Idiot falls asleep after tiling hearth

[JPapiPE]

Unbelievable, but I tiled my hearth with a thinset latex mix, but the temperture was 88 degrees and the humidity was 100% I must have dropped a gallon of sweat on the hearth, so i only got to clean about 50% of the adhesive before I sat down to rest for 5 minutes and woke up 2 hours later. The adhesive was so hard by then I think I'll need explosives to clean it off. Moral of the story is clean all adhesive off tile before falling asleep.
Your resident idiot , Joe

 

[sullystull]

I did the same thing tiling my shower (I think the fumes got to me). I had to hook a wire brush onto my drill to get the grout off. Best of luck to ya...I feel your pain.

 

[Highbeam]

Even on the best of days it is a serious challenge to clean the thinset off of the tile faces well enough to prevent clouding and future speckling in the pores of the tile. That stuff is very hard to get clean. Same thing will happen with the grout.

Lots of clean water and a good sponge. Over and over and over. Change water. Rins over and over and over. But don't get water into the grout or thinset. Just wipe the tiles. Ugh, so much stress.

 

[begreen]

Use several of those green, flat scouring pads to speed things up. Get the surface wet first, then scrub with the wet pad, sponge clean and scrub again.

I was wondering if very dilute muriatic acid help in this situation? I know it worked great for getting cement film off of our bricks but don't know how well it would work for thinset.

 

[Noah]

Use several of those green, flat scouring pads to speed things up. Get the surface wet first, then scrub with the wet pad, sponge clean and scrub again.

I was wondering if very dilute muriatic acid help in this situation? I know it worked great for getting cement film off of our bricks but don't know how well it would work for thinset.

I think you may be correct but I'm not 100% sure. Search the John Bridge Tile My World forum and you will find the answer, if not, ask.

 

[begreen]

Yes, there seems to be folks using muriatic acid like I did for cleaning tile. Just don't use it on limestone or marble tile!! But I would only do this as a last resort. First I would try manual labor hard scrubbing. If that does not work and if you decide to use muriatic acid, be sure to read the instructions carefully and have tons of ventilation. It's not recommended for big jobs indoors. It the hearth can be moved safely outside that would be better. Be extremely careful!! This is stuff is strong and toxic. Wear appropriate clothing, gloves and probably a organic filter mask for indoor work.

When done mix in some baking soda with the diluted acid mix to neutralize the remaining solution. I would also mix some baking soda into a fresh pail of water and sponge rinse the tile surface for final cleanup.

READ ME FIRST:
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infmur.html

 

[PeteD]

With thinset and grout that is not too old, I have found that placing wet paper towels on the tiles seems to soften the stuff up somewhat.

Then, use the plastic scour pads, as BeGreen suggested.

Good luck. Sounds like you woke up, thought you were having a nightmare, and then realized you weren't.

Pete

 

[Redox]

I usually keep a spray bottle around when I'm working with tile so that if things get away from you, you can just mist everything down and it will slow down the cure. Most of the time, the sloppy parts will just scrape right off if the tile is glazed. It's actually hard to get anything to stick permanently to the glazing. If you are using natural stone or something porous then, oh well; live and learn. :roll:

Chris

 

[JPapiPE]

Had very good luck with the scotch brite pads and an old chisel. ( the side of it actually) Here is a picure of the finished product
Thanks to all for the help, Joe

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Good luck. Sounds like you woke up, thought you were having a nightmare, and then realized you weren't.

Pete

until he woke up :gulp:

 

[JPapiPE]

I cant remember what I was dreaming but the temperature was 88 degrees and the humidity was 100% and it was pouring buckets of rain and my asthma was screaming like a blind pig, but the hearth is done and the 4 cords of wood are here and stacked and i have my new stove just ready to go on that hearth, after she hardens.
Thanks for all your imput...everyone on this forum is great...well not everyone, but most are.
Joe

 

[jpl1nh]

Had very good luck with the scotch brite pads and an old chisel. ( the side of it actually) Here is a picure of the finished product
Thanks to all for the help, Joe

Looks nice enough to take a nap on!

 

[begreen]

Way to go Joe, it looks great! It'll look even better with the stove on it.

Ya know it's easy to kibitz on the sidelines when it's only 71 here, but I do remember what it was like trying to slog through 90 degrees and 90% humidity. It takes a lot of perseverance at times. I used to be the kid they sent up to work in the attics to run ductwork in the insulation and crud. That was negative fun in the summer. All I wanted to do afterward is jump in a lake. The good news is you're 2/3ds of the way done and cool weather is in the forecast.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

joe, that looks great buddy!

i wanna see what that 13 looks like on it with a nice fire going , but you can wait til it cools off some bro, besides getting a flue to draw when its 90 outside and 70 inside aint exactly easy. if you want to preburn the stove , do it outside , that will keep the smell of the oils burning off outside.

 

[Andy99]

Had very good luck with the scotch brite pads and an old chisel. ( the side of it actually) Here is a picure of the finished product
Thanks to all for the help, Joe

Looks Great!

 

[savageactor7]

Very nice Joe...you just saved yourself about $285 doing that...that's a lot of coin.

 

[JPapiPE]

I did calculate the cost of materials to build my hearth and the total was about $175, not including the grout float that I bought. I alway like to buy one quality tool within reason if I save the labor cost on any particular project. This time it was a professional marshaltown 10" grout float. I still have half a sheet of 3/4" plywood (base), half a bag 12.5# of thinset, half a bag of sanded grout and more than half a box of drywall trim screws, plus 9/10 of a can of stain/sealer and 9/10 of a jar of colored wood fill. Also have 4 spare tiles left over. The oak 1X4" was the most expensive.