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You need a pro to do that floor. It is so uneven that if you put tile on it now, you will have cracked tiles in a week. That much space under a tile will be perfect to create a cracked tile floor.
I rented a grinder and got the high spots out. It wasn't easy or clean to do. I spent 150 on discs alone. Ill post pics later of my work on it. I also used the grinder to remove the paint and texture from the floor. That part was easy but I did the entire floor just to clean it up for the mortar.
I'll be done with my master bedroom this week. Ive spent 20hrs on my bedroom from removing furniture, removing carpet, removing wood strips with staples, leveling floor to installing tile. When all is said and done I'll have around 24hrs. Which only puts me 25% done.
Here are a couple of thoughts from a guy who does this stuff for a living:
Your best bet is to hire a professional tile contractor and have him/her level the floor and set the tile. That's the most expensive way to get this done right, but also your best investment. He!! is doing a tile job yourself, having to tear it out and still hiring a pro to get it right.
Your 2nd best option is to grind away at it, until the high spots/humps are gone, then using a self-leveling compound like Ardex K-15 to get it flat. That will also texturize the slab a bit so your mortar grabs a little better.
Finally, you can use a medium-bed mortar instead of thinset mortar to set the tile. That will help with the leveling issue as long as you are using a level in all directions on every two to four tiles as you go. A puck-type level would be helpful. Tavy makes a good one.
I have a new respect for tile installers. I'm now on to the grouting and it is by far the worst part (it's killing my back much more than any other part of the install). I can only imagine how much fun it will be to get the haze off all the tiles. But I'm learning a lot from this and will be much faster and better when I start doing it in the living and dining room.
Best solution and tools for this. I'm getting the concrete ready for tile.
Paint thinner and a scraper?
Dawn soap and a scraper?
Does the concrete have to be completely free of everything or can a little paint be on the concrete close to the baseboards?
Cleaning only:
Scrape the gross stuff (glue, paint, etc.), and then use the correct floor buffer and pad, plus some liquid floor cleaner and degreaser that does not leave an oily film (TSP, for example). The next step is to rinse the floor with water, and then to squeegee the water out of there. Let the floor dry, and do your thing.
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