Removing old cement tiles for recycling.

A couple of rooms in the house had old patterned cement tiles.  We decided to keep these, however we had 2 issues.

We had a thick wall that was to be removed between these rooms, and the door leading to the outside was to be widened, which would leave quite a gap in the floor.  We decided to retile these using white cement tiles.  We also had to replace a few broken tiles and lift out quite a few of the tiles to lay the electrics and plumbing for a kitchen island.

Red outline marks some of the areas where new tiles had to be laid

Removal of floor tiles for installation of plumbing and electrics

Lifting these tiles out is not so simple.  They are brittle and break easily.  Most patterns are replaceable however the idea was to have a floor that did look like it had some age to it.  We were lucky to discover that another floor that was to be replaced had 2 layers of tiles, most of which were still in good condition so I decided to start the surgery on this part before taking on the kitchen floor.

Removal needs list: small pick axe, hooked tool (to rake out the masonry joints), angle grinder, 1 mm grinding disk, respirator mask, eye goggles, metal scraper

You will need a steady hand for removal.  Work slowly and carefully.  The angle grinder was fitted with a 1mm grinding disc.  This was the thinnest one I found.  Start at one end and cut along the tile joints the length of a couple of tiles.  You may need to sacrifice the first tile to be able to lift the others out.  I sacrificed a white one from the border, as these are easily replaceable.  I did this process for a couple of rows of tiles at a time as I found that this will weaken the substrate underneath and allow for easier removal.
Unless the tiles lift out easily (this is not always the case) loosen and rake out the substrate underneath.  Avoid the temptation of using leverage as you may break most of the tiles.  I also inserted a thin metal scraper between the joints and gently tapped downwards along the length of the joint to loosen the area around each tile.  Lift the tiles out gently in preparation for cleaning.