Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

FSogol

(45,357 posts)
Tue Apr 19, 2016, 03:14 PM Apr 2016

Question on used floor tiles

Here's the background

A client want to sell her house, guts the kitchen and installs an expensive, thicker-than- normal ceramic tile that looks like white stone.
Her crummy contractor uses some form of adhesive on the bottom, lets it dry and put grout between them.
4 weeks later, the tile all comes up since the adhesive is not the proper stuff to set the tile in.
The client has it removed and installs a new floor with new tiles properly.
I inherit 250 sq feet of nice tile that was installed and removed. The tile is not broken, the adhesive flakes off of the back with no problem.

My question is about the grout on the edges. Can I remove it? Would it be easy to remove?
Would the tile still be useful? Could it still be installed for a floor if done properly?
Or is it best to send to the dump? (Thicker than normal, but probably wouldn't survive winters to place it outside).

TIA.

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

Adsos Letter

(19,459 posts)
1. I had a similar situation with 5/16" terracotta pavers.
Tue Apr 19, 2016, 03:38 PM
Apr 2016

I removed the grout using a chisel as a scraper. It worked pretty well. Labor intensive. Nowadays, they probably have a power tool that can do it faster.

Give one a try and see what you think.

Adsos Letter

(19,459 posts)
3. Most of them were still usable.
Tue Apr 19, 2016, 05:08 PM
Apr 2016

But it was time consuming. I'm thinking an oscillating tool with the appropriate blade might be worth a shot to speed things up, but if you don't own one you will have to buy/rent one.

Warpy

(110,909 posts)
4. Sure, just get whatever it was completely off the back
Tue Apr 19, 2016, 05:43 PM
Apr 2016

along with any grout along the edges. I'd use it but remember I'm cheap.

 

rusty quoin

(6,133 posts)
7. Using them somewhere else...that is something I would have tried in my younger years.
Wed Apr 20, 2016, 12:31 AM
Apr 2016

It is labor intensive and it is all about protecting the integrity of the glaze while getting rid of the adhesive.
You start with scraping tools to knock it off. You then go to abrasives which creates a lot of dust. The abrasive part means orbital sanders, angle grinder fitted with abrasive pads...packed with many pads behind the one you use.

It's a matter of using the most aggressive tool first and finding out you are chipping the part you want to keep, you go to less aggressive, to the point you are hand sanding to get rid of adhesive that may show. The back of the tile can be aggressive, but move your wrist with the power tool to leave ups and downs so that the restored tile will set forever.

If you take on this job, I guarantee you, that you will be an expert in this. Me...I'd sell it or toss it.

NMDemDist2

(49,313 posts)
8. a dremel tool has a grout remover we've used
Tue May 10, 2016, 08:07 PM
May 2016

but it's more for taking out grout on tile that's installed

Response to FSogol (Original post)

Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»DIY & Home Improvement»Question on used floor ti...