Cork Flooring

[Mugz]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

Thought is, that's a one of the fumiest statement for S-B..

rent/borrow a pneumatic scraper....

Ha.....I have taken up several of the ceramic tiles already and the fool who laid the original tile F'd it all up, which is why I have 30+ cracked tiles!! No scraping needed!! (maybe a little). But, I won't know until I start the demo....so maybe my statement was a bit optimistic.
My kitchen is a like a pantry almost. So, it's only a 100 sg ft. And the stove and fridge take up at least 30 sq.. I will do more research...but I was hoping someone had a more personal experience with it....or saw someone else's DIY project with it.
Going to use my tax return for this, so the job is still a couple months out.

[nightfighter]

What was the tile laid on? Subfloor, luan, or hardibacker?

[Mugz]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

What was the tile laid on? Subfloor, luan, or hardibacker?

I think subfloor....but I'm not positive. A couple tiles that were cracked, I lifted them up to find almost NO ADHESIVE. Under the tile was like sand? I had to shop vac it out in order to put a little glue on the tile to tack it back down. Was the sand an adhesive that just deteriorated?
That give you any clues? I'm clueless!!

[Slipknot]

installer might have laid the tile with sanded grout or the thinset was not modified or old or not mixed right.
In any case, tear them out and put down something else like you plan to

it is probably on plywood subfloor

[nightfighter]

Yep. Sounds like they used thinset mortar. If they did not wet the plywood, the water would have been sucked out of the mortar mix by the wood before it cured, leaving the sand and no adhesive.... Demo should be fairly easy.
Break up the tiles with a two or three pound hammer and then use a floor scraper. Then check to be sure subfloor is really fastened well to the joists. See if the floor is crowned. (use a marble) If you want to re-tile, screw down 1/4 inch sheets of hardibacker and tile on that. Just be aware you are raising the floor level so watch your thresholds and doors, if any.