Whats the best way to lift old floor tiles layed with epoxy? Help, advice, information, answers and tips on all types of flooring from laminate and carpet to timber and vinyl

[sore thumbs]

hello, as u may of guessed im having trouble lifting my old bathroom floor tiles. they have been layed on to plywood and the tiler has used some kind of black epoxy like tile adheasive??, its a nightmare to lift!! I have been useing a kango style hammer drill and also tryed a little mash hammer and chisel work!? the problem is because the epoxy tile adhesive is quite flexible it seems to absorb alot of the drills hammer action and mine too making removing the tile almost impossible! there must be a trick im missing here sum where ???? please help :evil:

[lisamf]

hi are they vinyl floor tiles? if they are i lifted mine off by using a steam wall paper stripper it heats up the tiles and the resin underneath making it easier to just pull the tiles up in one piece. have to say tyough it can be quite messy with all that sticky resin though so make sure theres no one treading the stuff all over your house. i hope this helps

[jwr]

I will second the other persons post , i had a problem which was much the same , if the tile fix appears to be flexible and absorbs your attempts at removal with a hammer and chisel, then logically it should become more flexible if a little heat is applied and you should then be able to remove with more success . I would use a heat gun as it generates alot more intense and direct heat than a steamer , they are relatively cheap at around £10 from Band Q - Failing that you could try removing the sub base , in your case plywood , with a heavy duty crowbar , obviously you will need to replace the boarding after but again this is pretty cheap to do . Good luck