# Forum Home Renovation Demolition  Tiles on concrete sheet - easy removal?

## mxh

I want to remove the ceramic tiles in one of our rooms and take it back to bare floorboards. I've removed a tile from a 'test area' and can see that the tiles have been laid onto a concrete/fibre board, and the board is on the floorboards. 
I've had a bit of the underboard tested and it contains asbestos, so I need to consider my options for removing it. If it's going to lift up easily in big squares (ie the size of the underboard sheets) then I'll be happy to undertake that myself - however, if it's going to need to be broken up to remove it then I'll probably get the professionals in. 
Has anybody had experience in removing this type of underboard? In particular, does anyone know whether the board would have been stuck/nailed to the floor in any way or would it just have been laid there unfixed? Will it just be a case of getting a crowbar under it and lifting off big sections, or is it likely that it will have to be broken up and removed as rubble? 
Thanks for any advice

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## Optimus

If done properly it should be fixed with a lot of clout nails

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## mxh

> If done properly it should be fixed with a lot of clout nails

  Thanks. What will this mean for removal? Is prising the board up likely to bring it up in one piece (either with the nails the board, or pulled through the board and still in the floor)? Or is it likely to break into a thousand pieces as soon as I try to prise it up?

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## Optimus

From my experience (had the same thing at my house) it came up in big pieces with the tiles..  
Try do it with the tiles still attached as they will somewhat stay attached to the cement sheet..

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## METRIX

You should really get in the professionals to get rid of it, if you start ripping it up and dis lodging parts of it you will end up with possible toxins all through the house. 
As a general rule Asbestos based product was brittle and tends to snap, and releases fibres, as opposed to the newer stuff which tends to tear.

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## Bloss

:What he said:  you haven't said how old is the house or the tiled area? 
Likely to be asbestos sheeting so it is illegal for you to do in many states. But read the Asbestos stickies on this forum about safety and the rules where you are - about lifting up and disposal. 
If you go the DIY route use safety gear and remember that dusts can go all over the place - its not just you to think of. If nailed to floor boards it is often able to be lifted intact with tiles and underlay coming up in large pieces and with not too much dust if done with care - the area can be sprayed with a garden sprayer to keep dusts down, but of course that can make the area slippery too!

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