In our original remodeling plans, Dave & I had every intention of removing all the old tile and laying the new stuff ourselves. Eventhough we knew it wouldn't be easy, Dave is a Tile Layer Extraordinaire (here's a pic of the floor he did in Amanda's bathroom) & we still thought it was doable . . . until we ran into a big problem with somebody's version of thin set.  After several unsuccessful attempts to remove the corrugated concrete from our kitchen floor, a LOT of knee pain for Dave, and the realization that we still had three-fourths of the demo left to go, we finally admitted that we'd have to call in the pros for this part of the job.  

Even with their experience & special equipment,  it took them two whole days just to demo the remaining tile and remove what they said is the thickest thin set they've ever seen.  Their assessment did make Dave feel less like a wimp for not doing it himself - but YIKES, the noise has been deafening, and all this peace and quiet is soooooo refreshing :-)