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In the decoration process of floor, we often use ceramic tiles which is durable, wear resistant and has long service life. If we want the tiles to be firmly installed on the floor, we need thinset, mortar or adhesive. After using for years, the tiles may fall off, crack or blister. So you may think of a floor replacement project and you’ll need to know how to remove ceramic tile & thinset from the concrete floor. In this article, we are going to talk about how to remove ceramic tile from your concrete floors without breaking and what is the easiest way to remove thinset from concrete.
Tools For Removing Ceramic Tile & Thinset
- Floor scraper
- Rotary hammer drill
- Thinset removal bit
- Plastic drop cloth
- Broom/mop/bucket
How To Remove Ceramic Tile & Thinset From Concrete Floors Easily
1.Remove ceramic tile
Once you have access to the side of the tile, take your floor scraper and hold it at an angle, driving it pretty firmly into the underside of the tile where it's connected by the thinset to the concrete floor. With enough force, the tile should pop up really easily. After you break loose that first row of tiles, pick them up and start a stack somewhere that's out of your way. Then continue using your floor scraper to break the ceramic tiles loose from the concrete if you run into a tile that won't break free. After you've hit it from the side two or three times, just go ahead and break it from the top.
2.Remove trim
Also to make the job easier on yourself just remove the trim before you even get started. You can get a better view of the angle that you want to hit the tile at and how easily it should pop up and you can see the thinset on the bottom of the tiles. You can also see a good amount of thin-set that's still stuck to the concrete. You can also see at this point how messy this project is.
3.Tips to hep with the dust
Another tip would be to hang plastic from your doorway or from the ceiling, dividing the space that you're working in. Turn off your air conditioner or close off your vents that'll help prevent the dust from kicking up throughout your entire house. When you are done removing the tiles, sweep your floor up really well. Then you can get started on removing the thinset.
4.Thinset removal
You can use Dewalt 20 volt SDS hammer drill, make sure that you use an actual thinset removal bit for this job. With this tool, you can easily chisel away the thinset remaining on the concrete floor. If you haven't used one of these drills before, you might need to take a few practice passes to get a handle on it. It's all about keeping a consistent speed and continuously moving across the floor. Once you get the hang of it, it's actually pretty smooth sailing work in rows. Making sure not to leave gaps in between, you don't want to leave any ridges of thin-set left behind on the concrete. If you've gotten all of the thinset off that past that you've just made, sometimes you might need to pass over the same spot twice. Once you've removed that thinest, the surface should look and feel smooth.
5.Dealing with dust, checking for rough spots you've missed
As you're removing thinset it's going to leave chunks of finsih and lots of dust everywhere, this makes it hard to see what you have left to remove. Sweep up your floor every now and then as you're working, making it easier to see what you're doing, you'll be continuously sweeping and chiseling away at the floor. Every time you think you've gotten it all, sweep and check again. There will be probably more to remove. When you get to a point where you think the area is cleared, take your hand and run it across the floor. You'll probably find a few spots that otherwise would have looked good. If you're going to be leveling the floor after removing the ceramic tile and thinset, it doesn't have to be perfectly smooth but if you're laying new flooring on that concrete it needs to be as close to perfect as possible.
This is definitely the most time-consuming part of the project even after you think you've gotten all the things that removed. Sweep the floor up again and then make sure to check every square inch of that floor looking for any rough spots you may have missed.
6.Cleaning the concrete
When you're done removing the thinset, make sure to get the floor cleaned very thoroughly before moving forward and prepping it for whatever your next step is going to be. It doesn't matter if you're leveling the floor or laying new flooring. Either one of those processes requires a really clean surface before priming the surface to move forward. So make sure that you sweep several times getting the bulk of the dust up before you begin to mop, then take a mop and a bucket of clean water and thoroughly mop the floor. Concrete is one of those surfaces that never seems to truly come clean, so you'll be changing out the mop water and rinsing your mop out several times. Throughout this process you want to get to where the mop is ringing as close to clear water as possible. At this point, you're probably ready to install your new flooring, make sure to let your concrete dry out entirely before moving on to priming or whatever your next step is going to be.
That’ll all the tips and tricks for removing ceramic tile and thinset from concrete floors. Hope they can be helpful to you. If you want to know more home decoration details, please follow Hanse’s news page, we update the newest home decorating ideas & tips.
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