I began demolition of a bathroom today and ran into an unusual (for me) flooring issue. The floor is tiled and it's set on a 1.5" thick bed of mortar. The mortar was spread directly onto the 2×8 subfloor. I don't see any evidence of wire mesh between the mortar and subfloor.
(Tried to upload a pic, but SE doesn't seem to like iPads…neither do I, but that's what I'm on right now)
What's the best way to break the floor up? It's a smallish bathroom (~70sf), but that's still a lot of concrete. Use a concrete saw and cut the tile/mortar into small pieces and load them out? Maybe an air powered chisel? I've used the latter many times for removing tile, but I'm not at all sure it can handle this material….it's a pretty small chisel.
Also, I don't want to create vibrations that may damage the ceiling below (pop drywall nails, etc.) The house was built in the 50's.
Any ideas are appreciated. Many thanks in advance.
Best,
Lee
Best Answer
Like you stated: masonry bladed saw set to cut just above or below the concrete base. If you snap lines to show a 2 foot x 2 foot quadrant to cut with the saw will make it much easier to remove concrete. You will need to expose the sub-floor to begin so that a pinch bar or long pry bar can be slid under each section and fulcrumed up. Have several abrasive masonry wheels on hand as they wear-out quickly. Hint: if you pry the concrete slab off the sub-floor slightly than it only takes a slight tap to break it apart with minimal shock to the floor framing.