How to remove cement type adhesive from overtiled floor

[lower]

We are in the process of restoring our 1920's house.

There is the original tiled floor in the hall which the previous owners had tiled over with an attempt at recreating the original Victorian style floor.

The overtiling was awful, so i've carefully removed the tiles to see what state the original floor is in and its actually pretty good. There are a few damaged tiles and an area of sinkage, but its near to the edge of the floor and some of the tiles are loose so i can easily lift them an re-lay them properly.

However, the tiles laid onto the original floor were laid with a cement type adhesive and there is a lot of adhesive that hasn't come up with the tiles.

Any suggestions on how best to remove this adhesive without damaging the tiles below? Scraping works but its a very, very slow process. I've tried steaming the adhesive which has worked with non cement type adhesive in the past but with no effect.

Can i use brick cleaning acid or will that damage the surface of the tiles? If not, can anyone suggest anything else that will make the removal process easier?

Thanks in advance.

 

[diamondtiling]

I would say that cement cleaner would attack the surface of the tiles, Polishing with different grade of grit would probably be the best option, firstly to remove the adhesive and then to bring back the original finish to the tiles. Timeless John, Phil Hobson, Dave or Enduro would possibly be the best advisors for you. They will be along soon enough.
Can you post some pictures before they log on as I know that will be the first request from them.

Welcome to the forum by the way.

 

[lower]

There are big lumps of the stuff, so it would be a case of chipping away at the worst of it before polishing. But i shall indeed post photos this afternoon.

Thank you for response and the welcome to the forum. I've been a lurker for a while, but this is the first time i've posted.

 

[lower]

Images as promised.

 

[DHTiling]

Hello and welcome..

Please don't use anything like brick acid, it will etch and even totally discolour the tiles.

The use of a wide blade razor scraper will work on getting the adhesive off them..

A Gundlach scraper is very good for this..



Gundlach 100 mm Scraper








broken link removed


You will need to see if any surface damage is present and this can be softened with grades of wet and dry..





Then when this is removed then you can use a a product like Aqua Mix Sealer & Coating Remover, this will remove any old polishes and adhesive residue..

Aqua Mix Sealer & Coating Remover is a non-flammable, multi-purpose stripper formulated to stay wet longer which gives the product time to remove most sealers, epoxy grout haze, urethane coatings, synthetic finishes, adhesives, and paints. Also dissolves deep-set stains and removes heavy grease buildup.

Once cleaned and dry then you can bring lustre and life back to the tiles with Aqua mix Enrich& Seal.. very good product..

Aqua Mix Enrich'N'Seal™ is a premium, no-sheen, enhanced-look 100% Polymer-solid, penetrating sealer

There are loads of other brands like LTP.. but i find these are what i am tending to use most lately ..




If in doubt always get a pro in..

 

[bitter&twisted]

I agree with Dave use a scrapper and take your time,you don't want chip any of the tiles!
Let us know how you get on

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

I'm with Dave on this, no real quick fix. hard work and patience will pay offgood luck.

 

[lower]

Hmmm. Hope I've not done any irreparable damage....

Inbetween my post with photos and your replies I had an 'expert' tile cleaner come round to quote for the repairs. He wasn't keen on the job as he said it was uneconomical for him to remove the adhesive. But suggested brick acid was the right thing to use....

So I've had a go with some.

It's a very slow process but on the area I've done it's actually made a very good job. It doesn't appear to react with the tiles at all whereas it fizzes away when its in contact with the adhesive.

I'm away from home this weekend but I'll post photos for comment on the area I've done tomorrow

 

[diamondtiling]

Hmmm. Hope I've not done any irreparable damage....

Inbetween my post with photos and your replies I had an 'expert' tile cleaner come round to quote for the repairs. He wasn't keen on the job as he said it was uneconomical for him to remove the adhesive. But suggested brick acid was the right thing to use....

So I've had a go with some.

It's a very slow process but on the area I've done it's actually made a very good job. It doesn't appear to react with the tiles at all whereas it fizzes away when its in contact with the adhesive.

I'm away from home this weekend but I'll post photos for comment on the area I've done tomorrow

I am surprised that you used brick acid after the advice warning against it. Your tiles may look nice and clean but you are causing needless damage to them, restoring your floor is a planned process that you need to go through in stages to achieve the desired finish.
Brick acid will attack everything it touches including eating away the grout and etching through to the substrate below.
I cant advise you enough to stop using it now.
As for the 'expert' how can it be uneconomical for him to remove the adhesive? He is on a price to complete the job as you requested, 'uneconomical' sounds like he does not like a bit of hard graft.

 

[lower]

I have stopped using the acid following the consensus of advice on here.

I may have misrepresented the tile restorers comments. His concern was that it may be uneconomic to restore the floor as the extent of the damage is hidden by the adhesive.

Hence my attempt on a small area to see how well it comes up.

Scraping the adhesive off without some sort of chemical assistance doesn't seem viable as it took me 4 hours to do a square metre. I chipped and scrapped most of it off but the residue wouldn't shift without the assistance of the acid.

So I'm not sure how to progress from here.

 

[DHTiling]

Use the products i posted above..

 

[user123]

Use the products i posted above..

Dave, your post above is amazing, thorough guidance from start to finish - brilliant. I just tried to click the reputation button for it but was told I have to 'spread it about a bit' (!!!) before giving it to you again, ....ehm ...wot??!!! :smilewinkgrin: Anyhow, full marks

 

[jay]

as Dave has posted there is no quick fix time and patients:8:

 

[lower]

Right.

I got myself a small, sharp bolster chisel and with that have been able to remove much more of the adhesive which gives me a much easier job removing the residue with a scraper (i already have one like the one in Dave's post). This is enabling me to get down to only a small amount of residue that hopefully the aquamix cleaner will remove.

I do seem to have got away with my use of the brick acid on the area i used it on. See photos below:

However, where the adhesive had been applied thickly to the yellow tiles it appears to have bleached them. Its not a result of the acid because you can see the bleaching in my original photos before i'd even tried to remove any of the adhesive with any chemical.

When the tiles are wet, the bleaching is invisible. Will the aquamix enrich and seal help reduce the bleached effect when the tiles are dry? I'm guessing that it gives more of a 'wet look' effect to bring the colour out of the tiles?

Apart from the bleaching i'm very encouraged with the condition of the floor and grateful for the advice i've had on here. If the bleaching effect can be reduced it will certainly be worth the effort to restore.

 

[DHTiling]

The Enrich and seal will darken the tiles yes....

Looking good.. you getting there..