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How do I Remove Tile Concrete Mesh Floor?

Installing tile over a concrete mesh floor provides a durable, solid surface for the tile that prevents tiles and grout from shifting and cracking. Installing a tile-over-mesh floor consists of layering concrete onto a cement board or plywood sub-floor, laying wire mesh and then setting tiles in a bed of mortar or thin-set adhesive. Once the tile sets in a mortar bed, it becomes one with the concrete, which makes removal of both the concrete and the tile necessary. If the tile is set with thin-set adhesive, removing the concrete is optional as long as it is in good repair. This is a messy project, but is a job a do-it-yourself type homeowner will accomplish with success.

Things You'll Need

  • Safety goggles
  • Dust mask
  • Gloves
  • Cold chisel
  • Hammer
  • Coal shovel
  • Wire brush
  • Grinder
  • Heat gun
  • Sledgehammer
  • Chipping hammer
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Instructions

  1. Tiles Set in Thin-set Adhesive

    • 1

      Don safety goggles, dust mask and gloves.

    • 2

      Place a cold chisel over the center of any tile on the floor. Hit the cold chisel with a heavy weight hammer to break the tile. Break out four to six tiles in this manner.

    • 3

      Place a heavyweight coal shovel at the edge of the broken tile, and forcefully push the shovel to lift and remove the surrounding tiles and wire mesh.

    • 4

      Scrape thin-set adhesive off the concrete with a wire brush or grinder, or use a heat gun to heat the adhesive and then scrape it off.

    • 5

      Hit the concrete forcefully with a sledgehammer to break it up and remove it. Continue until all concrete is gone.

    Tiles Set In a Mortar Bed

    • 6

      Wear safety goggles, dust mask and gloves.

    • 7

      Chip away at the tile and concrete with an electric or gas-powered chipping hammer, which is a small version of a jackhammer.

    • 8

      Remove debris from the floor as tile and concrete becomes loose and movable.

    • 9

      Continue to chip the floor away until you expose the sub-floor.

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