How to Replace Kitchen Tiles Without Removing Cabinets

Save money by removing and replacing a tile floor yourself.

Some installers lay ceramic tile from wall to wall and then set cabinets on top of the tile, making tile installation easier than cutting the tile to fit around the cabinets. Homeowners may wish to replace old, worn, dated and damaged ceramic floor tiles to update the kitchen and make the space more attractive. Removing the cabinets to reveal the trapped floor tiles is labor intensive and challenging. Fortunately, removing and replacing ceramic tile is possible without removing the cabinets.

Things You'll Need

• Flat pry bar
• Demolition bar
• Plastic
• Masking tape
• Leather work gloves
• Safety goggles
• Dust mask
• Ceramic tile-cutting wheel
• Rotary tool
• Floor scraper
• 2 lb. masonry hammer or mash
• Coal shovel
• Masonry cold chisel
• Shop vacuum
• Citrus-based adhesive solvent or masonry grinder
• Chalk line
• Tile adhesive
• Trowel
• Tile spacers
• Wet saw
• Pliers
• Grout
• Bucket
• Rubber grout float
• Sponge
• Grout sealer

Instructions

1. Remove the refrigerator and all furniture from the room. Remove base moldings with a flat pry bar. Remove the threshold with a flat pry bar or demolition bar. Pull heating or air conditioning vent covers up and off the floor. Cover the vents with plastic and tape the plastic in place to keep dust from entering the heating or air conditioning system.

2. Place strips of masking tape along the bottom edge of the cabinets where the cabinets meet the floor to protect the cabinets from damage.

3. Put on leather work gloves, safety goggles and a dust mask.

4. Install a ceramic tile-cutting wheel into a power rotary tool. Position the tile-cutting wheel up against the base of the cabinet, touching the masking tape. Turn on the rotary tool's power and move the cutting wheel along the base of the cabinets. Move the cutting wheel back and forth over the tile until you cut through the depth of the tile. Continue to cut through the tile along the base of the cabinets until you cut through all tile lying at the base of the cabinet.

5. Place a demolition bar or floor scraper at the edge of the tile touching the subfloor, beginning where you removed the threshold. Hit the end of the demolition bar with a 2-lb. masonry hammer or mash to lift and break the tile. Pick up the broken tiles by hand or with a coal shovel and remove them from the room as tiles break. Continue to break out and remove tile until you are one tile away from the cabinets.

6. Position the tip of a masonry cold chisel at the bottom of the tile and hit the chisel with a hammer or mash to break up the last row of tile lying in front of the cabinets. Work carefully and cautiously so as not to damage the cabinets. Continue to chip out the old tile until no tiles remain on the subfloor.

7. Vacuum the subfloor with a shop vacuum to remove all dust and debris.

8. Examine the floor to identify the old tile bonding agent. A hard concretelike layer on the subfloor indicates a mortar bed. A thin, smooth layer indicates tile adhesive. Spread a citrus-based adhesive solvent to the subfloor to remove the adhesive layer. Grind a mortar bed away with a masonry grinder.

9. Vacuum the subfloor with a shop vacuum to remove all dust and debris.

10. Stretch a chalk line from a corner of the room to the opposite corner of the room and snap the line. Extend a chalk line between the two remaining corners and snap the chalk line to leave a large X on the floor. The X represents the center of the floor, which is your starting point.

11. Spread thinset tile adhesive over the center section of the floor with a trowel. Apply a layer of tile adhesive over the back of the tile with a trowel and set it in place on the floor. Place tile spacers at the corners of the tile. Continue to spread tile adhesive on the subfloor and back of the tile, set in place next to the previous tile, and position tile spacers until tile covers the entire floor. Make necessary cuts to the tile with a wet saw. Let the adhesive dry for 24 hours.

12. Remove the tile spacers with pliers. Mix grout and water in a large bucket. Dip a rubber grout float into the grout and press the grout into the grout lines. Wipe the excess grout off the tile with a large, damp sponge. Let the grout set for 72 hours.

13. Brush a coat of grout sealer over the grout lines.

Tips & Warnings

• Lay new tiles that are the same thickness or slightly thicker than the old tile to hide the tiles that remain under the cabinets.

• Avoid laying tile on top of tile in a kitchen where you may block opening doors or appliance access panels.

References

• "Reader's Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual"; Family Handyman Magazine Editors; 2005
• "Ultimate Guide To Ceramic and Stone Tile"; Creative Homeowner Editors; 2006
• "The Book of Skills and Tools"; Family Handyman Magazine Editors; 1993