Kitchen tile removal tips??

[Doozer]

Is there anyone out there who's done this before?

My brother is renovating his kitchen, and to save money with the contractors, he's doing some of the work himself. The previous owners (or whoever installed the floor) glued the tiles straight onto the concrete floor. The tiles themselves are pretty think as well, and they're nearly impossible to get up.

He's in a condo with people below him, so noise is probably an issue.

Anyone have any tips or suggestions on the best way to get these up? (he's not concerned with keeping the existing tiles)

[Mitsu3000gt]

Rent a small jack hammer with a flat-edged bit. It will bring the tile up. There are even special bits with big wide, flat, flexible ends specifically for this purpose. A HILTI TE-76 with a nice flat bit should do a nice job. RONA rents them for ~$40/ 24 hrs + $10 for the bit. These do not look like the stereotypical jack hammer, it is a massive hammer drill with a jack hammer function on it. You can hold it easily. You may also consider the HILTI TE-905, it's more of an actual jack hammer but still electric and more reasonably sized. Same price as the TE-76, but packs a bigger punch. If it's a big job/kitchen, go with the 905.

Too bad I didn't still work there, I could have hooked you up :(

EDIT: I just read that there are people below you. My suggested method will be noisy as hell, but it will go pretty quick compared to other methods. It's up to you I guess. Maybe just talk to them and warn them they may want to go do something else for a couple hours.

[Doozer]

Thanks, I'll pass this along. My brother works from home, so if the neighbors are gone during the day to their own jobs, there's a chance he could make some noise during the day without bothering anyone.

[sxtasy]

well you aren't going to do this job effeciently at all without making noise, so first thing i would do is find a time when the people below you aren't home. Hilti drills work great for this as mitsu said with a spade bit, make sure you can turn the drill function off, as some hilti's don't have this feature. Another great tool for this job is a wrecking bar can be bought for $30

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Home Depot also rents out their Bosch demo hammers with a bit made specifically for removing tile.

[eb0i]

Just talk to the people below the unit and tell them what is going on/how long this will happen/and from what times it will happen.

[coolme]

use lots and lots of WD-40 :dunno:
Seriously, rent a jachammer and get it done quick.