Pulling up Tiles Carefully on a Screed Floor and cleaning up Leftover Tile Cement/Adhesive

[danjerman]

Hi Lemonistas!

My first post over here!

I need to replace some cracked tiles on a kitchen floor. They are large(ish) Travertine tiles on a screed base. I was concerned that the tiles would pull up chunks of the screed (and therefore the wet UFH pipes) and cause a disaster so I have done a tentative test by bashing up one tile and pulling it up. It came up fine without damaging the screed but the difficulty is the old tile cement. Its pretty solid and stuck to the screed. I was hoping I'd be able to get to a flat (screed) surface and scrape off the remnants of the cement but I've pretty much got solid tile cement in place.

I need to remove this tile adhesive/cement as cleanly as possible before I can get new Tiles laid. I have to be cautious because of the wet UFH pipes. (The screed should be 75mm in depth).

Any ideas on the easiest way to safely remove this tile cement that is left after breaking and pulling up the tile(s) ?

Many Thanks in Advance
DM

[Pheidippides]

Hi DM,

I would recommend using a 1" SDS Chisel at a fairly oblique angle. I did exactly this to remove a cracked kitchen tile. Even old tile adhesive tend to be "softer" than the underlying screed and will peel away if you angle it right and don't be too aggressive.

In order to protect the surrounding tiles I dug up a "moat" around the outside edge of the adhesive to establish the level whilst protecting the existing tiles from accidents by always being side-on to the tile, except in the very corner.

I was then able to be more aggressive digging out the remaining adhesive towards the moat and being able to work to that level. It is still hot, dusty and hard on the knees!

Good luck

Regards

Pheid

[csearle]

I would recommend using a 1" SDS Chisel at a fairly oblique angle.

That sounds like a good idea to me (although no real experience). I would suggest though that a new SDS chisel bit is procured for this task as the blades can get quite rounded after much use and I just think for such a job a sharper chisel bit would make life much easier.

Regards,
Chris

[bungeejumper]

I had to lift a batch of quarry tiles a couple of years ago, and unfortunately they'd been very well stuck on with once of those specialist floor tile cements that set extremely hard. I did a lot of the work with the oblique chisel technique that's been mentioned above, but there was still an awful lot of tile cement left on the surface by the time I'd worn myself out.

Much to my surprise, I discovered that the cement responded to being soaked in water for several hours. After which I was able to get the softened cement off by scraping with a bit of wood, spatula-style, and finally with a pan scourer. Still not completely easy, and there were a few stubborn bits that still needed a well-aimed chisel - but better than an impact approach, I felt.

BJ

[LadyGagarin]

Hi Lemonistas!

My first post over here! DM

Hey DM, sorry, got nothing but just wanted to say I love the tag 'Lemonistas'! Beats my own suggested 'lemonheads' into a ummm non-gender-specific hat...

[danjerman]

Thanks All. I'll try the SDS Drill and Chisel bit. A good reason to buy a new power tool! Excellent!

I'm not sure about getting the cement wet. I was told that the screed wouldn't like getting wet when it was laid so am reluctant to get any water on it deliberately.

Cheers
DM

[Fatrav]

I've just taken tiles off using a multipurpose tool and an attachment that was semi circular metal and like very rough sandpaper worked a treat