taking up ceramic kitchen tiles

SDS with rotary lock and a chisel bit. Will take no time.

you can hire a tile removing attatchment that fits into a hilti or similar breaker. it's basically a steel bar about 2 foot long with a scraper at the buisness end, it's flexible and made of spring steel, but is much thicker than a paint/wallpaper scraper.

wear ear defenders - they are deafening.

then use levelling compound prior to starting afresh.

Anything from dead easy to a right bitch, depending on how well they were laid originally. Try a club hammer and bolster first. You'll soon find out which.

You can buy really cheap SDS drill/breakers these days - make sure it has a "chisel only" facility if you do. If it has that, the cheap ones will do. The only problem with them is weight. They should be durable enough for casual use.

But why not fill the margins in with a different tile or floor leveller? Then you can go over it with tiles or whatever.

You are unlikely to find matching tiles. Even if you do, different job lots will have different shades. They won't be noticed in the block but will around the edges. You'd be better with a total contrast.

i like the idea of levelling it up with the compound, but if i did this and laid a new surface on top, then the floor height will be higher than the room next to it. at the moment they are the same height and have a panel going across the doorway.

i think i'll manually try removing a bit with a chisel and hammer and see how easy it is.

just a quickie, the only chisels i can see in diy shops are called wood chisels. are they ok for lifting the floor tiles? also what type of hammer some are wood and look a bit weak others are rubber or metal. thanks

You need a bolster chisel and a club hammer and plenty of muscle.

mark

Examples

Bolster chisel

markls.com/store/detail.asp?productid=62850

cheers mark i know what to buy now