First ever post guys...

[Spooner35]

Hi , after reading every post on here re this flooring i still cant find a definitive answer to all i need, some not all.
Doing what a lot of you guys have done, parquet flooring in the hallway.
It will either be reclaimed maple or mahog.
i've got a concrete floor in the hallway too.
3 questions id like to ask if i can ?

1. Does all the tar/bit. have to come off the back of the blocks? or just most of it? or if its all sound and not chipping off can i leave it?

2.Does the bare concrete floor need sealing with anything or can adhesive be applied directly to it? Floor is sound and flat too. No damp prob either.

3.Adhesive to use? Some say non bitumen adhesive some say bitumen adhesive!! Which brand can anyone reccomend?

If any of you guys can point me in the right direction id really appreciate it..and i can get cracking...

Cheers

Matt

[Spooner35]

No one?

[WoodYouLike]

Hi Spooner

(we busy trade persons don't always have time to responds to every question the minute/hour or even day it's asked )

Re your questions: the more bitumen you get off, the better it will be (not just for the time it needs to bond with the adhesive, but also the end-result in the long run)

On sound concrete flooring without any damp problems we usually install the blocks directly on to the concrete without any problem.

The brands we use for this are Lecol5500 or Stycobon B92 (F.Ball) Best to stay away from bitumen adhesive - not very healthy, handy etc.

__________________
You buy quality, we'll advise. You buy rubbish, we won't!
We're proud members of the BwfA.

[Spooner35]

Really sorry fella, didnt mean to upset folk, never used this place so was unsure what to expect!!
Just one question in regards to the "the more bitumen you get off the better"
Do you mean scrap off all the thick stuff and i can leave just a black colour stain on the underside of the block or can i leave a flat sound layer of bitumen?

Again cheers for the advise and again, apologises

[WoodYouLike]

All bitumen has to go, leaving a black coloured surface (due to the seepages of the bitumen).
Any bitumen residue will effect the bonding time with the adhesive - sometimes even up to 24 hours!

__________________
You buy quality, we'll advise. You buy rubbish, we won't!
We're proud members of the BwfA.

[Spooner35]

Many thanks for that... scrapper city here i come then !!!

Cheers

[WoodYouLike]

Have fun

__________________
You buy quality, we'll advise. You buy rubbish, we won't!
We're proud members of the BwfA.

[geeonegee]

You can seal the concrete sub floor in your hallway with a product called Lecol PU280, its a liquid moisture barrier that is rollered onto the subfloor and dries in about 45 mins, it will seal in old residues and is a good adhesion promotor also, if you use lecol 5500 as your adhesive the adhesion is amazing, application is easy, use a 9"medium haired roller and a paint tray, apply it as you would if you were emulsioning a wall, 1 coat is ok but 2 is better, this stuff can prevent 65% of moisture from coming up from the slab....really is top stuff.

I personally wouldn't bother scraping every last bit of bitumen from the back of your blocks, the lecol 5500 will stick the blocks down without any problems, just make sure you use enough adhesive, give the blocks a good scrape with a scraper on the bottom and sides removing as much loose stuff as possible, however hard you scrape u wont get every bit of clag off the blocks and you will have gaps when you lay them, use a resin and dust mix to fill the gaps, lecol 7500 is good stuff, mix it to a thick custard state and use a wide scraper to push it into the gaps, its a pain but the results will speak for themselves....

hope this helps... gary..ps if anyone is wondering Sanding/Sealing/Block Repairs is my job

[Spooner35]

Cheers for that mate, this place has really helped me loads.
I think ive seen that resin before somewhere, is it right you mix it with some of the sanding dust and like you say fill the gaps?

Many thanks again you guys...

[WoodYouLike]

geeonegee wrote:

I personally wouldn't bother scraping every last bit of bitumen from the back of your blocks, the lecol 5500 will stick the blocks down without any problems, just make sure you use enough adhesive, give the blocks a good scrape with a scraper on the bottom and sides removing as much loose stuff as possible,

I would. Any bitumen residue will effect the bonding of the block with lecol5500 negatively: i.e. it will take much longer before you can walk over it, sand it etc without the stuff moving underneath your feet and destroying your pattern - creating gaps everywhere.
We've seen cased up to 2 days before the adhesive (lecol5500) bonded properly.

__________________
You buy quality, we'll advise. You buy rubbish, we won't!
We're proud members of the BwfA.

[noseall]

Spooner35 wrote:

Many thanks again you guys...

by the way Spooner, WoodYouLike is a chick.

[geeonegee]

I've re-stuck thousands of old, loose blocks down with lecol 5500, and while it can take a bit longer for the adhesive to fully go off, when you are doing localized block repairs the repaired area nearly always has sound adhered blocks all around them so cant move anywhere.....

Would be a different story if i was re-laying a whole room with re-claimed blocks you obviously have to be more careful during the laying of them.

As for filling use the dust from the sanding process to fill the gaps, suggest 60 grit and above to mix with the resin, finer the better, don't use 24/36/50 as its just too coarse and looks a bit crap when it goes in the gaps, mix a decent handful of dust to a good glug of resin, adding more if it looks a bit dry, look for a thickish custard consistency, if it looks too runny....add a pinch more dust till its about right, deep gaps may need going over a couple of times....

[geeonegee]

Don't forget when you fill the gaps to scrape off as much of the resin/dust mix as possible as it literally is like new wood and goes hard as nails when dry, and dries really quick also, 10-15 mins max, it will most certainly need screening/sanding off when dry otherwise will look pants when you apply the finish.....

[bandonboy]

Brought old reclaimed tongue and groove parquet (Burmese Teak and Beech) from Nottingham to Cork. Now have to lay it. Lecol 5500 seems to the one that most people recommend, and I'm in the process of sourcing some. My question is this - can I lay straight onto tile? The tiles were professionally laid a few years ago (before I owned the house); they are in very good condition, and very even. About 10x10 inch, anti-slip finish.

Dont' want to be a complete 'edjit', but what sort of tools are required? A special trowel of some sort and a mallet - is that it?

Any info or advice gratefully received!!

[geeonegee]

Lecol 5500 is the best product out there for sticking down reclaimed blocks with bitumen residue still on....no question....

If you are going to stick the blocks directly onto tiles best be careful, you may have to prime the tiles with a moisture barrier as they may be porous, lecol pu280 is a great product for this, 1st coat will seal the tiles and the 2nd coat builds the layer of mb up and also acts as an excellent adhesion promotor for the lecol 5500 adhesive, its one component so you only use what you need and really easy to apply, and only takes about an hour for each coat to dry.

If you use products from the same manufacturer you are alot less likely to have a product failure than if you use 2-3 products from different suppliers, cos they will all point the finger of blame at the other products.

lecol works really well for this project, we use it on every reclaimed/new block job we do and have never had a comeback on blocks/subfloor/adhesive.

We use a 3mm knotched trowel to apply the 5500 to the floor.

If the room is 20m2 i would suggest 1 x 16kg and 1 x 10kg lecol 5500, the manufactures suggest a 1kg of product to 1m2 but it just doesnt happen with reclaimed blocks cos the back of the blocks are so uneven with the residues......

hope this helps