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Default removing ceramic tile AND thinset from concrete - quickest best way?

need to remove approx 900 sq feet of tile -and- the thinset* under it
from the top of a concrete slab. purpose being to turn a small apartment
into a workshop for myself. I have lots of -very- heavy wheeled
machines, and handle big steel in there all day long, so leaving the
tile on 'just wouldn't be workable'. I also have a "tree root chopper"
thing, a sort of huge 5 foor long inch-diameter long straight crowbar,
with a 'straight axe head' at one end....

so, how best to proceed? also got chisels, hammers of all sizes, a
pneumatic muffler chisel. I suppose there's no 'practical' way of saving
the tile (or is there?) the slab is approx six inches thick.

how are tasks like this 'ordinarily' done? using what tools? are there
huge electric jackhammers I can rent that might be 'way faster' for this
type stuff?

thanks for advice,

toolie

*don't have to remove ALL the thinset, just enough so that it won't be
forever 'breaking down into dust-sized pieces' all the time when I roll
iron-wheeled machines over it...and drop huge steel beams on it, and
stuff like that...
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Default removing ceramic tile AND thinset from concrete - quickest best way?

I wonder how a couple of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=37073
would do?

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Default removing ceramic tile AND thinset from concrete - quickest best way?

I recently had to remove some tile and thinset for a retiling
situation. I already had a Bosch 11224VSR rotary hammer that I
obtained reconditioned. Got a chisel bit at the local home center for
about $15. It worked fine for the few tile I had to do ( 10). Weighs
only 6.5 pounds.
You might want to rent a more heavy-duty chipping hammer, stopping at
the 35 pound unit, electrically powered. I would advise working at a
low angle to the floor so you just hit the edges of the tiles and do
not create divots in the concrete by removing more than just the
thinset. Over time, the steel wheels will break up the ridges in the
thinset created when the tile was laid.


On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 17:17:20 -0400, dave
wrote:

need to remove approx 900 sq feet of tile -and- the thinset* under it
from the top of a concrete slab. purpose being to turn a small apartment
into a workshop for myself. I have lots of -very- heavy wheeled
machines, and handle big steel in there all day long, so leaving the
tile on 'just wouldn't be workable'. I also have a "tree root chopper"
thing, a sort of huge 5 foor long inch-diameter long straight crowbar,
with a 'straight axe head' at one end....

so, how best to proceed? also got chisels, hammers of all sizes, a
pneumatic muffler chisel. I suppose there's no 'practical' way of saving
the tile (or is there?) the slab is approx six inches thick.

how are tasks like this 'ordinarily' done? using what tools? are there
huge electric jackhammers I can rent that might be 'way faster' for this
type stuff?

thanks for advice,

toolie

*don't have to remove ALL the thinset, just enough so that it won't be
forever 'breaking down into dust-sized pieces' all the time when I roll
iron-wheeled machines over it...and drop huge steel beams on it, and
stuff like that...

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Default removing ceramic tile AND thinset from concrete - quickest best way?

OR when finished, rent a floor grinder to take the thinset lumps and ridges
down to the concrete. The result will be like a poor man's version of
terrazzo.

"Thomas Kendrick" wrote in message
...
I recently had to remove some tile and thinset for a retiling
situation. I already had a Bosch 11224VSR rotary hammer that I
obtained reconditioned. Got a chisel bit at the local home center for
about $15. It worked fine for the few tile I had to do ( 10). Weighs
only 6.5 pounds.
You might want to rent a more heavy-duty chipping hammer, stopping at
the 35 pound unit, electrically powered. I would advise working at a
low angle to the floor so you just hit the edges of the tiles and do
not create divots in the concrete by removing more than just the
thinset. Over time, the steel wheels will break up the ridges in the
thinset created when the tile was laid.


On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 17:17:20 -0400, dave
wrote:

need to remove approx 900 sq feet of tile -and- the thinset* under it
from the top of a concrete slab. purpose being to turn a small apartment
into a workshop for myself. I have lots of -very- heavy wheeled
machines, and handle big steel in there all day long, so leaving the
tile on 'just wouldn't be workable'. I also have a "tree root chopper"
thing, a sort of huge 5 foor long inch-diameter long straight crowbar,
with a 'straight axe head' at one end....

so, how best to proceed? also got chisels, hammers of all sizes, a
pneumatic muffler chisel. I suppose there's no 'practical' way of saving
the tile (or is there?) the slab is approx six inches thick.

how are tasks like this 'ordinarily' done? using what tools? are there
huge electric jackhammers I can rent that might be 'way faster' for this
type stuff?

thanks for advice,

toolie

*don't have to remove ALL the thinset, just enough so that it won't be
forever 'breaking down into dust-sized pieces' all the time when I roll
iron-wheeled machines over it...and drop huge steel beams on it, and
stuff like that...



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Default removing ceramic tile AND thinset from concrete - quickest best way?

You have already got some good advice but I will add some other info.
I believe the rotor hammer with a chisel tip is your best "rental"
option anything bigger will cause problems positioning the tip in a
mannor that will get under the material. You may see if you can rent a
long handeled air chisel (like a ice scraper only powered by air) this
is what we use for the first step in this type of removal. I suppose if
you did not want to rent the rotor hammer your air chisel will do an ok
job just much slower because of the size. Keep in mind that the thinset
(not the grout) is actually harder than the concrete and YOU WILL pull
up portions of the concrete if you are not careful and then you will
have divits for your wheels to catch on. If you are not concernd about
removing all of the thinset I would pop the tiles off with the chisel
or "chipping hamer/rotohammer) and rent the Terrazo grinder to smooth
out the high spots because the thinset will not wear down, thisets
compressive strenth is aprox triple what the floor is so it will be
there for along time. As far as saving the tile dont wast your time its
not worth the hassel at the average price of 1.00 a sq ft for tile you
will spend much more than that ****ing around trting to save it.
dave wrote:
need to remove approx 900 sq feet of tile -and- the thinset* under it
from the top of a concrete slab. purpose being to turn a small apartment
into a workshop for myself. I have lots of -very- heavy wheeled
machines, and handle big steel in there all day long, so leaving the
tile on 'just wouldn't be workable'. I also have a "tree root chopper"
thing, a sort of huge 5 foor long inch-diameter long straight crowbar,
with a 'straight axe head' at one end....

so, how best to proceed? also got chisels, hammers of all sizes, a
pneumatic muffler chisel. I suppose there's no 'practical' way of saving
the tile (or is there?) the slab is approx six inches thick.

how are tasks like this 'ordinarily' done? using what tools? are there
huge electric jackhammers I can rent that might be 'way faster' for this
type stuff?

thanks for advice,

toolie

*don't have to remove ALL the thinset, just enough so that it won't be
forever 'breaking down into dust-sized pieces' all the time when I roll
iron-wheeled machines over it...and drop huge steel beams on it, and
stuff like that...




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Default removing ceramic tile AND thinset from concrete - quickest bestway?

Eric in North TX wrote:
I wonder how a couple of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=37073
would do?

10CFM at 90PSI is a lot of air. Unless you have a very large compressor
your couldn't use this tool.
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