How to Take Tile Off a Bathroom Floor
Bathroom tile floors provide a nonporous, water-resistant surface that is also easy to clean. A tile floor, however, does have its disadvantages when it comes to changing flooring types. Because a tile floor sometimes does not sit perfectly level, and because tiles can break under pressure, new flooring should not be laid over tile. If you want to change out the flooring in a bathroom, you must take tile off the bathroom floor prior to installing the new flooring material. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Utility knife
- Putty knife
- Hammer
- Paint scraper
- Broom and dustpan or vacuum
- Wire brush
- Tack cloth or mop
- Chisel
- Bucket
Instructions
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Disposing of Tiles
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1
Make a single slice down the thin strip of caulking around the tile floor with a utility knife. Put the tip of the knife at the top of the slice that you made and drag it about 1 inch along the top of the caulk strip, and then put the tip of the knife at the bottom of the slice you made and drag it about 1 inch along the bottom of the caulk strip to loosen a 1-inch flap of caulk that remains attached to the rest of the caulk strip. Hold the loose piece of caulk tightly between your fingers and pull slowly and steadily to peel the entire caulking strip away from the wall. If the caulking breaks as you attempt to peel it away from the wall, cut along the top and bottom of the strip to create another flap, and then begin to peel the caulking away from the wall again.
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2
Strike each tile on the floor with a hammer to break the tile. Remove any tile pieces that come free of the floor upon breaking, and wedge the putty knife down between pieces of tile that don't come free to pry each one up off the subfloor surface.
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3
Remove the mortar or mastic and grout left behind on the floor with a paint scraper. If you have trouble getting the caulk to come free, use a chisel and hammer to break it off the floor.
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4
Sweep up the large pieces of mortar or grout from the floor with a broom or suck them up with a vacuum. Remove small stuck pieces of mortar or grout with a wire brush after removing the big pieces. Clean the floor with a piece of tack cloth or a wet mop.
Reusing Tiles
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5
Remove the grout from between the tiles with a chisel and hammer. Put the chisel tip against an area of grout at the corner of the floor, and tap the chisel with a hammer to dislodge a 1/4-inch piece. Continue down the line of grout, chiseling out ¼-inch pieces at a time, and work your way across the floor to remove all of the grout from between the tiles.
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6
Slide the tip of a putty knife as far under a corner tile as you can get it, and then tap the end of the putty knife with the hammer to work it to ¼-inch under the tile. Pull the knife out and slide it over along the tile about an inch. Tap the putty knife beneath the tile again, and then move down the tile until you have loosened the entire side.
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7
Go across the same side of the tile again, tapping the putty knife to roughly ½-inch beneath the tile. Continue this process, ½-inch at a time, until you have loosened roughly half the width of the tile and then slide the putty knife beneath the center of the tile and pry upward. In many instances, the tile pops free; if it doesn't pop free with a little pressure, loosen the tile some more with the putty knife and hammer and then pry the tile up again. Remove all of the tiles from the floor in this manner.
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8
Soak the tiles in a bucket of water for 24 hours and use a wire brush to remove any adhesive and grout from them. Clean the floor with a wire brush. Sweep and mop the floor to remove all adhesive and grout from the floor.
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Tips & Warnings
Generally, caulk comes free by pulling alone, but if you have trouble getting the caulking loose from the wall and floor, slide a thin putty knife beneath the caulking as you move along the wall to help pry it up.
References
- Photo Credit Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
