Can't figure out how to remove this tile

[eldo]

I'm starting a DIY bathroom renovation and I'm getting "stuck" trying to get this tile up off the floor. It doesn't seem to be applied with thinset. I'm not sure what the adhesive is but I've tried chisels, prybar, various blades on an oscillating tool and I can't do much more than damage the plywood underneath and chip a bit of it. Does anyone know what this stuff is and the best way to get these things off?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Maybe you need to get more agressive . its not just laying there loose its labor intensive

 

[Sponsor]

 

[eldo]

Maybe you need to get more agressive . its not just laying there loose its labor intensive

Thank Jeff. I’m getting pretty aggressive and have even tried an impact hammer at this point. The wall tiles and baseboard tiles are on there with thinset and I have a good feel for the effort to get those off. I am able to get a few of these floor tiles off but I’m gouging the heck out of the plywood underneath. I was hoping there was a more subtle way to get at this stuff (is it mastic, maybe?). If I can’t figure that out I may have to tear out the plywood and lay new.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Im thinking it could be mastic use a flt wide chisel on a chipping gun held at an angle

 

[eldo]

Thank you, Jeff - The wide chisel on the impact hammer is making a difference. Definitely still gouging the plywood. Pivoting the question here, and happy to repost if this is now off-topic, but will I need to relevel the plywood with a leveling compound, before applying my decoupler? I’m just trying to gauge whether I’d be better served taking up the old plywood altogether.

 

[Fitter30]

Thinset Removal Bit 3 in. x 10 in. SDS-Plus Scaling Chisel 3TRBSPSFL - The Home Depot

Use the 3 in. x 10 in. scaling chisel with any SDS-Plus rotary hammer. The extra wide 3 in. blade removes more thinset per pass. The hardened steel alloy is designed specifically for high impact stresses.

www.google.com

 

[A.P. Tile guy]

I'm starting a DIY bathroom renovation and I'm getting "stuck" trying to get this tile up off the floor. It doesn't seem to be applied with thinset. I'm not sure what the adhesive is but I've tried chisels, prybar, various blades on an oscillating tool and I can't do much more than damage the plywood underneath and chip a bit of it. Does anyone know what this stuff is and the best way to get these things off?
View attachment 96533
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

4 inch razor scraper, some call it a wall shaver, Its a long flat razor with a handle. n, or a hammer and chisel works too. Oh yeah. Elbow grease..lol

 

[eldo]

Thinset Removal Bit 3 in. x 10 in. SDS-Plus Scaling Chisel 3TRBSPSFL - The Home Depot

Use the 3 in. x 10 in. scaling chisel with any SDS-Plus rotary hammer. The extra wide 3 in. blade removes more thinset per pass. The hardened steel alloy is designed specifically for high impact stresses.

www.google.com

Thanks all. I ended up buying a rotary hammer and that wide chisel. It got it all up and I just decided to pull up the underlayment and replace it, in any case.