So, rehabbing our new foreclosure, including removing the old ceramic tile. The old tiles came up amazingly easy in whole tiles, as very few had any mortar adhered to the tile. It was all left on the backerboard the was mortared and screwed to the subfloor. There in lies the problem. I can not get the backer off of the sub without major damage to the subfloor. I can, however, scrape most of the old mortar off of the backer getting it almost completely clean. The only damage to the backer during tile removal was 4 or 5 areas that did come up with the tile, none of which are larger than say the bottom of a soda can. My plan at this point is to scrape off all mortar, repair the backer in a few places, and reinstall my new tile. Any one see any major problem with this plan. By the way, the backer is not Hardie, but more similar to Durock.
Thanks for any input.
Replies
If your backer was thinsetted to the floor, which I assume it was because you wrote that removing it would wreck the subfloor, then your plan of reusing it sounds great.
Bill
Should be fine if installed with buttering the backs of the new tile. Go for it!