DIY How to Remove Tile
Removing tile requires precautionary steps to prevent damage to the tile-covered wall or floor. Removing cement inlaid tile is harder than removing tile from modern cement backer board. Floor tile laid over a cement slab requires the remodeler to pulverize the floor tile with a sledgehammer and sweep up the tile shards. Old tile installed over wood or backer board only requires a few tools and is accomplished with less mess. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Stiff 3-inch putty knife
- Small hammer
- Sledgehammer
- Garden spade
- Pry bar
Instructions
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1
Scrape away and lift the grout from in between the tiles, using one of the putty knife's corner edges. A few taps on the putty knife with your hand or hammer should crack the grout enough to get started.
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2
Attempt to place the putty knife blade underneath the tile. Tap the putty knife with the hammer to drive it underneath the tile, keeping the putty knife as parallel to the wall or floor as possible.
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3
Pop the tile up by using the leverage of the putty knife. Dispose of the old tiles and shards into an appropriate waste receptacle.
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4
Lift larger floor or wall tiles with a pry bar and garden spade. Instead of trying to pop out individual floor tiles that have cement backer board installed underneath, break into the perimeter edges of the tiled area and attempt to lift underneath the backer board to remove large tiled areas at once.
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5
Pulverize floor tiles installed on concrete slabs with a sledgehammer, as attempting to pop them up from the solid slab of cement will prove difficult or impossible. Frequently clean up tile shards for safety reasons.
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Tips & Warnings
Always wear safety goggles and leather gloves when dealing with sharp tile shards.
References
- Photo Credit 32 year old bathroom image by Russell Espinoza from Fotolia.com
