Removing some tiles without damaging others

Independent1

Looking for advice to see whether this is a DIY job or one for someone else. I have tiles on the floor of my kitchen and wooden laminate in the dining area. I am looking to remove one row of tiles in order to extend the laminate further over towards the kitchen. I'm fairly confident I can extend the laminate myself but I don't know will it be a big job to remove one row of tiles without cracking or damaging the rest of the tiles. The tiles are large highly polished shiny cream ones from B&Q but are approx 2 years old now so wouldn't get an exact match if I damaged others.

A bit of googling throws up using a chisel to remove the grout and the smash the relevant tiles to get them up. Is it as straight forward as this?

Just worried I might smash the tiles and then not be able to get them off the floor if they are stuck tight. It's a concrete floor.

Any tips or advice?
Independent1

agusta

Im afraid its not that simple.polished porcelain tiles are brittle on the edges and when you are in the process of taking up one tile you are liable to chip the tile next to it.especially if there is only a very small chamfer on the tile.
What i would do.
A/ pour water on the grout joint between the tiles you want to keep and the ones you want removed.
B/Cut the grout joint down to the concrete floor 2 to 3 mm away from the tiles you want to keep using a diamond blade.This seperates the tiles you want to remove
c/Using a small kango take up the tiles and adhesive.The adhesive will be the hard part to remove.
D/The last inch of adhesive and grout joint to be removed nearest the tiles you are keeping use an oil wood chisel and stanley knife.Be carefull not to damage the tiles.
E/ Make good the floor if you have to.

Independent1

Thank you so much for your concise reply. I'm beginning to think it mightn't be a DIY job so after all (well not for me anyway!)

What kind of tool would I need for a diamond blade?

I chiseled the grout out of an inconspicuous tile behind the fridge and it came clean out but I suppose the biggest problem would be what's suck to the adhesive when I try to pull it out. I had someone out doing another job in my house recently and I asked him how much it would be just to lift these 5/6 tiles and he quoted me €120 when he was doing other jobs. I thought this sounded a bit much and that's when I contemplated doing it myself.

Thanks again
Independent1

Calahonda52

1. U need an angle grinder with the diamond disc, can be small 4 inch one.

2, whats the plan for extending the laminate?
Hiw do u finish joint between both?

Independent1

Thanks for the reply Calahonda. I currently have the laminate running right up near the edge of the tile and have a chrome strip running on top of the two. The laminate runs right to the edge of a board so it would be a case of slipping three more pieces to bring me up to about 1cm away from the tile at the new join.

I'm taking it I definitely would need a diamond blade so and they wouldn't survive just a chisel? Such a pain as it's so few tiles but would give me so much more space at the dining end of the kitchen

Thanks again

Calahonda52

The chrome strip might cover any little chips.
If u can get hold of one of these, with diamond tipped blades, its a lot less risky than the diamond disc.http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fein_Multimaster_RS
Once you break the grout and give the toles room to move its less risky.
Good goggles a must and ear defenders if uding angle grinder or Fein

650gs

This is a very easy job and defo a DIY job you just need to take your time,
1 do not use a diamond blade as the slightest movement will chip/mark a tile
2 get a stanley knife and scrape the grout out gently, it will take a little time and a few blades but will work no prob
3 check all the grout is gone between the tiles and I mean all
4 just get a chisel or small kango to lift the tiles, note once all the grout is out you will not damage any tiles, I have done this hundreds of times with out a problem

dimsumss

Start by removing all the grout using a grout saw, rotary cutter, oscillating tool, or utility knife. Next, position a chisel in the grout line under the bottom of the tile, and tap it gently with a hammer to see if the tile will pop loose (be careful not to chip or crack the adjoining tile). If not, insert a thin, flexible putty knife under the tile and try working it loose.

Once you get the first tile out, it will be easier to work under the remaining ones

Independent1

Thank you all so much for all the advice.

So I went ahead and attempted it this morning.

Bought a grout remover and Stanley knife and removed all the grout. Drilled the tiles and removed them with a chisel and hammer going from middle to edge. They all lifted grand and I didn't end up chipping any of the tiles I wanted to keep. Laid the wooden laminate up to the new end of the row of tiles and finished off with a chrome bar.

Absolutely delighted with the end result and can't believe I managed to do it DIY instead of paying someone. Thanks for all the help, don't think I would have attempted it had I not posted on here.

Independent1

dodzy

Independent1 wrote: »

Thank you all so much for all the advice.

So I went ahead and attempted it this morning.

Bought a grout remover and Stanley knife and removed all the grout. Drilled the tiles and removed them with a chisel and hammer going from middle to edge. They all lifted grand and I didn't end up chipping any of the tiles I wanted to keep. Laid the wooden laminate up to the new end of the row of tiles and finished off with a chrome bar.

Absolutely delighted with the end result and can't believe I managed to do it DIY instead of paying someone. Thanks for all the help, don't think I would have attempted it had I not posted on here.

Independent1

Well done;) just out of curiosity, if you had the laminate and tile meeting on a straight edge, surely, you did not just extend from that existing edge? It'd look odd, surely, as laminate needs to be staggered for effect and rigidity.

Independent1

Im not sure what you mean Dodzy. The long end of my laminate board joined up with the tile initially so when I removed the tile I was able to use the existing edge of the laminate which still had the click end intact to connect my new pieces. The new space was exactly three more boards wide by approx 7 foot long so I used about 9 pieces of laminate in three rows and I staggered the joins. Hope this makes sense.