Q: We removed an old hardwood floor and my boyfriend broke out with some kind of rash, it is almost like a heat rash, but not.
There is still a really bad odor throughout our first floor. It smells like tar. Should we be staying here? What could the odor be?
A: Was the flooring paper under the floor black? Asphalt coated paper? That would account for the smell. I’ve never heard of anyone getting sick from that. I’m not a chemist or scientist, but I know that some of the most deadly gasses have no smell at all. A smell isn’t, by itself, going to make you ill. For instance, I bet someone who got sick from lead poisoning smelled nothing.
Related Questions
Removing tar paper stuck to floorI have oak hardwood floors that were covered in the 70's with vinyl type tiles. They laid a type of tar paper over the hardwood flooring. the tiles were then glued to the tar paper. The tiles come up very easily, but the tar paper doesn't. In some areas the…
Roofing tar paper for underlayment?Q: I am installing 3/8" engineered over existing old hardwood. Two questions: What is the best product for levelling out the low/uneven areas of this old floor? Also, What is the best underlayment? I am leaning towards roofing tar paper. Thanks in advance. A: As long as the dips aren't…
Tar off-gassingDo you have any idea how prevalent that practice of coating all slab areas under wood floors with a layer of tar was in Houston in the early 50s, as opposed to tar paper or just a strip under the runners?
Wood floors glued to black tar paper?My contractor just installed a hardwood floor everywhere in my house. He first used black tar paper on the concrete and paste/wood glue before putting down the hardwood floor. I just found out from another contractor that black tar paper is not suitable for hardwood and the wood would eventually…
Still smell an odor 2 weeks after last coatQ: We had our entire home painted and our hardwood floors refinished three weeks ago. My four year old and my 11 month old and I have been out of the house since the project started. I'm wondering if it is safe for my girls and I to go back…
Sanding off tarWe have a few areas in our hallway that the large, industrial floor sander could not reach. When these edges are sanded with a heavy-duty hand sander, the surface appears to ‘melt’ and causes the sander disk to burn and circular burn marks appears on the floor. I think the…