How to Remove Tile From Concrete Floors

To update a room with fashionable tile or just change the color of the tile, first you must remove the old tile. It can then be replaced by any suitable overlay, or if preferred, the concrete itself can be left bare or painted. All tile put onto concrete will have been glued down, and then the seams will have been filled with grout. Some of that grout, but not all of it, will need to be removed first, and then you'll be able to proceed from there.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Grout removing tool, commonly called a grout rake
• Heavy duty adhesive remover
• Hammer
• Sturdy drywall knife
• Old bucket, any size, for adhesive waste

1. Start removing the grout. You will need to remove some of the grout from the seams of the tiles, but this only has to be done to half of them. You can look at tile floors as having two types of seams, horizontal, or side to side, and vertical, or up and down. You want to begin on the horizontal seams filled with grout. On the first horizontal seam, take your grout rake and scrape away all the grout that is in the seam. You'll need to do this along the entire horizontal line.Once most of the grout has been removed, and it doesn't all have be (just the majority of it so there is an actual space that has opened up between the tiles), get your can of adhesive remover.

2. Pour adhesive remover into the crack left when you removed the grout. Fill up that crack and let the adhesive remover soak in. While you are waiting you can repeat the grout removal process on the next horizontal seam, and then pour adhesive remover into the crack.

3. Start prying off tiles. Once you have raked the grout free on all the tiles, and have filled up all the spaces with adhesive remover, go back to the first row of tile. By now, the adhesive beneath the first row of tiles should be so saturated that they may simply lift up in your hands. If they still need a little help, slip your drywall knife under the edge and lift slowly. You may need to use your hammer and gently pound on the end of the drywall knife to get it started, but then just lift the tiles off.

4. Continue to pull up rows of tiles. Each row should lift off in succession, and you can throw all the used tiles in your waste bucket.

5. Use your drywall knife to scrape off the rest of the adhesive from the concrete, depositing all scrapings in your waste bucket.

Tips & Warnings

• Every time you remove a line of grout, always fill in the spaces made in all the seams so far with adhesive remover. You'll need to always go back to the first line, fill up the space and continue doing this every time, almost like starting from the beginning each time. The more adhesive remover that penetrates, the easier it will be to lift the tiles up from the concrete.

References

• Advice on removing tile.