Removing Tile and Thinset from Concrete

We decided the basement floors were something we had to update before we can sell this house. Which meant removing tile and thinset from the concrete foundation. This was difficult and dusty, but it was definitely a DIY’able task. Thank goodness for my good friend, Chelsey, who loves doing demo and is willing to get dirty and work hard in exchange for a good meal cooked by Chef Powell!

How to remove thinset from concrete after removing tile

The builders made the choice to install a section of tile, leading from the garage door, over to the stairwell, and back to the patio door. It makes sense to have a durable, cleanable surface in that, high traffic area. Especially considering two of those doors lead to the outside. I didn’t love the triangle, but didn’t have a better design idea for including two different flooring materials either.

Basement layout with tile and carpet

I considered leaving the tile and just replacing the carpet, which HAD to be replaced. The carpet in the bedroom and closet affected by the sewer saga had already been torn out. If I had been able to find a reputable carpet installer, I would have gone that route.

sewer saga basement

I could not find a carpet installer (I felt comfortable with) so we decided to choose flooring we could install ourselves. Which wouldn’t be carpet. Since we would be installing the flooring ourselves, I wasn’t going to leave the weird triangle of a different material. We tore out ALL the flooring, including the tile and thinset.

Removing tile from concrete subfloor

Removing Tile

Removing the tile was easy with Milwaukee tool’s M18 FUEL™ 1″ SDS Plus D-Handle Rotary Hammer! That thing, with a tile chisel bit, popped the tiles up like nothing. And it was fun to use – on the tile.

Chipping tile off concrete

Removing Thinset

Removing the thinset was another story. It was probably the thickest thinset application in the history of ever.

How to remove thinset from concrete

I did some research before tackling this project. House of Hepworths was the most informative out of all that I read. Their tip for success was to rent a Floor Maintainer (from Home Depot) along with a Diamond disk, to grind down the mortar. My closest HD does’t do rentals so I called my local rental center and asked what they had for the job. It wasn’t a Floor Maintainer and the head was smaller than the machine in Allison’s post. I didn’t want to drive forever to get the exact machine so I went with my rental center’s machine.

Grinding thinset off concrete floors

It did not go smoothly. The machine kept dying. I took it in and exchanged it for another. That one kept dying too so the rental center sent someone out to look at the situation. Apparently the mortar was just too thick. I don’t know if the Floor Maintainer would have done a better job or had the same problem. The rental center gave me a new disk to use on the machine. One with more hearty grinding pads. Taking turns between that and the hammer chisel, we were finally able to get it done.

How to remove thinset from concrete after removing tile

Man it was a chore though!

First, we’d chip out as much as we could get with the hammer chisel. Then we’d sweep away the chunks. After that, we’d use the machine to grind down at the thinset that was left. The grinding process left a thick layer of dust on the floor. I had my dust vac hooked up to the machine which I think just kept some of the dust out of the air. Periodically I vacuumed up a thick layer of dust.

Concrete floor prep

Then I’d start the process again: chip, sweep, grind, vacuum…

Chipping and grinding thinset off concrete subfloor

Until finally the whole room was finished. We completely filled the 14 gallon dust extractor with mortar dust during this process. Months later, I vacuumed a layer of gray dust off the walls down there.

prepping concrete subfloor

Grinding the thinset off the concrete was a two day chore. I spent a couple hundred dollars on the machine rental. It wasn’t fun and it wasn’t cheap, but it’s done.

You Might ALso Like

18 Comments

  1. I’m really surprised your arms aren’t like Arnold’s lol Any ideas as to what material(s) you’ll be replacing with yet?

  2. Trisha Lawrence says:

    The floor maintainer with the grinding disc (has 3-4 large teeth on it) would have taken it off. I worked as a laborer in the union in Indiana and had to use it for this same application. But when that thing grabs onto something be ready cause it can fling you a few feet if your not prepared. Lol
    But definitely the tool to have for that project.
    You ladies did a killer job though! Way to tackle it!!

  3. I have a small bathroom and laundry area that have tile that needs to be removed and replaced. It’s on concrete. I’m not looking forward to that job!

  4. In a room this large there are going to be at least 3 seams. I have no experience and don’t want to gain it on a space this big. I am going to install some on the stairs! So I will get some practice for next time.

  5. I think it’s good to know what you’re getting into. LOL

Comments are closed.