Removing anti-crack matting

[wiggers]

I had a very poor tiling job done in the summer by a general builder and I've got a professional tiler in at the moment. The tiles came up very easily but there's and anti-crack mat underneath. We've found a lot of water under this mat, so we want to lift it and let the screed dry properly. It was laid when the screed was only 4 weeks old.

Any suggestion for getting the matting and underlying adhesive off the screed please?

 

[Dan]

It's going to be a pain in the bum with any method but scrapers and old chisels and the likes are perhaps going to be easiest. Lots of elbow grease and patience.

If you (or your tiler) has a Fein Multimaster or one of the many variations from other makes (Bosch and even Lidl own brand) with the rasp square head that can help on the odd stubborn bit.

Then for the last bits of adhesive rub house bricks over the floor - very dusty job so then an old hoover and open windows etc

Good luck second time round!

 

[Joshjupp]

I had a very poor tiling job done in the summer by a general builder and I've got a professional tiler in at the moment. The tiles came up very easily but there's and anti-crack mat underneath. We've found a lot of water under this mat, so we want to lift it and let the screed dry properly. It was laid when the screed was only 4 weeks old.

Any suggestion for getting the matting and underlying adhesive off the screed please?

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You could try rip up the matting it should pull up with a bit of effort and a floor scraper and then get a floor grinder for the adhesive and a good dust extractor

 

[Dave]

What screed is it and is it heated

 

[wiggers]

I think it's a normal lean-mix screed and it has a water underfloor heating system.

 

[Dan]

Has the heating been commissioned properly?

 

[Dumbo]

To be fair a 4 week old screed shouldn't have a moisture issue when using dural ci matting or Schluter ditra . I think you need to be considering the possibility of ufh pipes leaking or some other water pipes

 

[wiggers]

We were concerned that the moisture might be coming from the UFH. We hoped that once the anti-crack mat came off we might be able to see what was happening more clearly. The UFH was supposed to have been pressure tested...

 

[wiggers]

We've got half the mat up, although the adhesive is still firmly in place. There are damp patches, but they don't follow any particular pattern, so it doesn't look like an UFH leak. In areas where the screed has broken away the underlying areas appear dry.

 

[J Sid]

Laying mat (with ditra) and tiling after 4 weeks is fine with sand and cement screed.
Damp could just be moisture coming out the screed

 

[Dave]

As mentioned above , the tiles came up easily from the matting , @Dan asked was the screed/heating commissioned before and after tiling. ??

 

[wiggers]

I don't recall the exact sequence, but I think the UFH was commissioned after tiling. There were professional plumbers installing a new boiler and making the connections to the UFH pipework.

 

[Dave]

I don't recall the exact sequence, but I think the UFH was commissioned after tiling. There were professional plumbers installing a new boiler and making the connections to the UFH pipework.

That doesn’t mean it was commissioned correctly, if the heat was just turned straight on without a slow progression in heating up , this could be reason the tiles came away easily , shocked the adhesive, just a thought.

 

[wiggers]

It was kept low for some time as it was late summer and still quite warm weather. It was probably another month before it was used fully.