I've been asked to remove some slate floor tiles in a massive kitchen.

They seem to be laid on a layer of plywood or possibly blockboard which
is in turn laid onto the original floorboards.

The owners want to salvage as many as possible so the can sell them.
The tiles are about 20mm thick.

Questions:

1. How do I remove them
2. Will they come off whole or are they more likely to break

I'm thinking of doing it by levering my massive crowbar under the
blockboard/plywood layer to loosen than in the hope that the flexing of
the layer will break the bond between the tiles and the blockboard
layer.

Any tips would be appreciated.

wrote:
I've been asked to remove some slate floor tiles in a massive kitchen.

They seem to be laid on a layer of plywood or possibly blockboard
which is in turn laid onto the original floorboards.

The owners want to salvage as many as possible so the can sell them.
The tiles are about 20mm thick.

Questions:

1. How do I remove them
2. Will they come off whole or are they more likely to break

I had a job recently where I had to remove three damaged terrazo type tiles
on a ply sub floor. They were damaged at the edges, but I had to be careful
because there were only four spare tiles.

I drilled into one tile in a line, then used a bloster chisel to extend the
line. Then I worked outwards towards the edges. I'd removed as much grout
as possible beforehand with a grout rake.

I got all three tiles out without much trouble. I reckon a similar
technique would work on a whole floor.

I'm thinking of doing it by levering my massive crowbar under the
blockboard/plywood layer to loosen than in the hope that the flexing
of the layer will break the bond between the tiles and the blockboard
layer.

I reckon break one central tile out, even if you trash it - the work
outwards.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

wrote:
I've been asked to remove some slate floor tiles in a massive kitchen.

Why on earth would they want them removed???

"Tournifreak" wrote in message
ups.com...

wrote:
I've been asked to remove some slate floor tiles in a massive kitchen.

Why on earth would they want them removed???


I know that it's incredibly unlikely, but maybe they just don't like slate?

H

wrote:
I've been asked to remove some slate floor tiles in a massive kitchen.

They seem to be laid on a layer of plywood or possibly blockboard which
is in turn laid onto the original floorboards.

The owners want to salvage as many as possible so the can sell them.
The tiles are about 20mm thick.

Questions:

1. How do I remove them

With extreme difficulty.

If you are lucky, they will lever up.

If not they will break.

The likelihood is that they will break, or come up covered in cement,
which will need chipping off, and or dissolving off in brick acid.

Yoiu have to balance the time and expense of cleaning them against their
value. cheap multicolored riven Indian slate can be bought for as little
as 16 a square meter, good grey Indian is about 20-25.

When I laid my floor, the final cost, including my time, was about 100 a
square meter..huge amounts of labour, and cement (about as expensive as
the tiles when used thick to cover irregularities) grout, sealant and
endless hours. The hours could have been spent getting the floor dead
level, but they were spent putting the tiles down.

It is a rule that expensive materials cheap labour is usually cheaper
than cheap materials expesnive labour..on average materials constitute
1/3rd of the cost of any building project. This is higher admittdely
when interior finishes and fitments come into play, but its still
usually around 1/2

Which is why you find skips full of perfectly good tiles, sheets of
marble and stone and the like. The cost of reusing them exceeds teh cost
of buying new.



2. Will they come off whole or are they more likely to break

I'm thinking of doing it by levering my massive crowbar under the
blockboard/plywood layer to loosen than in the hope that the flexing of
the layer will break the bond between the tiles and the blockboard
layer.


I am sure it will in some case. In others the slates will snap. In all
cases they will be filthy and covered in cement.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Quote £45 a square meter carefully remove and clean up what slate they
get, and then tell them that new slate is £23 a sq meter.

That will solve the problem.

HLAH wrote:
"Tournifreak" wrote in message
ups.com...
wrote:
I've been asked to remove some slate floor tiles in a massive kitchen.
Why on earth would they want them removed???


I know that it's incredibly unlikely, but maybe they just don't like slate?

H


A badly laid cheap slate floor is awful.. I have good fairly flat slate
kitchen and it cleans up pretty well..we have dogs and cats and it needs it.

In laws have even more animals, and kids, and don't clean it properly,
and have a HEAVILY riven surface, and frankly, they might as well cover
it in sawdust its so disgusting. It needs a good hands a knees
scrub..which mine gets every six months. They don't do hands and knees
and they Czech girl doesn't either. *******.

There are people who aspire to slate, and natural wood, and all the
magazine stuff, but whose sanitary habits are better suited to a sheet
of cheap vinyl that gets relaid every year.

On 2007-01-10 08:15:30 +0000, "Tournifreak" said:


wrote:
I've been asked to remove some slate floor tiles in a massive kitchen.

Why on earth would they want them removed???

I was wondering about that.

They must be heathens or want to lay Flotex carpet or laminate I expect.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:

There are people who aspire to slate, and natural wood, and all the
magazine stuff, but whose sanitary habits are better suited to a sheet
of cheap vinyl that gets relaid every year.

I have to admit, for my own standards of housekeeping I'd be better off
with one of Lubetkin's designs. Maybe the penguin pool at London zoo...

Andy Dingley wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

There are people who aspire to slate, and natural wood, and all the
magazine stuff, but whose sanitary habits are better suited to a sheet
of cheap vinyl that gets relaid every year.

I have to admit, for my own standards of housekeeping I'd be better off
with one of Lubetkin's designs. Maybe the penguin pool at London zoo...

Indeed. When people aspire to a period style house, they should remember
that they should also aspire to period style housemaids.

On 2007-01-11 11:54:21 +0000, The Natural Philosopher said:

Andy Dingley wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

There are people who aspire to slate, and natural wood, and all the
magazine stuff, but whose sanitary habits are better suited to a sheet
of cheap vinyl that gets relaid every year.

I have to admit, for my own standards of housekeeping I'd be better off
with one of Lubetkin's designs. Maybe the penguin pool at London zoo...

Indeed. When people aspire to a period style house, they should
remember that they should also aspire to period style housemaids.

How are the knees these days? ;-)

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-01-11 11:54:21 +0000, The Natural Philosopher said:

Andy Dingley wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

There are people who aspire to slate, and natural wood, and all the
magazine stuff, but whose sanitary habits are better suited to a sheet
of cheap vinyl that gets relaid every year.

I have to admit, for my own standards of housekeeping I'd be better off
with one of Lubetkin's designs. Maybe the penguin pool at London zoo...

Indeed. When people aspire to a period style house, they should
remember that they should also aspire to period style housemaids.

How are the knees these days? ;-)


Not bad. we don;t aspire to victorian hygiene either.