Hi,
Almost the whole of the downstairs of my house is parquet floor (house built in the 50s). It was underneath thick carpets for decades before we bought it, and so is in really good condition (only one loose tile in the whole house).
I want to sand it and re-finish it, but I am aware (for the one loose tile) that it is stuck down with bitumen.
I had planned to send a sample of the bitumen off to get it tested for asbestos, before starting any work.
However, I have been reading a bit online about restoration, and have seen a couple of articles which seem to be suggesting that any bitumen would need to be removed before restoration. I have seen other comments (here and elsewhere) about the heat of the sanding making the bitumen bubble.
If the floor did need lifting and the bitumen replacing then I think that would be too much of a job (especially if it did contain asbestos), so I was hoping for some advice on whether removal really is needed, or whether it is possible, with care, to sand and restore the surface while keeping the bitumen.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
Almost the whole of the downstairs of my house is parquet floor (house built in the 50s). It was underneath thick carpets for decades before we bought it, and so is in really good condition (only one loose tile in the whole house).
I want to sand it and re-finish it, but I am aware (for the one loose tile) that it is stuck down with bitumen.
I had planned to send a sample of the bitumen off to get it tested for asbestos, before starting any work.
However, I have been reading a bit online about restoration, and have seen a couple of articles which seem to be suggesting that any bitumen would need to be removed before restoration. I have seen other comments (here and elsewhere) about the heat of the sanding making the bitumen bubble.
If the floor did need lifting and the bitumen replacing then I think that would be too much of a job (especially if it did contain asbestos), so I was hoping for some advice on whether removal really is needed, or whether it is possible, with care, to sand and restore the surface while keeping the bitumen.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
