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