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Removing ceramic tile?

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westhavendave

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I made the mistake 10 years ago of laying down white ceramic tile in my kitchen. It's to the point that I am thinking about ripping it up and replacing it with some better tile. It is layed over 3/8" screwed down plywood with standard thinset I think. I know the tiles can be shattered pretty easily but I am worried about the mortar on the wood. Will it come off, or should I just throw a laminate floor over the old tile? Here's how wive's think, she says lets just get 12"x12" linoleum squares and lay them over the ceramic rolleyes.gif What do you guys think, I put down the original tile and can handle the job, just worried about the subfloor.I like the laminate idea, but I already have a 1" high threshold at the kitchen entrance, and am loath to make it higher.

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Rip it out, buy or rent a Bosch Bulldog or similar. Once you get one or two tiles out, the rest will come up easily.

"I came into this world naked, screaming at the top of my lungs, and covered in someone else's blood. I got no problem leaving it that way."
Who can hope to be safe? Who sufficiently cautious? Guard himself as he may, every moment's an ambush. Horace

 

 

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Here's how wive's think, she says lets just get 12"x12" linoleum squares and lay them over the ceramic rolleyes.gif

 

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Wives can't think. It's not in the cards. biggrin.gif If you lay the linoleum over the ceramic, every grout line, and crack will telescope through and it will be a mess.

Rip it up and do it right

Two things in life I love. Fishing, and looking at the wives pictures on the milk Carton

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take it out......when we redid our kitchen a couple years ago I took out the tile floor, along with 2 old linoleum floors. Was a ton of work but it needed to go. And under all that stuff was wonderful wooden floors just like the rest of our house and I lowered the flood almost 2 inches.

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Use it in hammer mode for removing tiles.

"I came into this world naked, screaming at the top of my lungs, and covered in someone else's blood. I got no problem leaving it that way."
Who can hope to be safe? Who sufficiently cautious? Guard himself as he may, every moment's an ambush. Horace

 

 

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The backer board would raise my floor to high IMO. A co-worker is recommending a tool that looks like a shingle lifter for the job and says it worked well for him. My greatest fear is the plywood delaminating as i start and having to get back down to the subfloor while removing the 2000 screws I already put in.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A Demolition hammer ( bosch or hitachi types with hammer mode )with a two to four inch blade will make quick work of taking up tiles ....If you are lucky it will also scrape up old thinset....then you can find 1/4 inch cement backer (thinset this down and staple,screw or nail ) to give you suitable substrate to install new flooring ..... icon14.gif

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Dave,

 

That's a bit of a tough spot to be in. Yes, the tiles will shatter and come up easily, but the mortar underneath will not be easy to remove, especially if you are trying to preserve the plywood. One thought would be to remove the tiles and mortar as best you can, lay a thick coat of thinset over the old mortar with a 1/2 comb trowel, and then install the tile backerboard as others have suggested. If that's not feasible, my only guess would be to Pergo over the existing floor. Would only raise it up a 1/2 inch if you use the thin foam underlayment. Also, if you use full-flex mortar, you can put a second layer of tile over the first, assuming the existing floor does not squeak.

Just imagine how happy you would be if you lost everything you have in life and then suddenly got it back
SOL Member #101

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ah memories of backing out all those screws, I spent about 12 hours doing just that alone. Its was a pain but it saved the wood floors underneath. all in all Im glad I did it the result was great for us in the end. Not so sure though I would do it just to try and save some plywood though.

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I am still "planning" this one.naughty.gif when I installed the ceramic 12 years ago I screwed down somw 3/8 or 1/2 inch plywood to make the old subfloor more stable. i would say the threshold now is 1" does anyone know if pergo et al make a transition threshold that could handle the 1 1/2" rise created if I leave the tile there? My doorway is about 6" deep so some sort of wider ramp type threshold would not look too bad I guess. Thanks for the ideas guys.

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  • 7 years later...

Kneepads and a regular hammer in each hand. Just keep hitting the floor alternating right and left. You will get up 99% of a 12 x 12 foot floor in about an hour this way. There might be a few stubborn spots and you can just use a hammer and chisel on them.  An air chisel is good too if you have one. but the two hammers are the fastest. The floor won't be smooth enough for vinyl so you'll have to put down new tile with at least a 3/8 notched trowel.


Ed Panzella


"BAITS MOTEL" - 2450 Maycraft Pilothouse


Higganum, Ct

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