Service 09
Commercial & Industrial Floor Removal
Floor removal is stripping a commercial or industrial floor back to a sound, clean substrate the new finish can actually bond to. It is the phase most likely to hold up a fit-out, because what is under the old floor is rarely known until it is up — and because in buildings of a certain age the adhesive underneath is itself a regulated material.
What the job covers
- VCT, vinyl, sheet goods, carpet, carpet tile and rubber
- Ceramic, porcelain, quarry tile and thin-set
- Terrazzo, epoxy, urethane and coatings
- Hardwood, engineered timber and underlayment
- Adhesive and mastic residue ground back to substrate
- Ride-on and walk-behind machines sized to the space, with dust extraction
- Substrate left clean, sound and ready for the next installer
What affects the quote
- Total area, and how much of it a ride-on machine can reach
- What the adhesive turns out to be — in pre-1980s buildings black cutback mastic may be asbestos-containing and must be tested before it is disturbed
- How many layers there are; older floors are often two or three installations deep
- Whether the building stays occupied, which sets working hours and dust containment
- How the debris leaves the floor — tile is heavy and volume adds up fast
- How flat and sound the substrate has to be for the specified new finish
Every job is quoted after we understand the site. Photographs of what needs to come down, and of how a machine would reach it, get you an accurate number faster than a description will.
Common questions
Before you call
Is the black glue under old tile asbestos?
It might be. Black cutback adhesive and the tile above it were both common asbestos-containing materials into the 1980s, and in Massachusetts you do not get to guess — it is tested before it is disturbed, and if it is positive it is handled as an abatement with the required notification. Budget for the test; it is small money against the cost of stopping a fit-out.
How clean does the substrate end up?
As clean as the next finish needs, which is the standard worth agreeing up front. A carpet tile installation and a polished or coated slab want very different things from the same floor, and grinding to the higher standard when it is not needed is wasted money.
Other services
Ready ToClear The Way?
Tell us about the project. Allied will take it from there.
