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We’re doing a hefty remodel on our home that has a large foyer with 6×12 and 12×12 slates set in a thick mud bed. One of the bathrooms we demonlished also had floor tiles in a mud bed, and it was almost impossible to break up because of the embedded steel mesh tightly stapled to the sub-floor. Anyway, our proposed plan for the foyer will require cutting back about a 3×10 foot portion of the slate area, with the cut line terminating against walls at 90 degrees. This will be even tougher than the bathroom demolition because we want to save the portion that will still be in the new foyer, roughly 10 feet square.
I tested a masonery blade in a skil saw in a section that’s going to go away, and it hardly made a scratch.
Any DIY suggestions? or do I have to hire professionals with diamond saws?
Second problem is that the grout (which looks like fine gray mortar) is stained and discolored, and probably never sealed. Any suggestions for freshening it up?
Maybe I should just get out the sledge hammer and pry bars again and demolish the whole thing and start over on a new sub-floor, but after my experience with the bathroom I’m not looking forward to the work-out.
Jay
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Jay, with a diamond blade on a 4" grinder and a spade I could rip out and cart away 30 feet in the time it would take you to go down to the nearest java roost. And you wouldn't have any marred walls to boot.
Be sure to wear your goggles and face mask. Also, tent off the area and use the shop vac when grinding away at that sawcut line.
*Try a Makita, Bosch, Flex or Metabo grinder with a 4-4 1/2" smmooth/non-segmented diamond blade. Put some good masking tape over your line of cut and use a pencil to mark your actual cutline on the masking tape. Get a hydra-sponge and hold it against the blade to lubricate/cool the diamond and also hold the dust down. Be careful not to bind the blade in the cut. Once you have cut along your intended finish line, make another cut(relief cut) a quarter inch away(on the waste side of course). Plug your angle grinder into a GFCI.The deeper the releif cut the better. From the finishs cut, use masonsonary chisel to clear the space between the two cuts. REMOVE all chips from the now 3/8" furrow. Carefully pry up the waste portion, being extra careful not to place a bind between the waste and the finish edge.Your diamand blade should have made a kerf about 1 3/4" deep which under normal conditions would have cut completey thru the wire mesh. Sure hope they didn't use rebar!!ps: I was replying as others were also. Spent too much time pecking not to post this.
*Right on jj, I'm a slow pecker too, but I always post anyway!(oooo that sounds bad);-) It's getting late....John
*A dry cut diamond blade is the way to go, but I would suggest using a larger saw. You can get a 7" blade. If you remove the retractable guard on a worm drive you can use an 8" blade. I have an old saw dedicated to this use.
*The larger blade will cut more easily perhaps, but will not get as close to the two end walls as the 4" blade. Even the 4" may not get up flush to the wall at 90deg. I'd be afraid of cracking the remaining stuff if you just try to cut back to the line with a hammer and chisel. The fist thing that comes to mind is a carbide cutter in a Spira-Cut (looks like a laminate trimmer originally designed for dry-wall cut out but now touted for cutting anything). Experiment first.
*To freshen up the grout, clean it thoroughly with TSP and water, then apply grout stain in the color you desire. A decent tile supplier should have stain in all of the standard (Hydroment) grout colors. Seal afterward with an acrylic grout sealer. You can also get acrylic caulk in the new grout color for the borders around the foyer.
*This is Jay again.Thanks, guys, for the tips on using a grinder. I've never used one, so I guess this is the excuse I need to go out and buy another new tool. Are there any other useful things I can do with it later, just in case my wife challenges me on this? Could I use it sometimes as a tile saw? Other than that, I don't see many masonery or ceramic projects on the horizon.
*Jay, Porter-Cable and Milwaukee make nice grinders, too. You'll spend less than $100 at Tool Crib or a big box.There was an article in JLC on grinders within the last year or two ... there's lots of things you can do with one. A cut-off wheel comes in handy at times. Whatever you do, please wear eye protection. We want you to be able to continue to read these posts.As for those last few inches as you approach the wall, just gnaw into the wall and bottom plate (being careful of imbedded electrical and plumbing), since you're probably going to replace the baseboard anyway, right?Exhausted from the daily grind, Steve
*JayMake yerself a neat little stand outa scrap plywood, paint it pink, stick on a cotton buffing wheel, and tell her she can use it on her nails. . . heh heh-pm
*Jay,Tell her you can make some real neat furniture for the Home.I think they still sell the "Chainsaw Attachment". I told my new wife I needed the outfit to make a Hope Chest for the ex for Christmas. She even sprung for the fancy metal box and a couple dozen feet of chain.Jeff
*If you don't want to (or can't) buy the grinder, I cut slate just fine with a dewalt masonry blade in a circular saw. I took numerous passes, concerned I'd destroy the $20 blade, but it did fine and cut up a whole bunch of castlewall blocks too. Lots of dust. The blade is not diamond or abrasive, just a smooth metal edge. I set up a fan to blow the dust away so that i could see the cut line and maybe not destroy the saw.Considering a grinder myself anyway.... Tool Crib has a $55 reconditioned DeWalt, and $89 for a reconditioned Milwaukee.
*Turns out it IS a diamond blade, just a cheapie. Doubtlessly not as accurate as the more expensive blades with expansion cutouts etc.
*Just as an FYI:I've burned up 2 sidewinders cutting stone. I think it's the dust combined with the prolonged cutting time that does them in.
*Well Matt, anything that burns up sidewinders, I'm for it! - jb
*Jay,I've used my 4" grinder many times for small ceramic jobs sharpening mower blades, cutting rebar, with a 36 grit sanding disc for coping large crown (lots of dust but the control you can develop is awesome) and I got one of them chainsaw blades for it and wow what a tool it becomes it replaces the recrip saw in many instances