How to Remove a River Rock Floor

River rock has a very unique aesthetic and can be difficult to clean. For this reason, you may wish to remove the river rock and try to install a different type of flooring. Luckily, most river rock floors are made of thin layers of cut stone, rather than entire rocks embedded into concrete. However, even removing the river rock floor tiles will require a fair amount of strength and very little finesse.

Step 1: While wearing work gloves, eye protection, and a face mask, use a sledge hammer to break up the river rocks on the floor. If you are working on a concrete floor slab, you don't have to be particularly careful during this step. However, if you are working on actual sub floor, be careful: you can do significant accidental damage with a sledgehammer.

Step 2: Remove any pieces that have broken away from the floor and discard them into a trash can you have designated for this project. Be sure to check with your local waste disposal company for any particular restrictions when discarding flooring materials.

Step 3: Use a cold chisel and smaller sledge hammer to remove the remaining river rock from the floor. Try to chip away as much grout as possible as well.

Step 4: Use a belt sander to sand away the remaining thinset and create a smoother floor. Sweep the floor to remove any debris and dust. Continue by installing your new flooring according to the manufacturer's directions.

If you are working on a concrete floor, you may want to pour some self leveling compound over the slab to create a completely smooth and new surface to work on. You will still have to sand away any hills on the slab before adding the leveling compound, however.

For other types of sub floors, you may wish to remove the existing sub floor and replace it with new cement fiber board or plywood, depending on the new flooring you intend to install. Of course, if you can adequately smooth the floor with your sander, you can skip replacing the sub floor.