Removing Ceramic Tile

This is great advice if your cement backer board isn't screwed into the sub-floor. Anyone have any suggestions for that situation, besides removing the tile and grout, then un-screwing the backer board. For the love of everything sacred, I hope so.

Hello Tim,
I am in the situation that my tile is attached to concrete poured directly on the sub floor. My desire is to completely remove the floor down to the joists if that helps with your suggestions.
Thanks, Carl

Carl,
Buy a jumbo bottle of Advil at the same time you are buying a fantastic pair of work gloves.

I HAVE TILE ON MY SHEET ROCK IN MY KITCHEN I AM WOUNDERING WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE THE TILE WITH LITTLE DAMGE TO THE WALLS

Shane,
Use a stiff 2 or 3-inch-wide putty knife driven under the tile at a very low angle.

Is it possible to remove tiles that have been installed (but not yet grouted) over a warming mat without damaging the mat? My tiles were positioned rather badly by the contractor and I want to reposition them. They are 12"x12" ceramic tiles installed over (the warming mat then) plywood.

Regrets,
I regret to inform you but the answer is probably no.

My house was built in 1956 and has ceramic tile in the bathroom. I would like to remove it from the walls. What is the best method for removing from the walls and what will I find behind the tile?

Steve,

I don't know if it is protocol for me to answer your question, but if you read prior posts I just did a similar job. My house was built in 1960 and also had tile on the walls. Behind the tile was mortar and metal lathe attached to the studs. It was thick and heavy. Chip the tiles off first so the mortar and lahte can flex a little. I used a big hammer and a flat bar and just pounded the flat bar along the studs and it came of in fairly large chunks. As Tim stated in his comment to me, have a big bottle of Advil, good work gloves, safety glasses and a few good dust masks. Be prepared to have dust EVERYWHERE. I hope that helps.

Steve,
Carl is the man! Great answer Carl! You took the words out of my mouth, er..... fingertips.

My backerboard was attached to plywood with thinset and then screwed. I am told that it is much easier to remove the tile from the backerboard than it is to remove the backerboard from the plywood. What is your opinion?

Steve,
You may be right. Try it and tell us which task is harder.

I'm removing tile that has been placed on top of plywood and will be laying new tile. Looking for a suggestion on the best way to remove the glue and grout from the plywood?

We recently had a ceramic backsplash installed in our kitchen. our tiler placed small square deco tiles that came attached to netting over the 8" square tiles that were placed right up under all of the cabinets. We have been able to remove these tiles using the puddy knife and hammer. the glue and netting residue is still on some of the tiles. Is there any solution that we can apply to clean these tiles before we grout over where we have removed the deco tiles?

Mark,
You can chisel off the grout and maybe use an adhesive remover to soften the organic mastic. If it is thinset, you are toast.

Cathy,
Perhaps an adhesive remover??????

I have radiant heated floors in my bathroom and kitchen. I'd like to lift the tiles as the grout is loosening around some of the tiles. Is there any way I can remove the tiles safely without damaging the radiant heat. I don't understand the layers so I don't know how far down I can or need to go before I hit the radiant heat

I have removed all of the ceramic tiles on my bathroom floor except the ones sticking our from under the sink and toilet. I want to trim them around the sink and toilet. Do you have a suggestion on how to do this? Is there a specific tool I should use?

Sylvia,
I am confused. If the grout is failing, why move the tile? It sounds like you just need to redo the grout.

Dear Tim,
I purchased a house that has a layer of 1ft ceramic tiles over a layer of 8" ceramic tiles on the kitchen floor. I do not know what is underneath. The house was built in 1982. If there is no cement board, how would we go about removing 2 layers of ceramic tiles?

What if the backer board is adhered to the sub-floor, will your instructions still work? I started on an edge where carpet meets the tile. I see some roofing nails holding it down, and we think for sure that the backerboard was put down on the wood subfloor with thinset or something.. not positive yet. If it is, what do I do?

Renie,
You can try a hammer with a small sharp cold chisel. Be careful.

Kim,
My guess would be with great difficulty...... You can start with a 20 oz hammer and a cold chisel.

Shane,
Those who hesitate are lost........ Stop fretting and get out the spade and put the tool to work.

Hi Tim,

I want to take down the Marble around my fire place. The Marble is attached to the sheet rock. I have no mantle.
Not sure what to do without damaging the wall and what am I going to find? What is the best way to do this?

Sheila,
You use the same techniques I outline in this column. You will discover damaged drywall.

Hi
I urgently need your help. The contractors are in today to take out the ceramic tiles in the kitchen. The tiles are coming out easily and we can see the cement board in good condition. THe contractors say that they will not take out the cement board and that they will just put the new porcelin tiles on top. A friend tells me that we have to take out the cement board. please please reply ASAP.
thanks

Yvonne

Tim,

I have an old hex tile bathroom floor (house built in 1937) and someone tried to lay a larger, new octagonal tile floor over it, but didn't finish. I want to preserve the original hex tiles but remove the newer tiles on top. There is only the cement/grout/or whatever in between the two. Is there a way to remove the new tiles without damaging the original floor? Thanks.

Yvonne,
In the future if you need an immediate answer, you may have to purchase a 15-Minute Consult. There is no need to replace the cement board if it is in great shape.

I have a bit of a different problem. I'm trying to remove a porcelain tile floor and the cement board is not only nailed into the subfloor, but GLUED as well and it's near impossible to get up. I've gone through and removed all of the tile, but most of the cement board is still down on the floor. Can I "fill in the gaps" of the cement board that was pulled up along with the tiles, or possibly fill the voids w/ mortar, then apply another thin sheet of cement board over the top to level it out? I'm trying to avoid removing the subfloor, and this cement board just isn't going to come up, any suggestions?

Rusty,
You need to try to get a stiff putty knife under the top tile. Tap the tool with a hammer at a low angle.

Help. I am removing tiles from my kitchen and family room. The tiles were mortared to the cement foundation. They're shattering for the most part and I have a similar issue posted above regarding the tile going under the cabinets which I guess I use a cold chisel for but....Is there a good way to get the mortar off?

My house was built in 1964 and has terrazzo floors. Ceramic tile was laid on top of the terrazzo floors about 15 years ago in the kitchen area. I want to remove these tiles and restore the terrazzo. What is the best way to get these tiles and thin-set off of the terrazzo flooring? Any tips on restoring the terrazzo would also be appreciated.

Tim -

I'm wondering on the response to the first post. If the backerboard is screwed down (as mine is), is there any trick to removing the tile and backerboard? Or am I looking forward to lots of tough pry work? If so, what's a good tool to do this since it's screwed down, not nailed.

Its only 5 years old so I'm assuming the bond between the tile and backerboard is stil pretty solid. The spaces between the backerboards were not filled by the installer and now the tiles are cracked in many places (at least that's my guess) and while I have some spares, I don't have enough to replace all the cracked tiles.

Thanks,
Quentin

Tim,

I desperately need to not see the sky blue tile in my foyer, hallway and kitchen, but it is attached directly to the concrete sub floor. Originally I thought that I would just remove it, but after trying a few tiles and reading your article, I am thinking otherwise. Is laying backer board over top of the existing tile an option to removing it completely? Is there any prep I need to do to the existing floor before I laid the backer board down?

In my great room, i have hardwood flooring. In that same room, my front door is located there which had a section of tile in front of it. This tile was unfortunatly placed on top of my hardwood. After taking the tile up off the flooring, it left a thin white plaster/paper coating which i don't know how to remove from my hardwood. How can i accomplish getting this up without further damaging my flooring?

I am trying to remove ceramic tile from a bathroom in which the tile is laid over concrete vice backer board. I saw your tips on this in some of the other comments - but still need help with this: I am removing the tile in the bathroom but not the adjoining shower. What is the chance that the concrete slab continues under the shower as one combined piece? And if there is a good chance of that, wouldn't using a sledge hammer on the non-shower part be a bad idea since it might crack the concrete under the shower? What is the best way to remove only the tile in the bathroom itself?

hi - we are trying to decide the best solution and hope you can help. we have 24 yr old ceramic tile in kitchen/utility rooms that is not just ugly but starting to get hairline cracks in a few. they are 8x8. our choices seem to be: 1. remove the existing tiled and put in new tile or laminate flooring. or 2. leave the exisiting tile in place, smooth out (?) and then do the underpad and floating laminate flooring. we have no idea which is best. money is sort of tight. thanks!!

I want to put wainscotting in my bathroom over the existing tile... if I use Liquid nails will that work? I'm trying to bypass the mess of taking the tile off the walls.

I am removing floor tile with a chisel and hammer in my bathroom and discovered it was lain directly on existing 1x1 mosaic tile. I want to save the tile below. Some of the mortar/grout is remaining on the tile below. How can I safely remove it without causing damage. Also and some of the 1x1 tile came up with the tile I was removing how can I seperate it from the cement like glue adhering to the tiles.

Hi Tim. I just finished removing porcelain tiles from my shower. The backing was cement board, and it is generally still in good shape after I chisselled off the tiles. Only a few holes in the cement mesh were created and some of the mesh is covered in the old mortor. Is it OK to mortor new tiles on the existing cement board and is there a way you recommend to patch the couple holes in the existing wall (use mortor)??? Thanks.

What is the best way to remove 2 or 3 tiles from a Tub surround. The tiles are grouted and are mortarred to drywall. Can I remove them without replacing the drywall?

I am about to try removing porcelain tile...the other comments helped...Let's see what happens!

Anyone

I am removing about 800 sq ft of ceramic tile and the cement board was nailed and cemented to the floor, when I try to lift up the cement board with the tile it just breaks and gets no where. I break off bits and pieces of tile and after parts of the cement board and the cement and nails,,, all separate... any better suggestions???

Be very careful when removing tile installed in the 70's and earlier. In our bathroom metal lathe was attached to the studs then mortar and then the tile just as mentioned before. While I was removing the tile from the long back wall of the shower the entire wall came down in one piece crushing my index finger and causing an emergency room visit. Any $$$ I was saving in doing the demolition myself jus went to the local hospital. I thought I had taken precationary measures but in the end you can't plan on everything. Just be careful, wear long sleeve shirts and long pants to keep slivers on tile from cutting you as well.

Tim,

This is my first time trying to tile and think we've done it backwards! We layed tile on the floor before my husband said the tile on the tub just wouldn't work. I have followed your suggestions above and you are so right about the Advil! My question is, is it possible to tile over tile? I have concrete 'sand' spilling from the tub each time I try to remove a tile. Looks like the builder framed the tub, filled it with this grey cement sand, put up a mesh wall and then tiled on that. Long story short - it's going to be a long time before I ask my husband to do another project!
What do we do when/if we remove all of the tile? Do we have to put up something surrounding the tub before we tile again?
Thanks for your help!

I have a 20 year old house in which I need to remove the ceramic tile in one of the bathrooms. I have already found that the tile is set on a wooden subfloor of 3/8" plywood screwed and glued to the main floor. I am guessing there is no easy solution to this but any tips would help. Thanks in advance.

Thank you so much for this article. You have no idea the trouble you saved me - I would not have come up with the right solution to remove the cement backer. You saved me hours of work, and possible injury.

My daughters and I are trying to save money on our bathroom renovation by doing the demolition ourselves. I too have the tiles over the cement and mesh screen to the studs. Do I remove the mesh and cover over that with wall material. Make it real simple this is a big job to do. I am afraid we are going to knock the other walls out or the brick off the outside. Please reassure me....
Susan

I am looking to remove existing wall tiles surrounding a bathtub and replace them with new tile. The existing tiles are attached to greenboard, will I be able to save this drywall or will I need to replace it all for the new tile?

I am attempting to retile a section of flooring located directly in front of my entryway that is approximately 3x5 feet. The tile was attached to the plywood subfloor with mortar.I removed the tiles and what was left behind was mortar less than 1/6 of an inch thick and in some places bare. The right side of the section is about 1/4 of an inch higher than the rest of the section. What would be the correct solution to this problem? Will I have to remove the subflooring an replace it with new plywood and attach backerboard to it? Or can I use mortar to even out the plywood and then attach backerboard to it?

My friend placed wall tile on her floor. She thinks that it will be alright to leave it there, but I told her that she will have to remove the tile from the floor because it is too fragile to last on the floor. Who is correct?

I am about to remove ceramic tile from a ppoured concrete slab. How effective is a Chipper style hammer drill

My contractor laid some of the wrong color ceramic tiles using thinset on cement board. It's not grouted yet, and I'm asking him to pop some tiles off, replace w/the right colors. He says it's likely to tear up the cement board, ruin the operation entirely. Thoughts?

Hello

I was wondering if you have any tips for me as I am removing my kitchen backsplash that consists of ceremic tiles against a plaster wall... How do I remove the tiles without damaging the plaster walls... any advice please

What would be the best way to remove tile from a mortar based floor? My house was built in 1955. When I try using a wonder bar and hammer to cheisel it out it does not work. Poping it with the hammer works better, but i'm scared I will destroy the mortar.

I need to remove a couple of nine inch tiles on my skirt of the garden tub, to get to the water pipes to repair the faucet and handles. I'm sure there's going to be a wooden frame box type tub and tile holder that the tiles adher to. Can I just use the 3 inch putty knife you were speakin g of earlier and pry these tiles off. Then what? I guess cut out the space in the wooden frame side to install the rough-in pipes. But then should I just try and fasten the piece of wood back it's place, what's the best way. Then in stall tile back right. George Thompson

I saw your comments on the removal of ceramic tile and thats how I did it for my first bathroom remodle.

My question is for my other bathroom that backs up to my newly remodeled tiled bathroom is how can I remove the tile without using a big hammer, last time I did and all my walls moved. Also on the other side of the bathroom there is a kitchen.

Is there anyway of using a saw to cut thought the tile ,cement and metal lathe?

thanks

I have 1950's Pepto Bismol pink tile halfway up the walls of my bathroom, as well as the bathroom countertop. I would love to be Pepto-free. What's the best way to achieve that goal? Will I find myself in the same place as Steve and Carl? Is there any remodeling method that is cheaper or easier in this situation?

I am attempting to remove ceramic tile on a concrete slab. I was wondering if there is any tool or tools that would help speed the process along besides a hammer and chisle?

I have removed the ceramic tile from my bathroom floor using an electric chisel and am ready to lay new tile. How smooth does the concrete need to be to lay the new tile. I have removed all the high spots from the old tile but quite a bit of the old adhesive is still on the concrete. The tile was laid directly on the concrete when the house was built in the early 1970s.

Heat is the key. If your fortunate enough to have the tile glued to the cement board you only have to heat the tile to about 125C to soften the bond. Then the putty knife/crowbar
will allow under a bit of persuasion to remove the offending tile. Hot air guns work well but a word of warning, if you have flammable molding of wooded cabinetry it will
need to be protected from being singed. It will take a bit of time but whether your repairing a single tile or removing a wall it is a lot less stress on the muscles and will reduce the amount of flying chips. Work smarter not harder…

I am removing 12 by 12 ceramic tile from a wood subfloor no hardy back was used by whoever did this project and i am having trouble removing the grout any advice.

My husband installed ceramic tile in our bathroom on cement board but we are left with a LARGE gap between the tub and the bottom of the tile!! 3/4 " in some places. It is not grouted yet. HELP! What do we do?? fill with caulk?? That is not a good idea, is it? PLEASE HELP!

I have purchased a home with white square ceramic tile in the shower. The tile is in good shape, however there is a strip of blue tilesaround the shower at eye level. Is there a way to remove just the blue strip and replace it with a more neutral color with destrying the rest of the tile?

Is there any advice out there for those of us who have the cement backer board screwed onto the sub-floor?

hi is it possible 2 tile over tiles as i got new ones down about 6 months ago and i dont like them rather than take them up would it be possible to tile over them
tks

Hi,
I've a got a couple of questions: I'm planning to lay some flooring and I'd like to first remove some tile. I believe it's ceramic. I'd like to remove it from where it meets the carpet in the living room to the kitchen; it's a 23 foot long strip that about 3 1/2 feet wide. Is it possible to do that? And if so, what's the best way to go about it?

Hi Tim,

My ceramic tile was attached to the sub-floor (which is plywood), I was able to remove all the grout and tile but I am left with old mastic on the wood floor. Is there an easy way of removing this? I thought that sanding it is probably my only solution.

Can you please tell me what the best tool for removing tile from a concrete slab is? I have started and the thinset has bonded quite well to the concrete. The dust mess is real bad too. I started with my automotive air chipper with a 3" blade.

wood like to tile over mosiac tile can i do it

Dear Steve,
I am planning to install the wooden floor after removing the existing tiles. My house was constructed in 2003 and I am not sure whether the tile is layed over a cement sheet or directly on top of the wooden sub floor. How do I identify whether it is layed on a cement sheet or not?

Thank You,
-Siva

i need to know the best wat of removing the tile adiseve that has been put stright down on to my floor boards as i have removed the tiles but there is still tile adisveon the floor and i cant get it up

My house was also built in the early 1960's. My bathroom had subway tile on all four walls. Lucky for me it was all placed on sheet rock nailed into another layer of sheet rock. It was alot of work and patience, but not as bad as some have it. My problem is this...now that the tile is down, how do I break up a cast iron tub and remove it? There is No Way I am keeping the ugly lime green tub, so don't even try to talk be into it.

Hi Tim,

I want to remove my ceramic tile floor in the kitchen. Underneath the ceramic tile is linoleum flooring. After I remove the tiles should I try and remove the linoleum?

Thanks,
Marie

Hey Tim,

I looked through alot of the comments and couldn't find one that was similar to my question, and I'm sorry If you have already answered this particular question. I'm re-doing the tile in my parents kitchen, I rented a hammer drill with a wide chisel bit, and that removed the tile really quick, but then I had a tough time removing the old mortar thats on the backer board. The blade on the chisel broke and its taking forever to romove the mortar by hand. Have any suggestions on how to remove it faster and still be able to keep the old backer-board?

I am removing tile on cement floor I already have the tiles up but need to get the tile cement up so it is more level for the new tiles any suggestions on how to do this? I have tried using hammer but not working.

Thanks

What is the easiest way to remove 12 inch ceramic tiles from a concrete slab. The tiles were installed after the slab. Someone suggested dry ice, did you ever hear of that? Thanks in advance. Mark

We are remodeling our kitchen. We have removed all of the ceramic tiles. we need to get the thinset off. Most of it has come off but we still have a few problem areas.
The previous owners also added on to the kithcen and those tiles were put down with what looks like a white thick cement and it is hard to come off. It is on a concrete slab. What can we use to grind the cement down to a smooth surface so we can replace it with a laminate floor

I need to remove 12 bathroom wall tiles in various palces on the walls and in the shower. Removal seems delicate and scary. The home was built in 1968. Any suggestions?

We are buying a house with ceramic tile throughout the living and hallway areas. There are hardwood floors in the connecting entry, dining and kitchen areas. We would like to remove the tile floors and lay hardwood matching the other areas. The ceramic tile is attached to cement board. A local contractor told us that it would cost $6,000 - $7,000 to pull up the tile alone. Our other option is to lay laminate flooring on top of the tile. Since we want all of the flooring to match, we would have to lay the laminate over the existing hardwood as well or pull that up. Could we pull up the tile ourselves in order to save money or should that be a project for professionals? What do you recommend in our situation to be the most cost effective?

We have removed porcelain tile from our kitchen wall. We would love to reuse them in another place in our home, however they are covered in plaster and such. How do we remove the stuff stuck all over them?

I really wish I would have read these suggestions about 3 months ago. I just recently spent around 3 weeks (every night and weekends) painstakingly removing each ceramic tile from 600 sq.ft. of cement backer board. My aching back. I then decided to remove the ceramic tile in another room using your method - wow!!! Thank you for saving what back I have left. Only additional suggestion - I used a roofing shovel. This really helped pry the backer board up. Again -thanks a ton!

What is the best way to remove ceramic tile Cement from sub flooring & stair treds. No backer board was used, so it is adheared right to the plywood & spruce treds.

Thanks

Can I install new tile on top of the existing tile?

My question has to do with removing adhesive after removing the tile on a concrete floor. I was able to remove the tile using a iron chisel and hammer, but the adhesive is tougher to remove.

I want to make it smooth to pull a wood floor down on top of the slab. Any suggestions on the tool to use rather then renting a machine. I was hoping to use an angle grinder with the right attachment.

Thanks

About how many years ago was the tile attached to cement poured between floor joists??? I want to replace the tile in our upstairs bathrooms. Our house was built in 1988 and I hope that they used a cement board.

Thank you for your advice on removing the tiles.

I am also removing tile from my bathroom walls. The tile is coming off very easy but I need to know what I do to the drywall underneath if I'm going to paint. The tile removal is tearing the drywall and leaving adhesive behind. Is there an option other than replacing the drywall?

I have bought my parents house which was built in 1973, Bathroom walls(1/2 up) and floors are horrible looking tile. At this time what way was the most common used when building a house? Mortar, backerboard, etc? I am committed to removing this, HELP

I am towards the end of a tiling project, and I need to remove ONE tile. I cut it a bit short and after it had already set, found out that the molding is not going to cover the gap. So will the putty knife and hammer work so I can avoid replacing a relatively small triangle of backer board? It is screwed in, so I'm hoping not... ideas?

I have a bathroom that was built in the 1950's (cape), I just updated the vanity with a granite countertop to spruce up the lovely yellow and black 4x4 tiles (haha). The new vanity and countertop is a bit taller than the old one and the granite backsplash won't fit because of the old black ceramic toothbrush holder. If I wanted to remove this one tile, how can I do it without damaging the others and keeping the ability to replace it with a flat tile?

Hey,
We currently have ceramic tile installed in our foyer and laundry room. We want to replace the tile in the foyer with engineered wood flooring (that will also go on into our living room), but we want to leave the existing tile in the laundry room. Is it possible to cut the tiles at the threshold of the laundry room leaving the existing install in there and removing all the tiles in the foyer to install the wood up to the laundry room door? I beleive the tiles are installed to our slab.

We are removing tiles that have been placed over the top of a cement slab.We have managed to get the tiles up but the cement under them (on top of the concrete slab is very hard to remove. Any better ways of lifting it besides just scraping and chipping away?
Thanks.

I would like to replace the 12x12" ceramic tile floor in my kitchen. It seems the previous owner installed them on top of an old vinyl floor. Would this be like removing tiles attached to cement board? Harder? Easier? Disastrous?

Hi, My question is...
I too have already removed tile from the floor of a bathroom that was built in the 50's. I got it down to the cement. However, I noticed the cement is cracked, and when removing the tiles, I noticed it took chunks out of the cement. Should I remove all of the cement/sub board ? Is it vital. Considering I would not want the new tile to crack, and when pouring the new cement, is there a new method like a metal crate in the cement, to protect from future cracking?
Thanks,
Kelly

Is it normal for the cement board to be cemented to the wood sub-floor? We want to remove the tile in our kitchen and can see via a floor vent that the cement board is glued down with the same gray adhesive they put the tile down with. They also tiled under all the kitchen cabinets before the cabinets were installed. What's the easiest way to get this done? We can't take the cabinets out, so we planned on trying to cut around them. Help!

OK, you have convinced this old lady that she can't remove the porcelain tiles that have been attached to the floor (can't see cement board along the edges) and into wet cement for 30+ years. So, is it possible to put laminate wood floors over it or will the grout lines ruin the flooring?

i love your advice about getting rid of cement board and tile together. However, my bathroom was built with the cement board down first before all cabinets and tubs and it goes underneath them. What are your suggestions for removing tile and cement board given my circumstance. Should I cut around and reove old tile from all edges and them remove tile and board or do you have other sugggestions and what tools do you recommend?

tips on the best way to remove 4in ceramic tiles from bathroom counter tops that were placed on backer board

i have tile in my living room and hallway can i lay carpet over it or do i need to pull it and get back to concret floors

can I remove half of a tile? ceramic/porcelin, 12"x12", I need to remove just a little bit in a corner of the kitchen to get a dishwasher into an opening.

I am about to embark on removing the tiles in my kitchen as they sound hollow, as I was laying them down, thanks to great conversations from a friend I did no butter the tiles, oh and even better, that conversational friend walked all over the freshly layed tiles after I told him not to...

I am ready for the worst. But I will be a pro by the end....

Hi
I would like to try and remove the stone floor tiles in the kitchen they are all cemented together so can you just chip the cement away inbetween the tiles?

Carl, at this moment I am hoping our outdated porcelain tile is attached to a cement board. After removing this tile what is the easiest and best way to remove the excess stuck on debris on the cement floor to level it. Thanks!!!

What is the best way to remove ceramic tile and thin set from a concrete slab foundation?

hOW TO REMOVE CERAMIC TILE FROM KITCHEN WALLS WHICH ARE ATTACHED TO PLASTERED WALL BOARD.

Is there a way to remove ceramic tile from an inlaid coffee table? The tile is attached to an oak backing (using adhesive) and there is an oak border around the top. We can remove the grout. But then what is the best way (if there even is one??) to remove the tile while preserving the wood? We want to replace the tiles with different tiles.

SUCCESS! It took a lot of patience, but I carefully chipped the grout between the tiles, enough to get under the tile slowly, I lost three tiles because I was becoming impatient. I worked in sections this time and allowed for the required 24 hours for the thinset to dry... It is now Magnifique!

Hi Tim,

We are Renovating our floors & still engaged :-)

We have run into a snag in the kitchen.

The tile runs beneat our Base Cabinets & sure enough the grout lines are no where near the edge of the base cabinets.

IS there anyway remove the tile from the rest of the kitchen & leave the old Tile that will be unnoticable under the foot print of the base cabinets without having to remove the cabinets themselves?


If we do remove them do we have to then replace the entire kitchen?

HELP!


Thanks in Advance

Hi! We live in a park home (similar to a caravan but residential)and would like to replace the tiles on our kitchen wall. the wall is plasterboard. will we be able to remove them or will the wall come away with them.

I have ceramic tile cemented to a wood sub flooring, I am having a terrible time removing the tiles,PLEASE HELP!!!!!

Steve,
The backsplash in my kitchen looks like ceramic tile placed directly on the drywall. Will this be easy to remove and replace?

My house was built in 1968 and every bathroom has tile 3/4 of the way up, how do I get this off the walls gently?

Hi, My fiance and I recently bought a trailer, Love everything about it... But id like to take down the backsplash in the kitchen and put up a better made tile... So I was Curious how much trouble would it be to take down the backsplash in the kitchen... would it be worth all the agravation?

I have seen a few questions about removing tile from backer board that is SCREWED down, not nailed with roofing nails... I don't see an answer.

Will it be possible to get the backer board off the sub floor with lots of screws in each piece of backer board??

I have a tile floor that is in a hall. There used to be a transition strip to a linoleum floor. The tiles at the transition are half tiles. I want to finish the room with the same tiles. This requires removing the last 3 tiles & tying full tiles from the old floor into the new floor. Should I try to remove & tye in the new tiles or just put a transition strip over the area that they meet?

can you put new ceramic tile over an existing tile floor. or is it best to remove it. Ive got cement board screwed into the sub floor, so im not sure how easy removing that along with the ceramic tile is going to be. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

is it possible to remove backer board that has been nailed and thin set as well??

A new ceramic tile floor was just installed in my bathroom. A tool was dropped on the floor and cracked
one tile. How hard is it to remove that one tile?

I just put in a new granite floor in foyer and kitchen and I do not like the the way it is installed.Does not flow with pattern.Can I remove the tiles and redo them--is it very difficult to remove?Are they usable after that

How can I tell if the tile on the floor is attached to cement board or directly to concrete? Would I have to try to remove a tile to see? Additionally, is it possible to lay some other type of flooring OVER the tile rather than having to remove it?

I want to remove tumbled marble tile backsplash in my kitchen. I know it sounds crazy because I just put it in a year ago but it is just the wrong color. I know it was put up using backerboard behind it. When it is removed will it ruin the backerboard or will that have to be replaced also? And how big of a mess am I about to get myself into? Thanks!