How to remove slate tile flooring?

[Kelli-H]

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.

 

 

[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.