Can I remove bluestone pavers embedded in mortar and reuse them? A house with a bluestone foyer is being demolished and I would like to salvage the pavers and reuse them in my new home.
Remove bluestone pavers embedded in mortar
pavers
Related Solutions
You could probably rent a saw like this from your local hardware store.
They will usually have a diamond tipped masonry blade. You'll also want to make sure it's a wet saw or you keep the stones wet as you cut, as the dust from cutting concrete can make a real mess and be harmful to your health.
You may also be able to find a splitter like this.
The splitters produce far less dust and noise, and can usually be found cheaper than a saw (I found a couple on-line for a few hundred dollars). However, splitters may not produce a perfectly clean cut. Splitters also come in pneumatic and hydraulic varieties, purchasing those might be out of the budget ($1000.00 and up) but might be available for rent at a reasonable price.
Rather than using paint, look at some of the dozens of dry concrete dyes. There are several methods to color concrete after it has cured. Acid wash is very effective. Check out this web site: http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/walkways/existingdecorativeconcretewalkways.html
There are also several other sites you can look at including Lowes, HD, and Sherwin Williams.
Concrete floor paints are easy and quick, but may require more maintenance and refinishing over time as compared to a stains. If your area is small and not subject to lots of traffic, paint may be a good choice.
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Best Answer
You can always try. You will need to break some of the grout away so you can see the base where the paver and the mortar meet. Then using a floor chisel (3 inch wide blade cold chisel) set between the paver and the mortar, see if you can pop the paver up. If the paver is not well bonded to the mortar, they will pop up. If they are well bonded, they will just snap when the one side is getting lifted.