Moved-in in November. House built in 1960. Renovating basement room. Have removed carpet, underlay and tiles (originals). Under tiles found black tar like coverage over entire floor surface as well as glue from tiles. Musty/damp smell in air. What do I do next? I would like to put down new tiles and then an area rug but I want to make sure the prep is done correctly.
Answer:
The first thing yu do is ventilate that area because the musty smell will prevail until such time as you do. You won't be able to get rid of all the black and glue so you might just try smoothing things out as much as possible. In the past I've laid peel & stick right over this sort of situation and it worked very well. If you have doubts, try doing it in an inconspicuous spot and see if it lasts the summer.
