Removing floor tiles

[HellonHeels]

Has anyone done DIY floor tile removal?

How hard is it? Is it even feasible to do?

I've got a sitting/dining room with 80s square terracotta tiles cemented to the floor. Hate them, want to replace with vintage floorboards + underfloor heating. It's an old cottage with low ceilings so can't put flooring over the top.

Grateful for any advice.

Depends how well stuck down they are but definitely DIY able. You get safety goggles, a bolster, a lump hammer, or normal hammer, a crow bar can be useful and a builders trug is handy for putting the bits of tiles in. Put the bolster at on corner of a tile which is accessible from the side, maybe in the doorway, and angle it at the adhesive below the tile at about 30 degrees and give it a whack. Work along the edge and at some point the tile adhesive will shear off the floor or the tile. It is quite satisfying. You can reward yourself for each whole unbroken tile you remove (If you are weird like me).

Thank you so much Geneticsbunny, that's very encouraging.

I've de-tiled a bathroom wall before but those were thin 20cm tiles and quite easy, these floor tiles are a different beast.

Been looking at electric chisel sort of things, anyone used one of those?

The big issue will be what is underneath the tiles. Don’t expect a decent sub floor! Is cottage listed?

You could consider hiring something like this;

www.hss.com/hire/p/floor-tile-stripper

I think it could be quite difficult to get a smooth underfloor if you want to lay underfloor heating over it and I think it would need to be insulated layer or else it may sap all the heat away. (But then I've never done anything like this!)

Oooh that sounds like a fun weekend to do !

A cheap hammer drill with a crank chisel bit will lift the tiles very quickly. You can get both for around £40 in total from Screwfix. If you get the drill bit under the edges at the right angle and you can sometimes lift a few almost in a sheet, handy to have a hammer and bolster chisel too. Get loads of rubble bags or old bags for life as it is surprising how much (heavy) debris there will be to get rid of/take to local tip. If the floor is uneven after taking up the tiles (not always the case) use the chisel bit to smooth out any bumps and use self levelling compound to even it out.

Forgot to add we put underfloor heating down after lifting tiles and levelling out floor. Worked okay for us.

Thanks so much everyone! I'm feeling like it's possible now.

It is a listed building but the floor coverings aren't historic. It's had a concrete floor done, in the 70s/80s, so I don't think there will be any nasty surprises under the tiles (or interesting finds!).

Once the tiles are gone I'm planning to get the pros in to level the floor and install the heating and boards. Main reason for wanting to remove the tiles myself is that my cats get upset with trades in and out of the house but they will be fine if I do it, so it will really reduce the time they are unhappy.

If its listed then the existing Concrete floors might be causing damp issues? And even if they aren't then they will be damaging the original fabric of the building. This could be a good opportunity to take them out and replace with limecrete maybe?

Also although I would not hesitate to rip out 80s tiling, if it is part of the fabric of the house it is covered by the listing and you could theoretically be made to put it back in. Especially if there are pictures of the old floor on Rightmove. The only things you are allowed to do without listed building consent are decorating and like for like replacements.

You definitely need listed building consent for underfloor heating.

Thank you Geneticsbunny for all the tips, I'll check out the consent requirements in more detail before we do anything - had no idea listed building consent was required for underfloor heating 😱

In terms of damp, we've been here a year and not observed any issues; comprehensive survey didnt indicate any either. It's very tempting to think of replacing concrete with trad materials though, I agree with you that modern materials don't agree with old buildings.

I love my house, want it to be happy!

We were approved to put underfloor heating in ours so hopefully it will be fine. You should be able to pay a little bit and get some preapplication advice from your conservation officer.

I bought a Silverline sds hammer drill to take up tiles (about £60). It so satisfying, it just pops them up like they aren’t stuck down at all. I’ve since it for hundreds of bits of DIY - I can definitely recommend it.

I’m a 45 year old office worker if that helps, my knowledge of DIY is entirely based on YouTube videos :-)

I second what @Mumtofourandnomore says. We just borrowed my dad's SDS drill to take up our bathroom floor that was practically welded down. Made light work of it.
You'll need goggles and maybe some ear defenders too. One of those plastic flexi buckets will come in handy for the trips outside with the tile rubbish.