The previous tenants carpeted our outdoor patio area (approx. 10'x30') but they didn't just lay it down, they glued it down. I started to pull it up then saw the first of the wiggly lines of glue. Lovely.We don't get much rain here in Southern California, but we did get a good bit of rain a couple of weeks ago, and even though the patio is covered the rain still splashed up and soaked into the carpet. And because the previous tenants had a dog, the wet carpet then stank like wet dog. It also took several days to dry out and because we use the backdoor almost exclusively going in & out we were walking on damp carpet for several days. Not pleasant.I want to tear up the carpet then paint the cement, but because the carpet has been glued down I know I'll need to get rid of the glue first before painting. From the info on this website it seems the best way to remove the glue would be to start with a scraper to get rid of a bulk of it, then use hot/boiling water to possibly soften it up and remove more of it before using a solvent.One Youtube video strongly recommended using a power washer before painting to remove any residual dust, debris, etc. Then I'd have to let the concrete dry so that's another step that I reckon would add maybe half a day (?) to this project.I'm thinking that once I've done all that, regardless of how careful I've been removing the glue, I'll probably still have "snail trails" and that's why I was thinking of painting the patio area. That, and because we have our patio furniture in the patio area, I'd really rather the patio have a painted floor than just be raw concrete.I know this will be time consuming, and definitely not a job I should be rushing or thinking I can complete in a day. The first coat of paint alone will probably take most of the day to apply and dry, then to increase durability I reckon I'll need at least a second coat, if not a third.Does anyone have any tips they can share to help make this job a little easier? Any tools I should maybe consider renting that would make things easier? I have a belt sander so I could use it to give the cement a 'once over' before cleaning & painting, but is that a necessary step? Maybe, I guess, depending on how much of the glue I can remove. via /r/DIY https://ift.tt/2EDREq0
