Update: after talking with the rental stores and flooring guy, it looks like I’ll need to grind this off with a diamond wheel on the angle grinder. The foam came up with a floor scraper and rubber mallet to drive it. The rental wasn’t worth it from a time standpoint and wouldn’t touch the thin set. So I’ll be getting a good respirator and dust collection setup.

On the plus side, the 3” cutoff wheel setup from Milwaukee worked awesome to cut a nice line in the tile between rooms. Tile stays in one, LVP in the other.



I’m removing a small section of porcelain tile and I find that some sort of foam like material has been stuck down to the subfloor. Then the thin-set over that for the tile.

Tile is popping up pretty well but the foam material is not. Many tiles have have just popped off the thin-set.

So I have a thin layer of foam attached to the subfloor I need to get up.

Any tips or is it just a scraper and hours? What ever is holding the foam down is hard like the thin-set and looks like it was put down with a grooved trowel.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Riley,

Check with your tool rentals about a floor scraper. I see Home depot rents one but I doubt you would get any technical support that you would get at an actual rental place.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/re...S8-I-1117A/316821984

Is it the orange foam designed for tile?
Are you going to replace what you are taking up with more tile?
Just trying to understand what the desired end result will be.

I’m not sure what color it was originally probably not orange. It looks like gray Styrofoam. No I need to get it down to subfloor smooth so the floor guys can put in LVP.

This tile buttoned up to laminate flooring that had a foam backer, and it was all the same height. And now it’ll all be LVP so I need the subfloor to be smooth and even best it can be.

Ha, I forgot those floor scrappers existed… A little embarrassing.

As long as it doesn’t tear up the subfloor, the floor guys OK with doing a little bit of touchup for level. He’s already going to sand the joints to make sure there’s no high spots in the subfloor as you get sometimes.

LVP requires an installer who knows what they're doing. We had Karndean LVP installed in 2011 and love it, but eventually the smallest imperfections in the leveling compound will begin to show through in high-traffic areas. My in-laws loved ours so much they had their house done with Karndean as well, but went with different (cheaper) installers. Within a couple of years it was apparent they were not as careful about ensuring the quality of the leveling.

Apologies for the slight thread drift. Good luck!

Setting the angle is important, light pressure, floor should be OK. This is where the technical support is handy, take a picture of what you have and ask lots of questions. Rental places don't know if you have used it before. Sometimes paying a little more at one place is worth it.

MEK will melt the foam, you can buy a gallon of it at Lowes. But you better use it with all the windows open and a fan in a doorway.

Thanks!

Our installer is one the highest recommended and I’ve talked to customers so should be good!

Patience is necessary when preparing the foam layer since methods might require persistent effort. A floor scraper enables you to remove foam if you firstly soften it with proper underfloor preparation. Using either a heat gun or steamer allows the foam to melt somewhat before removing it. The same care must be taken to protect your subfloor from harm during the process.