First, let me again thank all of you for your responses. Is there anything freepers don't know?
Next, the job...ongoing. I should have said at the start that cost is prohibitive, that I am handy and earnest but not necessarily skilled, and that I didn't have the car so running up to HD to rent an illegal was out of the question. All I had to work with was what I have on hand, which is pretty much the basics. I gave the blow dryer a try which sped things up, but it was still slow going. By dinner time last night (with several interruptions) I had only removed 14 tiles.
Last night, at CCD, I asked one of my fellow teachers if he had any ideas on how to speed up the process. He said he had great success using an old bedsheet and an iron--get the tile nice and steamy and it slides right up in one piece. Well, not always in one piece, not for me, because I am the impatient type and I have a hard time waiting for a uniformly heated tile. I worked on it for a few hours this afternoon and removed 42 tiles. Once the kids are asleep I'll be back at work.
In response to a few other issues raised: From the looks of things, the luaun is in great shape. It looked so good, in fact, that I took a closer inspection of the area by the dishwasher. There is no sign of moisture on the luaun, even there. I now suspect that the tiles loosened at the washer because that is the only area, on the entire perimeter of the kitchen, in which I did not use any kind of 1/4 round or threshhold piece. Live and learn.
Yes, I will again be using vinyl tile. It's what I can afford. Once all the tile is removed, I will quickcrete any problem areas I find and then use one or two coats of killz to seal up. I did this in a bathroom several years ago and so far it is holding up well. I know a lot of folks can't stand vinyl, but again, it is what I can afford. What I am removing now had a 3-year warranty; the tile I have picked out has a 25-year warranty. I don't have a lot of other options for this space. We can't do wood because the kitchen is open to the dining room, which has a very distinctive (and no longer available) plank floor. A different wood floor on an adjoining space would look weird. Same problem with pergo. I would love ceramic but it is far beyond my skill level, and the local labor rate for ceramic install is a whopping $6SF, materials not included.
So there ya go! Thanks again!
The ceramic is actually deceivingly simple.
Get a flip through paperback book with full color pictures either at home depot or lowes that gives step by step. May cost a few more bucks, but you can drop a full bottle of catsup on it and simply mop it up. For the next 30 years, as long as it is occasionally resealed.
No it isn't. Ceramic tiles are easy. I thought the same way you did once, until I actually started doing the work on my kitchen and bathrooms. Now I have tiled bathrooms, kitchen, closets and patios and porch! We went to the class that HD gives on ceramic tiles and went to work. It just looks hard, but it's not..........