Rotary Hammer to Remove Ceramic Floor Tile

[mjb920]

I need to remove about 200 sq. ft. of ceramic tile and thinset from a concrete slab. I have a choice of renting a large $1000 demolition hammer or buying a smaller $250-$400 rotary hammer. The work will done in three separate phases so I'd prefer to buy a new toy, but I'm not sure if the rotary hammer will have enough power or durability. I realize the rotary hammer will be slower - I just don't want to buy something that won't do the job or be ruined by the time I'm finished.

Thanks, Jim

[hallerb]

rotary hammer should do it renting any tool more than once is a loser, it costs so much.

hammer drills have lots of utility value, like putting in hole thru concrete.

well worth the bucks spent

[bill allemann]

a relatively small rotary hammer will lift tile easily. a lighter weight will be an important issue if there are many square feet involved. for a one-time job, you could probably get by with an even cheaper one from harbor freight or whatever.

[cm]

We use the Harbor Freight rotary hammer. $109.00 or $69.00 on sale. We have been using it in our home repair business for two years to remove tile and break up concrete. Great value IMHO

cm

[Knot]

So what do you put on this rotary drill for it to take the tile off?

Any links?

Thanks

[John McGaw]

I use one similar to this

in my Bosch Bulldog rotary hammer (with the rotation turned off, of course, or it gets _really_ interesting) and it has worked very well in limited trials. I've got three bathrooms that will be retiled and I'm sure that I'll have more information about how well it works by the time that is done. The Bulldog certainly does a fine job of removing spalled bricks which is what I originally bought it for.

Oh, BTW, I'm not suggesting that this will work in _your_ rotary hammer or in any particular model. There seems to be quite a number of stem-types on these beasts and it is very difficult for me to figure out which is which sometimes.

[mjb920]

[mjb920]

There is a "hammer only" setting.

[jimmiedee]

Took some ugly green tile out of my bathroom floor about 4 years ago. Bought an air hammer and chisel from Northern, think it was less than $30. Piece of cake if you already have a compressor.

[SQLit]

The real trick is not so much the hammer drill, it is the bit that goes into it. I have a Hilti TE-52, I just spent $120 for a 5 inch wide spade bit for it, ya another Hilti product. I have found when buying bits you get what you pay for.

Any hammer drill that has a "hammer only" setting will work. Check the specs on the hammer drill before you buy. One that says it can do chiseling, may only be able to use a 1" chisel bit. I would recommend that you stay away from the smaller Bosch drills. They work fine for up to 1/2 inch holes, they do not chisel like my Hilti.

[RayV]

You might be surprised at how easily it comes up. Just take a sledge to the tops of the tiles to nudge them loose. A wide cold chisel or masonry hammer can then be used to knock off the high spots. Then you can smooth out the the rest with red brick.

If that doesn't work then go rent the tool.

[sg_angelina]

hilti te 52 is too heavy to work with for long, try what Rayv says or a bosch rotary would be good. at 250 - 400, you can buy even a used hilti but i still recommend a small rotary hammer due to weight.

[Knot]

Ahhhhhhh, I gues mine does not have the Hammer only option. :-(

what do I expect for $69.99.

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

If you don't want to spend $$ on a rotary hammer, you might try one of these:

I bought one to clear a room of self levelling concrete that didn't self level. Worked great. It's not much use otherwise but made fairly quick work of the floor. I seem to remember I bought it on sale for around $50 Cheers, cc

[thetiler]

If you're only doing 200 sq.ft. in three phases, that's not a lot of tile to remove. Just buy yourself a big, 2" wide high quality heavy chisel, and a large hammer, and do it by hand.

What you need is a hammer chisel, not a rotary. A true hammer chisel has much more force than a rotary switched to hammer only.

You'll need at least a 3 hp compressor to run a chisel hammer. There are mid sized $500 electric hammers that use a maximum

2" bit that would work well for that little of an area.

Wear leather work gloves or risk serious injury to your hands.

thetiler

[thetiler]

I have a larger air powered chisel for larger tear outs, but for repairs and smaller tear outs I have a Makita model 1810 chisel hammer. It is a fantastic tool and works great. It's variable speed, and has great power for it's size. Today I easily took out 100 s.f. of tile in about 1 1/2 hours with it. I've had it a few years and wish I bought one when I started in the business. It has a long cord, a nice carry case and comes with

3 chisels. Here's a link to view it. I don't know anything about the address as far as purchacing through them.

?sc=8&category=128&it=A&id=2905 Hopefully that shows as a clickable link and you don't have to type it!

thetiler