How To Remove Tile Adhesive

Removal of tile adhesive is undoubtedly among the most difficult DIY jobs that an individual can ever engage in. Once the tile adhesive hardens, it can be quite difficult when removing since it dries up a lot of concrete. Most people would rather look for an alternative way of improving their interiors but if you want to take up the existing tile in order to replace it with something else, there’s no option. You must thoroughly remove all of the tile adhesives to end up with a surface that’s even and flat. First, let’s look at what you’ll need for this task.

What you need

For you to be able to effectively do this job, they need a hammer, an electric hammer and chisel, power scraper, gloves, buckets, respirator, goggles and floor grinder.

Steps to follow:

Once you have all the above tools ready, go through the following steps in removing the adhesive:

Ask for Help

Whether to seek or recruit help depends on the amount of work at hand. If the amount of space you want to remove the adhesive from is large, you should definitely look for help since this kind of job is a bit too hectic to be done single-handedly. However, if it’s just a small space like a bathroom, you can do it just by yourself.

Tile adhesive

Preparation

Removal of tile adhesive will create a lot of dust in the vicinity of where the work is done. It’s, therefore, a smart move to find a way of dealing with the dust before you begin to work. For instance, it’s advisable to wet the floor down sparingly before you begin to work. You should, however, not wet the entire floor. You could also wear a respirator to allow you to breathe freely during the job. Other things to wear are protective goggles and gloves.

Hammering and Chiselling

The use of a hammer and a chisel is one of the best ways to go about doing this task. However, if the area to be done is relatively small, a regular hammer can sort you out in carrying out the job. A large area, on the other hand, may need you to hire an electric hammer with a chisel. With the latter option, you’ll find the process much easier and you’ll be able to save a lot of time in the process.

Scraping

An alternative way of removing the tile adhesive is by the use of a scraper. You can either hire a power scraper or obtain a manual scraper blade to achieve your goal. In this case too, if the area to scrap is large, a power scraper would be the most suited for the job.

Tile removal

Grinding

A grinder could also be used for this task. From your local rental store, you should be able to find and hire a floor grinder to help you do the job. The grinder breaks the adhesive off your floor by going in a circular motion. This will result in a lot of dust.

Cleaning Up

During the whole process, you need to try your best to clean up as you do your job. You’ll end up with so many small pieces of the adhesive which you have to remove from the room. The ideal way is to ensure that you put the pieces in large buckets to allow you to carry them out once you’re done with the work.