Home Improvement Project w/ Tiling...*please help*

[Guest 280ZForce]

OK, so 7 years ago we had new tile put in my parent's house (12"x12" beige color tile), well the guys who put it in didn't seal the grout correctly and a couple weeks ago we had confirmed there was mold growing in it that was hazardous.

 

So we got some quotes to rip it all out and they were pretty pricey, my dad didn't want to do it. So I chimed in to be a 1 man wrecking crew of my own and my parents were cool with it and said they would pay me well to do it.

 

So they decided to get up the old tile and upgrade to some bigger and better stuff...18" x 18" travertine.

 

So now I have busted out all the tile (sledge hammer power baby) ...

 

But now my question is there a tool I can rent or another route to get up the glue that was left behind under the tile?

 

Also, the best way to break away the tile along the cupboards?

 

I'm been using a hammer and a couple different size chisels for now.

 

Here's my mess after busting out the tile...

 

 

Here's the cupboard line w/ remaining old tile...

 

 

Here's the glue I gotta deal with that is everywhere and what the old tile looked like...

 

 

And our new tile (18" x 18" travertine)...

[Sparks280zt]

Wow your parents paid you to do work for them? Thats freakin nice, anyways, YES there is a tool that removes the glue from the floor. I do not know what it is called but I have seen them used. Good luck

[Two40MuscleZ]

280ZForce: Depending on what was causing the mold, there are several ways you can approach this problem. To break away the tile boardering the cabs, you can use a tool like a large wide bladed scraper which you can find at any home improvement center, i.e. Lowes, Hm. Depot, etc. This will allow you to remove the tiles and some of the adhesive used initally. To remove the glue you can use a chemical stripper, but that is expensive and messy, also depends on what your sub floor is i.e. wood, concrete, etc. If you use the scraper and keep a sharpened edge on it, that should remove most of the adhesive/grout. Lots of elbow grease but, I am sure you are already aware of that. Also, after cleaning up the floor of all debris, you can place a tar paper underlayment over the concrete floor prior to setting down the tile. Butter the tile with thin set mortor and lay it in the pattern you want. The underlayment will also act as a water barrier between the cement floor and the tile. Many times the cement floor still absorbes water from underneath and it transfers up through the floor which may be part of the reason for the mold problem. If you have laid tile before then you know how to find your starting point, squaring it off to the walls and cutting the edge tiles to finish fit. Make sure you remove all the baseboards, leave a slight gap of 1/4" between your finished edge tiles and the wall. This is done for expansion reasons. Then reinstall your baseboard covering that 1/4" gap. That should do you. Hope that helps.

 

VAN

[Guest 280ZForce]

280ZForce: Depending on what was causing the mold' date=' there are several ways you can approach this problem. To break away the tile boardering the cabs, you can use a tool like a large wide bladed scraper which you can find at any home improvement center, i.e. Lowes, Hm. Depot, etc. This will allow you to remove the tiles and some of the adhesive used initally. To remove the glue you can use a chemical stripper, but that is expensive and messy, also depends on what your sub floor is i.e. wood, concrete, etc. If you use the scraper and keep a sharpened edge on it, that should remove most of the adhesive/grout. Lots of elbow grease but, I am sure you are already aware of that. Also, after cleaning up the floor of all debris, you can place a tar paper underlayment over the concrete floor prior to setting down the tile. Butter the tile with thin set mortor and lay it in the pattern you want. The underlayment will also act as a water barrier between the cement floor and the tile. Many times the cement floor still absorbes water from underneath and it transfers up through the floor which may be part of the reason for the mold problem. If you have laid tile before then you know how to find your starting point, squaring it off to the walls and cutting the edge tiles to finish fit. Make sure you remove all the baseboards, leave a slight gap of 1/4" between your finished edge tiles and the wall. This is done for expansion reasons. Then reinstall your baseboard covering that 1/4" gap. That should do you. Hope that helps.

 

VAN[/quote']

Thanks Van... The only way we were to get rid of the mold was to get rid of all the tile because we did not know the extent of it. But it was contained on the surface of the tiles and in the grout itself, not in the concrete.

 

The old tile was laid on a tar type of sticky paper that had the mortor type of mix I guess...possibly the glue I'm speaking of. It is all laid on top of concrete.

 

My dad doesnt want to mess w/ the glue and he told me to leave it alone and he'll just pay the people who will lay the new tile to take it up. Cuz he thinks it'll take too long for us to remove it and he thinks they can do it faster with whatever they got for that.

 

I didn't like the old tile anyway, the new travertine should look b*tchin'. It will match the granite counter tops, the paint and our house a lot better...also bring up the house value.

[BayAreaZT]

I used a floor buffer with a carbide scrapper attachment. It will knock out all that mortor in no time. For the edges I used a hammer and small chissel/prybar.

[Guest 280ZForce]

I used a floor buffer with a carbide scrapper attachment.

thanks...but do you have a pic of what this looks like and where I can rent 1 from?

[DavyZ]

My dad doesnt want to mess w/ the glue and he told me to leave it alone and he'll just pay the people who will lay the new tile to take it up. Cuz he thinks it'll take too long for us to remove it and he thinks they can do it faster with whatever they got for that.

 

Ummm, I don't think that is such a great idea. I'm not sure exactly where the mold came from, but there may be moisture coming up from the concrete slab that contributes to the problem. I would knock out all the old mortar and use the tool described by Dale above. A tool & equipment rental pace should have them---just tell them what you want done and they'll steer you in the right direction.

 

I have 18" travertine in my house and the upside to it is that it is drop dead gorgeous. The downside to it is that it is extremely brittle. If you drop a fork or knife, it'll actually make a hole and even stick in it! Also, make sure that the travertine is filled and relatively smooth on the bottom--if there are serious holes or pits underneath, those are the very weak places that will show when they crack from above from a ladies spiked--ask me how I know (no the shoe was not my own). However, the upside to all this is the repair. Holes can be filled in with mortar and then finally skim coated with a similar color non sanded grout to give a similar finish. I have not tried sanded grout to do a repair and I don't want to, especially if the finish is rougher than desired. Just my $.02

 

Davy

[Guest 280ZForce]

Ummm' date=' I don't think that is such a great idea. I'm not sure exactly where the mold came from, but there may be moisture coming up from the concrete slab that contributes to the problem. I would knock out all the old mortar and use the tool described by Dale above.

 

I have 18" travertine in my house and the upside to it is that it is drop dead gorgeous. The downside to it is that it is extremely brittle. If you drop a fork or knife, it'll actually make a hole and even stick in it! Also, make sure that the travertine is filled and relatively smooth on the bottom--if there are serious holes or pits underneath, those are the very weak places that will show when they crack from above from a ladies spiked--ask me how I know (no the shoe was not my own). However, the upside to all this is the repair. Holes can be filled in with mortar and then finally skim coated with a similar color non sanded grout to give a similar finish. I have not tried sanded grout to do a repair and I don't want to, especially if the finish is rougher than desired. Just my $.02

 

Davy[/quote']

Davy - we are going to have the rest of the old mortar knocked out, my dad just didn't want us to do it. The guys who will come lay the new tile will finish getting it off the old stuff. We did what we could w/out the buffer. They will come with their buffer in the morning, because they are going to start tiling tomorrow. The mold that we had was on the surface of the tile and in the grout only, it was very minor, we caught it early. There is no moisture or mold on the concrete.

 

My mom tells me the travertine we bought is honed and filled and that she has been warned about the cautions for it. It will be professionally installed and done right.

 

Thanks for the response.