Remove Old Thinset From Concrete Floor

Today we learn how to take thinset off the floor with a nifty contraption i made.

Remove old thinset from concrete floor.

The last of the tile hicans. As usual i googled for answers on what to do for this next. And it s great for creating durable surfaces. To remove thinset start by pouring boiling water over the thinset to weaken the material.

Remove a section of the thinset using the hammer. I originally thought the task of removing tiles from concrete was a dirty thankless job but now that i ve moved onto separating the thin set from the concrete i have a renewed respect for the folks who do this sort of work for a living. But if you pull up old tiles it may be something you will have to contend with. Thinset is used to install tile to concrete while adhesives and epoxies are used to install tile to wood subfloors.

If we had known how easy it was to remove the thinset using this floor maintainer we would have probably just done it ourselves and saved the 500 we had to pay to have the work done for us. It was a little sad to remove the last one from it s place. Yet when you need to remove it it can be a nightmare. Removing mortar from concrete slab floor can be tricky.

Mortar is a cement based paste that is used for binding building materials like bricks tiles and stones. Leave it for an hour then hold a sharp putty knife at a 45 degree angle and hammer the back with a hand maul to break up the thinset. If you re unable to remove all of it smooth out the surface with an angle grinder and a diamond grinding wheel. The only negative to using the maintainer is that it created a huge amount of sand like dust on the floor.

Thank goodness for my good friend chelsey who loves doing demo and is willing to get dirty and work hard in exchange for a good meal cooked by chef powell. This was difficult and dusty but it was definitely a diy able task. Which meant removing tile and thinset from the concrete foundation. Put on protective eye wear.

The thinset on the floor. After the old tiles were removed there were still large areas of thinset stuck to the concrete that were obviously not level.