Well, about half the tile in the kitchen I’m remodeling came up easily. I’m guessing they fired the first installer at right about the point I’m trying to tear up now, and that the second guy wasn’t afraid to use some thinset. Any great ideas on how to remove tile from plywood? I’m down to a hammer and cold chisel, and I’m getting about one square inch at a time.
Thanks,
Andy
Arguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig — Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Replies
Andy,
Was the pay that bad at Taunton?
Jon
andyengel
sometimes they com up easy but one time i found it easer to take up the top layer of subfloor instead of all the labor to remove tile , what could have been 2 or 3 days it took 6 hours and about 7 sheets of new plywood and the new tile went down so much better.........just another option.
Dogboy
Ummm....
a bigger hammer...
maybe an eight pound sledge....
and a blanket??
Just guessing.
Rich Beckman
Another day, another tool.
Spud bar.
Bosch combination or demo hammer w/ a 3" chisel, scaling chisel or a scaling scrapper.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming....
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Air chisel with a wide blade. The automotive types that come with sheet metal cutting chisels...
Time to invest in some real tools.
Bosch SDS -Max
Use the wide blade.
Andy: My wife is always amazed at my patience when doing things like that. All I can say is that you do this kind of job the same way tou clean a tile floor w/ a toothbrush - one tile at a time. Just remember that famous line from Tom Selleck's movie "High Road to China." "The oxen are slow.....but the Earth is...Patient."
Cheers.
Don Reinhard
Hey Andy,
I'd go for the SDS-Max demo hammer with the wide blade, too. I don't know how it works on plywood, but those things blow tile right off of concrete.
New signature line: My worst day on the jobsite was still better than my best day in the office.
Best of luck back in the field.
DRC
not that everyone else hasn't said it...
a chipping hammer... a few months back had a ton-o-tile to remove, and a 2" mud bed along with it in the 16x20 kitchen...the rotary hammer on hammer only made "easy" work of the tile and the mud bed, thankfully someone else was lucky enough to have to haul out the mess I made..
the real nice thing was on the baths also with the mud bed, if you got the chisel laid down kinda flat it would take the tile but not damage the mud bed hardly at all. I'd imagine you could do the same on the plywood.
the one I rented was a hitachi laying it on it's back on the handle gave me a perfect angle of attack and saved my arms from wanting to fall off.
watch the cord it kept getting lost in the dust I was making and the rental place got their tool back minus 6" of cord.
wear some ear protection and gloves, and eyes obviously...
I think you have already got the good advice, demo hammer and a wide chisel, mine is a Makita. Definitely remember the safety issues, tile pieces seem to be the sharpest things I have ever used to lose weight with. Of course I was bleeding on the floor to be kept!! Good luck
Dan
Thanks for the good advice guys. I think I know where to borrow a rotary hammer.
Handydan, you're right about the safety gear. I wear safety glasses pretty much from the moment I get out of the truck in the morning anyway, but long sleeves, kneepads and gloves are also required here. Nonetheless, I've been bleeding every day just from flying shards.
And no, the pay wasn't that bad at Taunton. It's simply that I prefer tearing up tile to having to manage people in a way that I disagree with. On the job site, I get to make the decisions without running them through a committee. And when I'm done tearing up the tile, I get to put in new. How cool is that?
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
""I think I know where to borrow a rotary hammer.""
from the guy at FHB who did the test in the last issue
LOL!!!
ya know talking about chipping guns, I was looking through a old tool box and found my dads chipping gun he used about 30 years ago. I changed the fitting plugged in the airline and viola it still worked..how cool is that...
Darkworksite4:
El americano pasado hacia fuera ase la bandera
I stopped at my local rental yard this morning, and they have what looks to be a cool tool for this purpose. It's a pneumatic scaler on the end of a long handle, kind of like the handle of a weed whacker. I might give it a try. Pricey at $60/day, but I could work standing upright, just like a human being.
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
yea but andy, what fun is that :>)
Darkworksite4:
El americano pasado hacia fuera ase la bandera
I could work standing upright, just like a human being. So then you're saying that those of us who get down on our hands & knees and toil all day for pennies...we're not human?Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Just curious.......that big ol' loud machine I used to use to rip up vinyl tile glued to concrete.Might that work?
aMy life is my passion!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
andy that is exactly the tool i was going to suggest, i have never used it before myself but saw it being used on tv on that show that was sponsored by lowes with three couples competing on remodels to win a house in texas. one guy was using it to break up the tile from what looked to be a wood subfloor or underlayment and it looked to come out very well, definitely the correct tool for the job and i can't wait for my next opportunity to try one.
"And no, the pay wasn't that bad at Taunton. It's simply that I prefer tearing up tile to having to manage people in a way that I disagree with. On the job site, I get to make the decisions without running them through a committee."
Andy,
Sorry, should have added a LOL after. WorkshopJon here, posting on the dad's computer here in NY. Boy is dial-up slow....and absolutely no luck hacking into the neighbors wireless high-speed from the notebook.
Actually, I can very much relate, as despite all my formal education, I'd still rather work with my hands too.
My wife used to complain all the time about the way things are done in the corporate world. I told her to find a different job. Things are better now, but still not perfect. Bureaucracy is a fact of life if you want to go that route.
BTW, thanks again for the advice, and good luck on the project.
Jon
I borrowed a Makita rotary hammer and a 1 1/2 in. chisel bit today. That knocked the stuffing out of the rest of the tile. Cleaned off about 60 sq. ft. in an hour and a half. Not bad considering.
One thing I hadn't thought about was just how hot the bit might get. I actually heard the skin sizzle when I brushed my left wrist against the bit.
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
It's probably too late since you've already removed a good bit of tile. Sometimes it is easy to get a prybar under the plywood and rip it up in sheets with the old tile still attached. Then put down new ply. It also avoids the problem of cleaning most of the thinset off the old plywood. But sometimes the ply is just as tough to pry up if it's been glued and screwed down...
Billy
Billy:
I agree-- I usually chip away a 1 inch line of tile, then I use a circular saw to cut the whole floor up into four foot squares. The saw blade is set only to cut the first layer of plywood. Then I simply pry up the plywood and the tile in one piece. I've done numerous bathrooms and kitchens this way with good success. If you are good, you can even skip the chipping part and saw right down the grout line.
J Painter
Where were you last Friday? <G>
I did try pulling up the plywood, but it was socked down pretty well with 2 in. screws. In the end, I had to pull up all four sheets where the good installer worked. The chisel beat them up too much for me to tile over them in good conscience. And given how much time it would have taken to clean off the thinset, it's a wash.
BTW, I added a clause to the contract on this job that made underlayment replacement an extra, if it became necessary.
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
had to rip up 180sf of tile in a kitchen a few months ago over 1/2" wonderboard liberally glued down with construction adhesive to a t&g diagonal slat floor. 3 days of torture with every tool imaginable. at one point i sat on the floor for a good half hour bleeding while tears of desperation welled in my eyes. i sooooooo feel for you bro. i think i ended up making about 4.37 per hour on that job.
Here's a bit of irony for you. Wouldn't you be proud if you'd set the tile that gave you such fits tearing up?
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Absolutely rent, borrow, steal or buy an SDS. But don't touch the bit. It gets very hot.
I ought to post a pic of the burn on my wrist. Right under my watchband, of course.
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
I ought to post a pic of the burn on my wrist. Right under my watchband, of course.
Andy
We're waiting.......along with yer smile.
Know what Mr Engel.........sounds like yer project might make for a good article for JLC......oopsss, I mean FHB.
If there was one about your floor issue you wouldn't have had to pose the question. Had you thought about that?
Be a new article
andyC
PS.See ya on the roof for a black n tan with that Blodgett kid and the piffmiesterMy life is my passion!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
I don't think there's enough glamour in tearing up tile. Although I'm told there may be an article in the works on replacing a damaged tile.
Aye, a black and tan. Up the Republic!
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
Aye, a black and tan. Up the Republic!
Don't even start.wait for the fest.I hear even Piff is gonna act immature....oiy"My life is my practice"
I can only add 2 words to the arsenel of tools ...
Labor ... Ready!
ok ... 3 more ...
rent-a-guy.
I'm only 37 .... yer plenty older than me .... and we're both too old for this crap!
rent a guy ... buy him lunch ... and sign the card early. Everyone's happy .....
JeffBuck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
I'll look into that, but compared to you in cosmopolitan Pittsburgh, I live in the sticks. The nearest place I could get someone is half an hour from the job.
A lot older than you!!?? Man, I'm only 42. Did my time at FHB age me that much??
Hey -- My wife's sister is taking my boys to Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnatti this August for a series of baseball games. Got any recommendations for fun local stuff they could do while in town?
AndyArguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.
U people in the sticks and yer silly fear of driving!
30 min .... I drive a bit under an hour in the morn .. and a bit over an hour in the eve ... just to get to and from my usual area of work .... gotta go where the money is. Same drive ... non-morning/eve-rush ... about 15-20 min.
So find a rentaguy place 1/2 hr away and sign up .. next time ... you'll be glad ya did.
Lotsa fun kid type stuff in and around Pgh .... the Pgh Zoo is one of the best in the country ... just visited the San Diego ... way overrated ....
Right next to the new Pirates/Steelers parks in the Carnegie Science Center ... tons of way cool hands on activities/experiments .... time dependant ... our old fashion amusement park ... Kennywood ... wins the yearly wooden coaster awards ... from who ever awards that?
Even a trip up my mountain ... Mt Washington ... on the "inclines" ... is worth the 30 min and $2 each way .... we have 2 of the last working commuter inclines ... the touristy one is right out the door from Station Square ... which is an old rail yard turned into shops ...
which .. asi it turns out ... is the home to "the Gateway Clipper Boats" .... pseudo-paddle wheelers ... which are the best way to get to a ball game. Park in their lot ... ride the boat over ... snacks bars/gift shops will be open ... then walk up to the stadiums .... great way to start a ballgame. Then ... instead of sitting in all the traffic to excape the stadium lots ... walk back to the boat ... grap a cold beer and float across ... stop at one of the Station Sq restraunts for lunch/dinner ... then hope the inclines up and back down.
Email me ... let me know how long they'll be here ....
Like I said ... lots to do in one day ... or even fill a week.
Sounds like a great coupla ballparks to see.
JeffBuck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Thanks for the info, Jeff.Arguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it.