How do you strip old floor coverings before a refit, without days of hand-scraping?
A walk-behind floor stripper for the open floor, a long-reach scraper for everything it cannot reach, and a rota set by vibration, not by the machine's speed.
For open floor, use a walk-behind floor stripper: Trelawny give the TFS230 an average of 20 m² an hour on linoleum, vinyl and carpet tile. For edges, bulkheads, stairwells, tanks and ceramic tile, use a long-reach pneumatic scraper on 2.1 l/s (4.5 cfm) of air. At 11.5 m/s², one operator reaches the EU action value after about 23 minutes of trigger time on the TFS230. On an older vessel, check for asbestos first.
Check what you are about to lift
On ships built before 2011, floor tiles, their adhesives and the underlay can contain asbestos. SOLAS banned new installation from 1 January 2011; it did not require existing asbestos to be removed. Stripping breaks material up, which is exactly what releases fibres.
Check the inventory
Read the vessel's asbestos inventory or survey for every space in the work scope, before any stripping starts.
Treat unknowns as suspect
Unidentified old tiles and black adhesives are suspect until a sample says otherwise.
Stop if you find it
Removal then follows your flag state's and yard's asbestos rules, not a surface-prep plan. Neither a floor stripper nor a scraper is an asbestos control.
Four ways to lift a floor covering
Trelawny figures from their datasheets and manuals. Hand scraping and grinding have no comparable figure, so they are described, not rated.
Walk-behind stripper, TFS230
- Rate
- 20 m²/h average
- Access
- Open floor only
- Power
- 1.1 kW mains, or 1.5 kW battery
- Vibration
- 11.5 mains; 16.3 battery
- Width
- 230 mm blade, 360 mm overall
Cabin floors, mess rooms, corridors, offices. TFS230 →
Long-reach scraper, 2ft to 6ft
- Rate
- None published
- Access
- Anywhere you can stand
- Power
- 2.1 l/s (4.5 cfm), 6.2 bar
- Vibration
- 5.4 to 13.2 m/s²
- Use
- Edges, tile, adhesive, screed
The only mechanised option here for vertical and overhead surfaces. Slower per m² on open floor.
Hand scraping
No tool cost, works anywhere, the right call for a small spot repair.
- Rate
- Slow, operator-dependent
- Access
- Anywhere
- Power
- None
Beyond a few square metres, hours of kneeling and repetitive gripping are an injury risk of their own.
Angle grinder, flap disc or wire wheel
Portable and fast on small areas.
- Rate
- Fast on small areas
- Access
- Anywhere a hand reaches
- Power
- Electric, battery or air
Aggressive on the substrate, not built to lift bonded coverings. Suits paint and rust better. Grinders →
A needle scaler or deck scaler is a different job. These take corrosion and coating off the steel itself, rather than lifting a covering off it. If the aim is bare steel for recoating, they do the second pass.
What 20 m² an hour actually buys you
Trelawny's figure is an average, and it is the machine's rate. Under Directive 2002/44/EC the operator has limits of their own: 2.5 m/s² A(8) to act, 5.0 m/s² never to exceed.
| Machine | Vibration m/s² | To action value | Floor stripped by then, at 20 m²/h | To limit value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TFS230, mains | 11.5 | 23 min | 1 h 31 min, about 30 m² | |
| TFS230-VM, battery | 16.3 | 11 min | 45 min, about 15 m² |
A typical 15 to 20 m² cabin floor is inside one operator's limit value on the mains machine, but past the action value, the point at which the employer must act to reduce exposure. Across an accommodation block that means rotating operators, and the battery machine needs more rotation than the mains one, not less.
Getting the rate on the day
- Score sheet material first, into strips about the blade's width.
- Use the smallest blade angle that lifts the covering. Steeper works harder, not faster.
- Turn the blade to the subfloor: bevel up on concrete, bevel down on wood.
- Allow for trim. In a passageway with fixed furniture, the area the machine reaches may be well below the floor area.
Four things Trelawny's figures tell you
None of them is obvious from a product photo or a feature list.
The battery machine vibrates more
The TFS230-VM is 34 kg without its battery against 45 kg, and quieter at 76.8 against 82 dB(A). But it declares 16.3 m/s² against 11.5: freedom from the cable for about half the trigger time.
The lighter scraper is not always rougher
A LITE long-reach tool weighs 34 to 35% less. At 4ft and 6ft it transmits more at the worse hand, 13.2 against 9.5 and 11.6 against 9.8 m/s². At 5ft, slightly less: 10.8 against 11.4. Choose the length, then check the figure.
The 6ft scraper is not louder
The datasheet prints 116 dB(A) for 6ft in a sound-power row, and some listings repeat it. The manual gives the 6ft chisel 84.3 dB(A), in line with the other lengths. The 116s belong to the needle attachment.
The needle attachment changes the tool
Fitted, every length runs at 103.0 to 104.7 dB(A) and 11.7 to 25.1 m/s². A 4ft LITE with needles reaches the action value in under 5 minutes: a convenience for a small patch, not a needle scaler.
Full figures for every length, with sources, are in the Key specifications panel on the surface strippers page. Trelawny know of no PPE that reduces vibration at the hand, so anti-vibration gloves do not extend trigger time.
A typical refit sequence, when the deck is going back to steel
A floor stripper or scraper removes what sits on top: covering, adhesive, screed, residue. Neither prepares steel for recoating.
Survey and clear
Asbestos inventory checked, space cleared.
Strip
Open floor with the TFS230; edges, trim lines and tile with a long-reach scraper.
Descale
A needle scaler along welds and edges, a deck scaler on open plate.
Extract
At source, if the old coating is leaded: what class of collector.
Power and air supply
Check what the outlet or the air line in the space actually delivers before choosing a model.
- TFS230, 110 V
- 5.0 kVACentre-tapped transformer fed from 230 V 20 A; at least 32 A at 110 V. 4 mm² cable, 20 m maximum. No extension lead on the transformer input.
- TFS230, 230 V
- 13 AEarthed supply, breakers rated for the load. Up to 40 m of 4 mm² cable, fully uncoiled.
- TFS230-VM battery
- 10 ACharger on 230 V AC 50/60 Hz. Optimum capacity after five full cycles; keep between 5 and 40 °C. Lithium-ion ships as dangerous goods.
- Long-reach scraper
- 6.2 bar90 psi at the tool, never below 5.5 or above 6.9 bar. 2.1 l/s (4.5 cfm) per tool, plus headroom for losses and other tools.
- Hose: at least 10 mm (3/8") bore, kept to 10 m; about 0.21 bar (3 psi) drop for each extra 15 m. Low enough air for a small portable compressor, which suits tank and void work with no air supply.
- Oil daily with a zinc-free air tool oil (the manual names Shell S22 or R10 and Castrol Hyspin ZZ32), through an inline lubricator next to the tool (859.1530, or the 458.1530 assembly), and an anti-freeze oil in very cold weather.
Which to use
- Open floor, larger areaCabins, mess rooms, corridorsThe walk-behind TFS230, 110 V or 230 V to match the supply, or the battery TFS230-VM where there is no outlet. Rotate operators. TFS230 →
- Edges, bulkheads, stairwellsTanks, ceramic tileA long-reach scraper. Choose the length for reach, then check the vibration figure for that length and model.
- The job ends at bare steelRecoating, not re-coveringAdd a needle scaler or deck scaler. A stripper or scraper alone will not get you there. Bare metal without blasting →
Stripping floor coverings: common questions
How long does it take to strip a cabin floor with a TFS230?
At Trelawny's average of 20 square metres an hour, a 15 to 20 square metre cabin floor is under an hour of machine time, before edges and corners the machine cannot reach. That is past one operator's vibration action value, which the mains TFS230 reaches after about 23 minutes of trigger time, so plan to rotate operators.
Can I use a long-reach scraper instead of a floor stripper for a whole floor?
You can, but it is slower per square metre on open floor. Its advantage is access, not coverage. Use the walk-behind machine for the open area and keep the long-reach scraper for edges, bulkheads, stairwells and anything the machine cannot reach. It runs on 2.1 l/s (4.5 cfm) at 6.2 bar at every length, low enough for a small portable compressor.
What is the difference between a floor stripper and a needle scaler?
A floor stripper removes what sits on top of a surface: flooring, adhesive and residue. A needle scaler removes rust and old coatings from the steel itself. They are not interchangeable. A refit that ends in recoating usually needs both, used in that order.
Is a battery floor stripper as capable as a mains one?
The Trelawny TFS230-VM has a 1.5 kW motor on an 82 V battery and the same 230 mm working width as the mains machine, with 90 minutes' runtime per battery by Trelawny's figure. It is lighter and quieter, but Trelawny declare 16.3 m/s² of vibration against 11.5 for the mains machine, so each operator gets about half the trigger time.
Could the floor tiles on an older ship contain asbestos?
Yes. SOLAS banned new installation of asbestos-containing materials on all ships from 1 January 2011, but older ships can still have it in floor tiles, adhesives and underlays. Check the vessel's asbestos inventory or survey before stripping, and stop if you find suspect material.
Keep planning
TFS230 and long-reach scrapers
Every length and model, with blades, chisels and part numbers.
View the range → ProductsNeedle and chisel scalers
For the second pass, when the deck goes back to steel.
View the range → ReferenceEvery Trelawny tool, one vibration table
All long-reach lengths, chisel and needle, sorted by trigger time.
Open the table →Tell us the floor and the space
We come back with model numbers, the blades and chisels they need, and what we ruled out and why. SepcoTech is the authorised Trelawny distributor.
- Floor covering
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- Compressor available
- Delivery port
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