dennisc31

I'm re-modeling a bathroom.

I have discovered that the bathroom floor is made up of what looks like concrete with a ceramic layer on top, the ceramic layer being approximately 0.05 to 0.1" thick. The ceramic layer is textured to look like 1" square tiles.

I think that the concrete is about 0.375" thick and is laid on a sub-floor of plywood.

I have attached three photographs as .JPEG files

Has anyone ever come across this kind of surfacing before?

If so:-

How do you get it up?

Can you get it up without damaging the plywood sub-floor?

Thanks.

Daryl

you might want to post this concern at www.john bridge ceramic tile forum.com. Try john Bridges tile forum if the link doesn't work Alot of good pros over there that might have ssen this before. I can't grasp the "ceramic layer" with out it being 2" ceramic tile on top of a mud base. If that's the case get out the floor chisel!

TileGuy

No need for John Bridge...

Start bangin
Chisel, hammer, 5 in 1, and a dust mask. Pace yourself and it'll be over before you know it.

Kerrylib

I can't tell from the pics, but the description sounds like just regular tile. The thin ceramic you mention would be the porcelain glaze on the top surface of the tile, and the "cement" portion would be the actual ceramic portion of the tile.

As TileGuy said, start bangin. You're trying to get it out. Pretty much any type of tile gets smashed up during removal. If it is refusing to come loose from the subfloor, then it is time for some slow tedious manual scraping to get it loose without gouging chunks out of the subfloor.

dennisc31

Thanks for the advice.

I bought a three pound single-handed sledge hammer. It works very well with a 2" chisel.

MN_Homebuilder

Just keep in mind that if you change the thickness of the floor in your bathroom, your toilet flange height will have to be changed too.