wear eye protection and get a hammer and a prybar. pry up the wood and if the nails dont come up with it, gently tap the nails from the side to break their bond with the concrete. Do not pry the nails up directly as you would if they were in wood, as they can pop forcefully and fly through the air causing damage to persons or property. You can also use an angle grinder to cut off the nails so they do not dimple the concrete. patch any voids where chunks of concrete popped out with a cement based floor patch.

It helps to take a small piece of wood ( an old shingle or piece of a 2 x 4) and put it under whatever you are using to pry up the strip. I used one of DH's expensive wood chisels to pry up the tack strip. It worked really well, but probably wasn't very good for the chisel.

He did some work in our cellar when they fixed our plumbing in the bathroom...which is probably why they were removed in the first place. Are you saying that it's okay to put the same wrapping that was there before, and how can I be sure that it has no airborn asbestos. I was told that it was illegal to remove by unskilled asbestors workers, and illegal to put it back up. They are severely old and disgusting looking. Are you saying that that is the only type of insulation that goes around pipes? And the asbestos is not in one piece, it appears that it has been cut, because it is in sections. It was all one piece before

Self leveling concrete would be a better product for filling imperfections. The only concern is adhesion of the concrete (which is always difficult anyhow). Param is a system with a primer then the concrete adheres to it. http://www.duraamen.com/blog/remove-asbestos-vct-tile-encapsulate-safer-cheaper/#.VoF0ZpqFNHg We have two products that can be applied directly over VCT with tremendous adhesion and durability. Param is our self leveling concrete that can be applied at various thicknesses depending on your need. It is a custom solution. We can recommend thicknesses and processes to avoid the joints in tile from bleeding through. The basic installation process includes stripping the old wax followed by applying the prime coat that works with our Param self levelers. While the primer is still wet, the Param mix can be broadcast into the primer and brushed in. The result is a hard, textured finish. Then apply Param to create a new, smooth coating that encapsulates the tile. Once complete the new floor can be dyed and sealed to be a decorative, wear surface or install, tile, hardwood or carpet on the new floor. The process is fairly quick, requiring only a few days with a significant cost and time savings.