Friday, March 13, 2015

One step forward two steps back.....

Now we are cooking with gas.

After a day with the demolition hammer and chisel, this is what we were left with.



The thin set didn't stick to the underlayment but it did stick to the concrete.
I didn't take a pic, but at this point both of us were covered in sweat and dust after wrestling with the hammer and neither of us wanted to continue.  Just like sewing, that's the time to step away from the project, and do something else.

So I tackled the bathroom.


That was gratifying because they had tiled over vinyl, so no thin set stuck, it came up in chunks.

After a good night's sleep, I decide we need to listen to Roger, (FloorElf), and rent a concrete grinder.
Off we go to Home Depot, and have a conversation with the nice lady behind the counter, and I ask her for a 7" concrete grinder with a a scarifying wheel.  They don't have one, they suggest a demo hammer.

NO

Finally we look at what they have available for rental.
They had a grinder that required a hose to function.

NO

Finally we settled on a 10" concrete grinder with a vacuum attachment. 
We couldn't get it in my suv, we needed a truck.
They gave me a short demonstration and off we go.
Here's the bad boy.


We stared at it for a little while.


It was a miracle, all of the thin set is gone, as well as the patches of backing from the vinyl floor and it took 45 minutes, and hardly any physical abuse.


We are triumphant. 
The following day was about cleaning up all of the dust... very satisfying.

We are closer to actually getting tile down...



To be continued....




1 comment:

celkalee said...

A woman and her tools, its a beautiful thing. This house will be yours in the way that none ever has before. Your blood, sweat and tears.

So proud of you, this is a project beyond all projects! Will you put a bow on it?

Stay hydrated.