Lifting a slate floor

[DNL]

G'day - I've started to lift my slate floor - hoping to find a floor sheets under - but as expected the slate is straight on the floor boards.

I've got most of the tiles up some leaving a very thin sheeting of slate residue on the adhesive. I'm trying to avoid hours of scraping, and it has been recommended to hire a floor stripping machine to lift the adhesive and remaining very thin slate which is well less than .5mm.

Has anyone used a floor stripper for a similar job? This is different to a floor sander in that apparently is has a blade.

Any suggestions to remove adhesive and residual slate appreciated....besides just sitting for hours and scrapping. The area is around 15m2

cheers
Dave

[DNL]

Well....I'm not to sure that I've done a worse job before while doing renovations, if not, then I reckon lifting a slate floor is about the worse thing!!

After three days - the job is done to the finish that I want. The slate was taken to the tip this morning - all 600kg of it, and much to the joy of my wife it was shovelled off the trailer and out of our lives

For anyone contemplating a similar job, firstly try and talk the wife into re-sealing the slate and reiterating how lovely it looks as a floor covering. Extol the environmentals such as insulation, warm retention, coolness in summer and if all else fails, just BS your way through and advise it is an impossible job due to the titanium laced adhesive that will bust all your tools!

If you have to lift it - get a rotary hammer with tile lifting bit - make sure there is a bend in the shank, get on your hands and knees and just start making one hell of a mess!

Expect the slate to split in layers leaving a thin veneer of slate on the adhesive. Work as much up as you can and then hit the whole area with a floor stripper (hire one) and give your back one hell of a work out with one of those suckers! The dust sucks and gets everywhere so be prepared to spend the quality hours cleaning up.

Don't forget - if this was the wife's idea (like it was in my house) make sure she is around to help sweep and even make her take the rubble out to the trailer...and just keep reminding her, you are actually working for her and include her in the job and chalk it up to quality time

I must admit, my wife worked like a champion, even coming to the tip and helping shovel the slate into the tip as she was afraid I would try to save some and bring it home for use elsewhere in the house....not likely I just wanted to be rid of it. The wife even took a photo of the slate at the tip - go figure!

The bottom line fellas is that there is no easy way to do this job. I did end up with a new Makita rotary drill, a new workshop vacuum cleaner , and now a new circular saw to cut the villa board which will go over the existing floor boards prior to the new tiles going down - I've suggested we lay slate, and was promptly advised something about sex and travel!!

It is a job well worth employing a tradey to do, but I think it would be an expensive exercise, especially if you are looking to refurb the floor boards. Working on a concrete base would be much easier....and if you are thinking of laying slate on floor boards, lay the villaboard first.

At the end of the day, most like DIY, it is the satisfaction of a job well done, and in my case, some new toys for the next job. The benefit of the rotary drill will be when I lift the tiles in the bathroom, shower, toilet and laundry.

I'll post photos once I find the cord to hook camera 2 computer.

cheers
Dave

[UteMad]

It is a crap job... I did it 3 months ago same thing straight over floor boards with heshion stapled to the floor to mesh the adhesive....
Took it up with a concrete scraper and a dyna drill and a stanley knife to cut all the mesh... The kitchen to the best part of a day and the stairs another day... Its not a fun job but had a labourer on that day who was too slow at it so he got the job of carrying it all to the bin and i took it off... Goes to show the boss still works the bad jobs if it in his better interests...We redid the whole floor with new T & G as the customer didn't want cypress but it could have been resanded...

cheers Utemad