My sister is having her kitchen tile removed to make way for that thin, easy wood laminate flooring. She said that the contractor had bid $500 for the demo and prep portion of the job. That seemed high to me and having worked in construction in various roles I thought I could save her some money with a dusty day down on my knees.
I figured I’d be down there with a big cold chisel, a hammer and a dust mask. The substrate is concrete and it’s only about 100 sq. ft. But after looking on the net I see people using some kind of power chisel the size of a carpet vacuum. That’s when I remembered that the floor has to have a fairly perfect finish to take the laminate without bumps. That and the way that kwik-set or mastic tends to form such a talcum-fine residue when pulverized.
Now I’m not so sure. Anyone done this lately? Or does anybody have any ideas about what I’d be getting myself into?
I removed the Saltillo tile in out entryway with a power chisel I rented from Home Depot.
It was still a lot of work, and a very dusty job. I don’t think using the power tools lets you get a smoother surface - it just makes the job go faster.
You are probably overlooking the step I’ve decided best after removing various layers (tile over “builder grade” sheet goods (1979) over cheap MDF):
Leveling Compound to fill the low spots in the remaining crud before the laminate/engineered flooring.
This is where the job goes from “monkey with mallet” to “eye-hand co-ordination with strong wrist and good floats”. Or, simply put, $500.
I remember seeing some home repair shows (not much interesting on TV nowadays) where the next step to make a concrete floor level was to pour a layer of very liquid “floor leveller” cement after removing the tiles or whatever. It was also useful when the original floor had more slope to it than was desirable. It also means you can chisel and make gouges in the base floor while removing the lumps, then you fill to level.
Laminate flooring can be laid on a foam substrate that takes care of minor leveling issues. So this all depends on how good the concrete underneath is after removing the tiles. If they’ve been set in mastic they may be easy to remove, but the mastic could be a major pain to scrape off. If the tiles are set in cement it’s a pain to do and the substrate may be a mess when you’re finished and need some major leveling work. In that case $500 for the job isn’t unreasonable. Last time I had to deal with this I removed the old substrate (cement board over floor joists) and started over. I was putting down new tile so I had to get it smooth and level.
The $ 500 quote seems about right for 100 SF. That is the removal of the existing, removal of the debris, clean up the floor and get all dust and such off, then to level the floor.
More work there than you think, tools required that you not have, and material (leveling material) needed.
I didn’t volunteer to get it done. I’m going over there today to have a look and see what I could best do. I think I’ll pop up a tile and whether it’s mastic or mortar under there. The other option is to see if the contractor would knock something off his price if I demo the tile and dispose of it. That would leave the leveling and dust removal. We’ll see after lunch.
Yeah, I know it can be a bunch of work. I did a similar job with a contractor buddy of mine a couple of years ago, about 300 sq. ft. Two guys, two days and a lot of dust. Blecch. We’ll also see if the contractor would even be amenable to letting me do this now that he’s already bid the job.
Removing tile can be a lot of work especially on concrete slab. Sometimes it all comes off in a few minutes, other times it takes hours and hours of labour, and if it is difficult there is going to be pitting and spalling of the concrete surface to fix. Certain types of flooring require more prep.
Are you sure it is laminate that is going in and not vinyl plank flooring (which requires a really smooth surface prep). They look similar but vinyl plank is far superior in every way to laminate. Especially for a kitchen vinyl plank is a much better choice. Almost as good as tile. Vinyl plank is durable and I would only install laminate in low use secondary areas like maybe a basement or a utility room; never, ever, ever in a kitchen. Ever. Laminate flooring is junk, its only redeeming feature is its cheap and easy to tear out.
Can you link to a specimen of this vinyl plank product you like? I also have about 140 sq ft of entry/hall begging for a quick fix.
The only vinyl plank Ive seen is dull, mud-colored stuff just slightly thicker than my childhood rubber boots.
I have seen in only Home Depot - at the very end of the aisle, past the cheapest of the laminates.
Even that spot deserved better than the stuff they had - I’d love to find a quality version.
The punchline to the story is that I got over there and found out that the kitchen tile was the *only *tile to remain! The rest of the tile in the condo (~300 sq. ft.) was the stuff to be removed. I laughed and told her that $500 was dirt cheap. Ha, a bullet dodged. In compensation I’ll be helping to paint a single room.