Tricks to removing cement board from floor?

[scab]

I'm gutting our bathroom for a remodel and I was just wondering if there is an easier method to removing tile and cement board from the floor other than sliding a shovel under it and cracking it into a million pieces. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Highlux]

2 hand held sledges hammering in a rythmic fashion....1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
key is creating a harmonic type vibration to bust tiles up. Assuming this is over a wood subfloor. If its over concrete ...a cold steel chisel and hammer. Or a small electric jackhammer like a hilti..

It *****. Buckets and gloves and metal dustpan are your friend. Open window and place a fan blowing out to keep dust down. Wear a mask and eye protection. You will bleed.

Done 1000's of feet. I am one of a few tile guys who always get these kind of jobs no one else wants.

 

[Todd.Brock]

***** you will have to deal with the cement board screws. Those will be your worst enemy! I took up a couple hundred feet of linoleum to put down hardwood. Took Forever to get the thousands and thousands of staples that held down the Luan.


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[stage20]

coupld of hammers or sledges and start nicking away at it. no easy method. if the tile is not all that stuck to the cement board, you can tap on it with a brick set and a hammer and get them up in bigger pieces. (less work) sometimes you just have to start swining. cover up anything that will break. i prefer a weedeater type mask, hood, whatever you want to call them.

 

[Highlux]

***** you will have to deal with the cement board screws. Those will be your worst enemy! I took up a couple hundred feet of linoleum to put down hardwood. Took Forever to get the thousands and thousands of staples that held down the Luan.


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We always just knocked the luan crown staples in....way quicker. One little tap..and they are gone. I never used screws on cement board on floors. We always used galvanized roofing nails. The screws don't have a lot of shear load capacity...and that's how a floor expands and contracts. Screws on walls of course though. Nails or screws...they have to come up. pull nails...unscrew screws if they didn't get thin-set on them...if they did...just pull them. Dont kneel on them....that hurts...I know.

 

[scab]

Thanks for the info, guys. I figured it would ****, just thought I might get lucky and someone would have an ephiphany for me. Fortunately, it's not a huge area.

My only major issue is that there are no windows that open and the little exhaust fan only does so much.

 

[workhurts]

When I redid the guest bathroom which was very small. About 30 sq ft on the floor, I used a circular saw. Set the depth appropriately, used the correct blade, wore a proper mask and cut things up. Got dusty.

I then used a crow bar and they all came out relatvely easily.

I mean worst case you get an 1/8th inch cut into the subfloor. If they did the cement board properly they won't have used modified thinset between it and the subfloor so other than the nails or screws it really shouldn't be on that tight.

My floor also had 4"x4" tile. I think larger tile would be worse but am not sure.

The wall was easier to take down because it wasn't even on cement board but that created a far bigger mess than the floor did.

 

[Angelfire]

First off, be thankful you're not pulling up a 100% glued down wood floor! DAMHIKT!

For tile, I've had decent luck with one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/long-reach-air-scraper-69236.html

And I've used a rotary hammer with chisel quite effectively as well. Either way, it's dusty, tiresome work.

 

[dmftoy1]

Best thing I found was a 5-6 foot hex bar with a flat end on one end and a pointed end on the other. (Wrecking bar). Got it at the local tractor supply. If you get it between the cement board and the sub floor you can get up large chunks. Basically you use the weight of the thing to drive in deep between the layers and the length of the thing for leverage.

 

[slickgt1]

I have huge success with a scraper blade on my Hilti hammer drill. And yes, you will still sweat balls.

 

[me_rose]

We used the hex lever although it was a small room. Worked very well. We did have to pull nails because the cement board popped off them. Easy job.