What tools can you do without removing bitumen?

Bitumen is often used in the construction of highways, as well as in the processing of wooden building materials. Bitumen mastic protects the tree from premature decay. In addition, bitumen is used for waterproofing floors in residential buildings.

During the construction boom in the USSR, bitumen mastic was used to fasten parquet to the concrete base of the floor. Current owners of old apartments have to tear this mixture to level the floors for subsequent laying of parquet or laminate.

Removing bitumen from a concrete surface without damaging the floor screed is beyond the reach of even professional builders. Such an adhesive penetrates any surface immediately after it has been applied.

It is necessary to dismantle bitumen from the floor, because because of it, bumps form on the floor. In addition, not a single building composition or material is attached to the dried bitumen mixture.

Before proceeding with the elimination of spilled bitumen, one should know which way is better not to use when eliminating such material:

1. You can not use chemicals - bitumen dissolves perfectly from exposure to alkalis and gasoline, but at the same time such building materials will be absorbed deep into the concrete. If it is possible to eliminate the top layer of bitumen stains, a film will still remain on the surface, which will not allow the primer to soak into the floor.
2. It is not recommended to use an electric tool. For the elimination of bitumen, grinding machines, rotary hammers and grinders are powerless. Due to the strong heating from the operation of the electric motors, the bitumen melts.

It is only possible to remove the bitumen mixture effectively by hand. For such work, the most primitive tools are suitable, for example, an ax, crowbar, spatula, chisel, ice ax or hammer.

To remove a large layer of the bitumen mixture, a large and coarse tool (hammer, crowbar and ice ax) is used. The remaining thin layers of unnecessary building material are removed with scrapers, spatulas. In the event that the bitumen is deeply absorbed into the floors, it should be knocked out with a hammer or an ax (with a blunt side so as not to spoil the tool).

During the dismantling of bitumen from the floor, the concrete coating will inevitably suffer, it will have to be restored. To do this, you can either fill the floors with a screed made of sand concrete, or cover large holes with cement, where necessary. A spatula is also useful for such work.

If you do not eliminate bitumen and lay the parquet directly on it, then over time, the flooring may become loose and become unusable.