless an industrial hygienist determines otherwise. It prohibits sanding the flooring or backing and dry sweeping, and requires wet methods for scraping residual adhesive.[1] Never use a power stripper on flooring that may contain asbestos.[3] Test before you start. See Cutback adhesive and asbestos ID.

Blades and scoring

Rubber calls for heavier blades and narrow strips.[4]

  • .094" heavy-duty blades are made for VCT, VAT, wood, tile and rubber.[7] Extra heavy-duty blades handle re-scraping rubber and urethane coatings.[8]
  • Score rubber tile down to 10" to 12" strips and use a 10" blade. Score sheet rubber to the width of the blade.[4]
  • Start with a narrow blade. Narrow blades cut with less effort and usually leave a cleaner floor.[4]
  • Bevel up on concrete, bevel down on wood or softer substrates. Keep blades sharp.[4]

More in Scraper blade selection and Walk-behind vs ride-on scrapers.

Step by step

Once testing has cleared the material, the job is scoring and scraping.

  1. Pull wall base, transitions and anything fastened down.
  2. Score sheet rubber into strips the width of the blade.
  3. Start at a doorway or seam and run the scraper in straight passes.
  4. If the machine bogs, go narrower before going slower.
  5. Hand-scrape edges and corners.
  6. Remove residual adhesive to what the new flooring requires.

Old adhesive

Manufacturers disagree on how clean the substrate has to be, so check the new floor's instructions.

Flooring Requirement
Roppe rubber tile Mechanical prep must expose at least 90% of the original substrate; no solvent, citrus or chemical removers[5]
AHF Expose the entire original substrate[9]
Tarkett/Johnsonite Remove all existing flooring and adhesive mechanically; no chemical removers or solvents[6]

Grinding off adhesive creates silica dust. OSHA Table 1 requires an integrated water system, or a dust collector with a filter of 99% or better efficiency, for walk-behind floor grinders.[2] See Grinding off thinset, mastic and glue and Silica dust safety.

Rubber wall base

Base comes off with a scraper or putty knife, but the wall has to be clean for the new base.

  • Clean off all old adhesive and remover, and never set new base over existing base.[10]
  • Clean contaminants off the wall mechanically.[11]

Installing the new base is covered in Installing wall base.

Common mistakes

Each of these either slows the job or creates a hazard.

  • Scraping before testing.
  • Wide blades on rubber. Score narrow and go narrow.
  • Chemical removers. Most rubber makers prohibit them under new flooring.
  • Grinding without dust control.

Tools we carry

These cover machine and hand removal.

Regulations and references

  1. OSHA 1926.1101, Asbestos (construction)
  2. OSHA 1926.1153, Silica, including Table 1
  3. EPA: Protect your family from exposures to asbestos
  4. National 550 operating manual
  5. Roppe: Rubber flooring installation
  6. Tarkett/Johnsonite: Replay rubber sheet installation
  7. National Flooring Equipment: 6281 heavy-duty blades
  8. National Flooring Equipment: Extra heavy-duty blades
  9. AHF (Armstrong): Commercial tile installation
  10. Roppe: Wall base installation
  11. Johnsonite/Tarkett: Wall base installation

Linked PDF documents are archived copies saved by PreFloor Tools so they stay available if the publisher moves or removes them. Check the publisher's website for the latest revision.

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