I'm taking up tile and plan on laying down a laminate floor. How critical is getting up all of the thin-set from the plywood? and if so, any suggestions? I'm using a sledge hammer to break it up, but really slow going. thanks Mike
From Ceramic Tile to Wood Laminate
Mar 07, 2010
5 Replies
I did the same thing 2 years ago. I got a heavy floor scraper from HD that helped with the smaller pieces and the thinset. Still had to break the old tile with a hammer and chisel. It wasn't perfectly smooth, but the foam underlay smoothed it out.
If you've got an air compressor, you might try one of these air hammers:
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Or, you could just say "If life gives you thinset..." and add floor leveler to the spots WITHOUT thinset.
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I second that process!
hammers:
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For a BIG job, one can rent a long reach pneumatic scraper. Easy on the knees. HF has one for $129.00, but rental is cheaper I guess. Worth the rental for a big job.
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Think outside the box and consider how much faster it might be to just put down a new subfloor. Even if it is a DIY project, you don't want to spend hours and hours to get a half assed result with scrapers or leveling compounds. If you start at one edge with the first joist, you could pull up subfloor in sections complete with the tile and heave it in the roll-off. New plywood will be a joy to work with and your laminate should have much longer life.
Joe
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