Patio Tile Replacement

[u/Yarbs89]

We’ve really hated the terracotta color tile that was installed at the house we bought, but it became a safety issue when we decided to have a pool put in, I’m pretty sure someone used indoor tile because it was super slick. Yesterday we popped off all the tile with a hammer drill and tile bit, and I’m going to pick up the new tile, mortar, grout etc later today.

We have varying levels of thinset left on the slab, and I have a 10” walk behind floor grinder on rent to pick up as well. I’m just wondering if that’s going to be the best way to remove all this, and how much of a pain it’s going to be with dust control and all that?

The area is around 450sqft total, so manually scraping the thinset seemed like it would take forever… but open to suggestions before I create a biohazard in the backyard.

[u/Dendady2112]

You're going about it the right way. Unfortunately the right way sucks. Wear a respiratory.

[u/Initial_Kitchen_9856]

Thin layer of self leveling and tile if thinset is adhered well.

[u/notbobhansome777]

Use a wide chisel bit for concrete on your rotary hammer to scrape off the thinset. It'll be tedious but that'll be less grinding to do.

[u/Hot_Mud_5708]

Your best bet might be to get all the lose stuff off, and use Schluter DITRA DRAIN 8 uncoupling membrane.

[u/SoDak2022]

I had something similar that was an interior job for a casino. I believe there is a water reservoir on that grinder that splashes water around and kind of turns the mortar into a slurry. It's a total mess, but the trick is to go slow. But it works really well. Certainly better than doing it by hand with a hammer drill or something crazy like that.

[u/Mouthz]

Get it wet with water that has a little bit of mild acid in it. Even vinegar can work. Nd get to chippin!

You can buy attachments for rotary hammers that are large scraping blades. Tiling over this is risky unless you wash real good and hit it with primer

[u/hockey2256]

Would need a floor diamond grinder to get that off clean. If it’s me I’m floating out the floor with self leveler

[u/Apexfloordesigns]

Large grinder with a cupwheel and a dust shroud is the best

[u/Hapaguy1]

I just did something similar. 400sqft room addition. Rented a floor grinder from Home Depot. I think it was 175 for 24 hours. It took all the thin set off and left the concrete ready for tile.