flooringgrouttiling
We've removed old ceramic tiles that cover a tongue and groove bathroom floor. What is a good way to remove the hard tile grout that now covers the floor?
EDIT: updated title as we've found Rimu is a podocarp softwood
EDIT: To answer the comment below, yes we would like to finish the boards with polyurethane varnish in keeping with other parts of the house
EDIT: after trying a bunch of approaches what worked was using a belt sander with P80 belts, stubborn areas required a little more pressure
If you really want to prevent any grout getting stuck in the dimples of the tile you need to mask it off. Yes- I know.. every single tile? Unfortunately, yes.
Style and beauty is hard work.
But you can use the wide masking tapes and then just try to grout as cleanly as possible. Do not smear the grout allover the tile. Keep to the area you want to grout. Possibly apply grout with a grouting tool then smooth it with a sponge; washing it regularly.
Once its all dr peel the masking tape away. Viola.
Hold your hawk under the area you are applying the grout. It is normal to drop quite a bit, especially if it is something you don't do everyday, so let the hawk catch it before it hits the floor.
Best Answer
Scraper. This is going to be a tough job if you want to keep damage to the wood to a minimum. It does look like the floor has some type of finish on it before the grout material was applied. This should help a lot to make the scraping removal a bit more practical.
Note that what ever type of scraper that you use will likely need replacement or resharpening a number of times in your removal process.