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  • By the way that scraper that fits in your sawzall is trash. . it broke my recipricating saw they aren't made for that type of impact – Dion May 12 '15 at 4:45
  • Always, always, always wear a dust mask when grinding, sanding or cutting thinset or concrete. The dust can eventually cause silicosis which can be deadly!!! – user41971 Aug 30 '15 at 4:19

10 Answers 10



Power Chisel (best fit for the job):

power chisel

Air Hammer (you'd need a high capacity air compressor):

air hammer


demo hammer

MC Hammer (don't touch this):

mc hammer

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  • How about MC Hammerhead? – sborsher Jan 14 '15 at 18:51


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All suggestions/Answeres were most appreciated.


You easily can go over old thin set with no problem,as long as it is down good....I have done whole house on top of strong bonded oldthinset....it is actually a benefit to the instsllation of the new tile....only a pro can understand what I mean....but trust me ,it is okay

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    "Only a pro can understand what I mean." Really? That's a little condescending. Since the whole point of DIY.SE is learning about home improvement, why don't you give explaining what you mean a shot? – Doresoom Oct 2 '14 at 13:33

You can put tile over old thinset. Make sure it not loose, vacuum to remove any debris, check for cracks, apply membrane if needed. I've done it hundreds of times for fifteen years including my own five houses. Remove the old thinset to get a flat surface for wood or laminate installation.


Just finished removing tile and thin set from a small (5'x5') bathroom floor an hour ago. I use a wide cold chisel and hammer to remove the tile. I found it was much more productive to cut through the grout lines first with an angle grinder and diamond blade. You could use a circ. saw but I didn't have one on hand. I used my shop vac to collect the dust as I ran along the grout with the blade. You don't really need to go all the way through the grout to the subfloor, just a decent groove. The tile still broke up in pieces with the grout lines cut but the pieces were much larger making the job faster.

I found a wide chisel / scraper type attachment at Lowes which fit directly into a recip. saw and that made pretty short work of the thin set ridges. Going perpendicular to the ridges is much more effective. Altogether the job took about 4 hours and left the new surface pretty smooth. I may just hit any high spots with the grinder again to make sure. It's a little late to do it once you start laying tile.


well, chipped all the tile up in my home OMG. So now the thinset, I found a rental tool at homedepot .Its a floor buffer and you put this round buffer with teeth and it removes thinset.DUST but fast. and yes you can go over thinset just make sure it not loose. have fun ;)


thinset removal bit $25 on amazon hooks up to an air compressor. .. gives you more control than a roto hammer. Been doing tile for 10 years and so far best bang for your buck


wet the thinset with a generous amount of water before attempting to remove. It will soften most thinsets up a bit but the biggest gain is in dust mitigation. Let it soak as long as you can, I try to let it set for at least an hour. You will have a tremendous amount of dust EVERYWHERE if you don't. There will still be dust but it will be manageable when wet. I just scaled 150 square feet today and although it was a back breaker it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been. Used a Bosch rotary hammer with a 1.5" scaling bit. Couldn't find a wider bit but this actually worked well. I use a 4" manual scrapper to ensure everything is flush and this really cleans any remaining thinset. Good luck, it isn't for the faint of heart !!!

protected by Community Oct 4 '16 at 12:08


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