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mdc99 · 05-10-2012, 11:18 AM

I've searched some of the old threads but didn't really find difinitive answers. I removed all the carpet awhile back and replaced it with vinyl wood plank. I did leave the ceramic raised tile area in the kitchen/bath, my wife was never overly fond of the look or slight height difference. Anyway I am in the process of removing the Norcold and replacing it with the Samsung and my wife thinks now would be the perfect time to remove the ceramic tile and vinyl plank and replace it all with vinyl tile. So my question is can someone tell me what is involved in removing the tile and extra sheathing. Obviously the tiles will have to be cut near the walls, I am more questioning how the slide operation will be affected or compensated. Thanks for any help.

Drifter · 05-10-2012, 11:44 AM

Tape the whole tile then hammer and chisel away. It shouldn't be to bad, I think they didn't use epoxy mastic.

Steve Ownby · 05-10-2012, 01:02 PM

Drifter is right. It comes up in chunks. In my coach, the tile did not have any extra layer of underlayment. When the carpet and porcelain tile were removed a layer of 1/4" tile backer was put down and Mannington Adura was installed.

itdave · 05-11-2012, 05:03 PM

Just a warning in my 06 endeavor many of the cabinets are set on top of the tile. We also found that there is an extra sheet of 3/4" plywood under the tile. I was told that the way the tile was installed was to mount the tile onto the 3/4" plywood then once the tile is set and grouted they install the whole assembly over the subfloor. Then they install the cabinets, doing it this way makes assembly go faster. If you want to remove it with less mess you could try one of those osculating tool.

mdc99 · 05-14-2012, 04:13 PM

Thanks for the replys. I have begun taking out the tile, I am cutting near the walls and beating the tiles with a hammer but it is slow progress. My tile is set on an 2nd layer of 19/32 OSB board. I have not had much luck with the oscillating tool cutting the tile. I have been using it to scrape but I am still not ending up with a very smooth surface. I can't decide whether to remove all the 2nd layer of OSB (except under the walls) and just tile on the primary OSB layer, of course I would have to use molding to cover the approx. 3/4" gap which I am not thrilled about. The alternative would be to raise the rest of the coach floor by about 3/4". This would allow the new tile to meet more or less flush with the tile that will have to remain under the kitchen cabinets. This would provide a smooth transition for the slide rollers from the old tile to the new tile. What I don't like about this idea is that I would be adding quite a bit of extra weight and I probably am on the heavy side (coach wise). I was wondering if I could use some type of foam board/insulation board for 1/2" and top it off with a 1/4" plywood to tile to. Anyway that's where i am at, input is welcomed. Thanks

rex · 05-14-2012, 04:36 PM

I can see you are a glutton for punishment. What a job. There is an attachment made for the oscillating tool that is for grout cutting. It will also cut tile but does not work very well on that. On grout it cuts it fine. There is also a saw blade for the oscillating tool that you can use to cut the second sub-floor along the wall.

As you are going to the trouble of removing the tile, I would also remove the second sub-floor. If you remove the bottom drawer, and open the cabinets, you should see the roller. In the open cabinet the roller has a plastic cover.

You will have to adjust all the rollers inside to meet the lower floor. In some areas the tile may extend under the cabinet and roller.

If you have a compressor, there is an air tool that you can use to help get the tile up. Might check at Harbor Freight for this as it would make the job go much faster.

mdc99 · 05-15-2012, 07:45 AM

Thanks for the reply Rex. Yes this would definitely fall under the glutton for punishment category or what was I thinking (or not thinking) when I jumped into this. I've removed most of the tile in the hall and bathroom, I removed the toilet since I needed to repair the slide seal on it anyway. I think I am going with your suggestion to remove all of extra layer of OSB board. I have 2 primary concerns with this. First I'll have to reset the toilet, hopefully that will go smoothly. Second my plan in the kitchen is to cut the osb along the pantry all the way to the end of the board that I can get to thru the open cabinet. I then plan to cut the osb/tile as close as I can to the front of the kitchen cabinets. I think I will be able to pull up most of the kitchen tile and osb board in one chunk. Of course what will be left is the tile/board under the cabinets and slide rollers. This is where I am hoping to get lucky. I plan to go outside and try to drive what's left, out from under the rollers/cabinets by using an extension bar under the slide seal. I am hoping that the inspection camera will give me some clue as to whether this is possible. If it does work out I will then have to adjust the rollers that you mentioned. My adjusting bolts have about 3/4" of thread showing so I am hoping that will be enough to compensate for the approx. 3/4" that I hope to remove. I do have a compressor, so in case I get desperate what tool are you referring to at Harbor Freight? Thanks, Mark

rex · 05-15-2012, 08:05 AM

Look in the air tools area of Harbor Freight for an air operated rivet gun. It will have a round spring on the front that holds the tools. You can get several tools for this that work like chisels as the air rivet gun vibrates front to back.

Look at eBay item 380429707215 and you will see what it looks like. Sears old these at one time but Harbor Freight will have them at a cheaper price.

As you get the tile and sub-floor up in front of the kitchen cabinets, you will still need to remove it under the cabinets in order for the roller to work properly. On my 01 Diplomat, the tile sub-floor does not extend to the outside wall, but does go under the rollers. You can gently lift the cabinet by running the rollers down, and then place support under the front of the cabinets, then remove the roller so you can get the rest of the tile and sub-floor out.

Good luck,

mdc99 · 05-15-2012, 08:46 AM

Oh yea, I know the tool your talking about, might have to give that a try. Thanks for the tip on adjusting the rollers to get the floor out. Getting that section out has been worrying me because I knew it would have to go, for the slide to work smoothly. My sub floor comes within about 2" of the outside wall as best as I can remember. So should I take it that you've done this and were you happy with the results? Thanks again, Mark

rex · 05-15-2012, 11:02 AM

Mark, no I have not done this job - yet. I did help a friend remove a section about 2-feet by 4-feet at the rear of his kitchen where water had rotted the flooring. Removing tile in that area was no problem and the wood was completely rotted. Took about a week to tear it out and repair with new wood.

Where he had good sub-floor the tile was a b---h to remove. The mastic Monaco used was like cement.

Barlow46 · 05-15-2012, 08:18 PM

Go to John Bridge Tile Forum, DIY Tile Advice, Tile How-to Information, Tile Your World
John is an "old school" mud man that recently converted to the schluter-kerdi system. I used it when remodeling my master bath. The "kerdi" material makes the job so much easier and waterproof at the same time. Take a look and go to the forum as the pro's on there are very helpful. Good Luck and get some good knee pads......

I just did a search on John's website. I typed in "motorhome" and got this. Looks like it could help. "CX" is very knowledgeable about all tile in general. He's a little crusty but he knows his stuff. http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/...ight=motorhome

docj · 05-15-2012, 08:33 PM

We're in the middle of doing exactly what you propose. We're removing the front carpet and the ceramic tile in the kitchen (we've left the ceramic in the bath). We're used 1/4" plywood over the OSB which very closely matches the height of the ceramic at the doorway transition. We're using Alterna Vinyl Tile Floors from Armstrong tile which is not as easy to find as some of the other Armstrong products, but which is rated for light commercial use.

As for the effort to remove the ceramic, we didn't do the work ourselves, but after two days of work all the existing flooring has been removed and the plywood subfloor has been cut and glued in place. Removal of the ceramic itself was half a day's work by 3 guys taking turns breaking it loose.

mdc99 · 05-17-2012, 08:20 AM

Thanks to all for the replys. Rex your right, I started this project because I was installing the Samsung frig and had some water damage from the notcold. Those tiles pulled up easily, as soon as I got to good osb board it was a totally different thing. It is useless to try to get the tiles up because your left with such an uneven surface. At best you might be able to ceramic tile back over it but I doubt it. When I started this project I went to H.D. and asked the tool guy what he suggested, he recomended the Dremel Zip saw because it had a muti-purpose offset blade that would saw right next to the wall. That would have worked great if the blade was capable of anything more than marginally cutting the tile. I burned up the first saw, didn't think I was being that tough on it, but they replaced it. The tile blade that comes with the saw cuts the tile fine but is not offset so you can't get to close to the walls. Roto-zip makes a saw/attachment that might work but at this point I don't want to buy another saw. If I was starting over I would attempt to find a offset dry tile cutting blade, although a quick search has not found any. Otherwise I would put a tile blade on a grinder and cut around the walls with this. I would then use the oscillating saw tip to cut thru the OSB board and attempt to pull both the tile/osb up together in big chunks. At this point I have most of the tile and osb board up except for the part under the slide. In the toilet area I have the tile up and have started working on the osb. I was planning on pulling all of the sub osb board in the toilet area and just resetting the toilet but I might be running into a problem there. Haven't totally had a chance to check it out but will report back or may have to start a toilet thread. docj-if you don't mind me asking what does this cost to have done? and do you think they would take a 1/2 done situation? LOL Thanks, Mark

rex · 05-17-2012, 05:16 PM

Go here and look at the saw blade for your oscillating tool:

3-1/2" Half-Moon Multi-Tool Blade

It will not last long, but will do the job, at least cutting through the OSB.

Then go here for the tile cutting saw:

2-5/8" Carbide Grit Half Moon Multi-Tool Blade

These two saws will do what you need. It will take time but you can cut up next to the wall if you take your time and don't try to rush it. There is sufficient offset if you mount them correctly.

Use the tile cutting saw first, then the other saw blade to go through the OSB.

You may have to lower the toilet flange. It is glued to the down pipe. You can use the Dremel tool to cut it loose by cutting on the inside of the down pipe. Then when the OSB is out, install a new flange and use a down pipe from it that fits inside the original one.

Rex