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How to remove slate tile flooring?

We are revamping our pantry and wanting to remove the slate flooring.

Is this something we can do ourselves, or is it best to hire a professional for the job.

We will be hiring a professional for the rest of the house as its a large area, but that's a while off, whereas the pantry we can do ourselves.

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Renovation

Tiling

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EricL

Hello @Kelli-H

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about removing your tile slate flooring.

It sounds like you are about to begin a major renovation project! The slate tiles can be smashed using a Craftright 3.6KG Sledge Hammer or you can use a For Hire: Coates Medium Breaker. Manual breaking can also be achieved using a Cyclone 1650 x 25mm Hex Fencing Bar.

Please remember to wear personal protection such as appropriate clothing, gloves, goggles and a mask when working on your floor.

Just keep in mind not to dig too deep and if you hit the concrete base do not go any further so that you don't have to do a lot of repairs. Your objective is to simply remove the tiles but keep the concrete base intact for the next new tiles.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

Kelli-H

Thanks @EricL. I appreciate the advice.

Will have a look at those options and see if we will tackle it ourselves or get outside help!

Thanks again!

MitchellMc

Keep us updated @Kelli-H, and please reach out again if you have further questions.

Mitchell

Kelli-H

Hey @MitchellMc & @EricL,

So, I gave it a go and actually managed to get the slate tiles up pretty easily. Many of them came up in one piece once I'd loosened the tile around them.

My next job is to continue to remove the tiling cement that was used!

Is it the same process, using the same tools, or is there something different for this portion of the job?

Image hopefully helpful!

EricL

Hello @Kelli-H

I suggest testing a flat blade scraper to see if the old adhesive can be removed traditionally. If it has petrified, I suggest using a DTA 100mm Dual Row Grinding Disc in combination with a grinder. This will make short work of the old adhesive and level your concrete floor at the same time.

Please note that this device will generate an extreme amount of dust. I therefore suggest closing off the area with drop sheets and masking tape to prevent the dust from travelling to other parts of your house.

Please make sure to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles and an appropriate mask when working on your project.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Kelli-H

I gave this a go with the recommended dual row grinding disc and an angle grinder.

It barely made a dent in the tile cement. 🙁

What is my next option? Hire someone to grind away the cement or can I use a self levelling compound to smooth it out before putting on new flooring?

Jason

Sorry for the slow reply @Kelli-H.

Let me tag @EricL to provide further assistance as soon as possible.

Jason

EricL

Hello @Kelli-H

My apologies for the late reply. It appears that the tile adhesive has petrified and has gone super hard. That only indicates that it has been there quite a long time. Normally the grinding disc makes short work of tile adhesive but in this instance it has not.

If you use self-levelling compound keep in mind what the final floor height will be. Say for example, the levelling compound goes on at a conservative 3mm then add another 5mm for tile adhesive and 7mm for the tile itself. That would add a total of 15mm to the height of your floor.

As long as it matches or comes close the height of the outside floor then it should not be an issue. But you also have the option of hiring a trades person to break apart the tile adhesive if you wish to keep the height uniform.

I propose trying the disc grinder one more time, but this time start at the outer edge of the tile adhesive and see if you can start breaking it apart from the corners. Please keep in mind that it is like petrified stone and will take some time to grind away.

Please remember to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles and a mask when working on your project.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

Kelli-H

Hi @EricL

I think you are 100% right. It has been there since the house was built. It's most definitely petrified.

I will keep working on small sections to see if I can at least get the top layer smoothed out.

We are planning on replacing the flooring with a hybrid floor, not going back to tile.

A slight elevation in this area (closed off pantry) we don't mind, but will definitely be getting professionals in for the slate in the rest of the house!

Kelli-H

@EricL

I was wondering if a rotary hammer drill with sds chisel bit would help move things along?

I have found that I can manually chisel away at the mortar but obviously that is time consuming and labour intensive.

I would value your thoughts on this.

Thank you

EricL

Hello @Kelli-H

My best advice is to make sure that your rotary drill is compatible with the SDS chisel. It will definitely expedite the removal of the mortar bed. I highly recommend giving it a go.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Beca29

Hi @Kelli-H,

I am about to start literally the same job.

What was your outcome? I say my slate will be exactly like yours!

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Beca29. It's fabulous to have you join us.

Hopefully, @Kelli-H can let us know how they go with their project. Removing slate tiles is much the same process as removing standard porcelain tiles. Most of the time, they will come up fairly easily, but the glue and residue left behind can give some trouble. It's really a give-it-a-go type of situation, and you'll soon discover any difficulties. What size is the area you'll be removing? You might like to pop some images up of the space so our helpful members can provide assistance. Let me know if you need a hand uploading photos.

Mitchell

Kelli-H

Hi @Beca29,

I managed to get the slate up without too much hassle, using a sledgehammer and chisel bit on my impact drill.

However, the real trouble came when I realised that the mortar used to install the slate had petrified, and it was so insanely difficult to remove. I needed to hire a large floor grinder to get it up, then I needed to pour self levelling concrete.

For the rest of the house with slate, I would not be able to do it myself again, and we will hire professionals.

Beca29

Hi Mitchell,

I ended up hiring a contractor rip up the slate. Took 2 fully grown men with a rented jackhammer thing on a trolley and ALOT of sweat. I tried a small section and i would have been there for days! What an effort!

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