Dismantling old ceramic tiles from walls without damage: how to remove them quickly without damaging or breaking them. How to remove tiles from a wall How to remove tiles without damaging them

Without a doubt, the bathroom is the most difficult part to renovate in a house or apartment. But at the same time, it provides many opportunities to demonstrate a variety of skills that are available to technically literate people who are able to educate themselves in reading and in practice.

In this article, we will tell you how to carefully remove tile.

A complete renovation of the bathroom, according to the masters, requires the participation of several specialists:

• installation of water and sewer systems;
• for wall cladding and;
• electrical equipment;
• specialist in the collection of bathroom-specific furniture.

It is likely that none of these skilled professionals would be willing to do such an unattractive job as removing tiles..

Often the way to salvation is in the hands of the needy themselves. In the presence of free time, competent and technically prepared House master can not only replace the entire team of professionals, but also cope much better.

For our part, we will help by sharing our accumulated experience and technologies unknown to many practitioners.

Bathroom renovation

No matter how well a bathroom is done, it's time for a complete renovation. In most cases, this requires peeling everything down to brick and concrete.

This is a very unattractive job associated with large quantity dust and construction waste, which must also be removed and disposed of in a suitable place.

Note!
When is it held redecorating, and the task is only to replace it with the old one.
So you can save a lot of energy, time and health.

Each of the leading tile adhesive manufacturers offers a system of materials with which new tile can be laid directly on the old one.

This decision is not entirely cloudless, as there are problems with the furniture and appliances in the bathroom. It is also important that another 11–15 mm will be added to the existing walls and floor.

The temptation that repairs can be done at minimal cost is so strong that inventive craftsmen find acceptable solutions to these and other problems.

However, the reality is most often such that, having undertaken to remove the old lining, a person does not always imagine how far he will have to go in his destructive activity.

Removing the old cladding

So, let's move on to the main question - how to remove the old tile.

This part of the work is the most unpleasant, but also quickly ending. The degree of opening depends on the condition of the base under the tile. Perfect option- remove the tile so as not to violate the integrity of the base, on.

Even with an old cladding glued with a thick layer of cement-sand mortar with the addition of lime, the base can turn out to be quite even and of high quality and it will not be necessary to destroy the plaster to the brick.

In this case, the opening continues until the pipes are located so that they can be replaced. Sometimes it is possible to bypass this point if new pipes are laid elsewhere. Then the old ones are left, and new channels are cut or dug for the new ones.

Advice!
Before deciding how long to peel, you need to carefully assess the condition of the base.
Check how firmly the layer of cement mortar on which the tile was held is connected to the brickwork.

It may turn out that the base, strong at first glance, in some places turns out to be hollow when tapped and at the first whitening. strong blow hammer falls off.

The second problem that may arise later is that the old cladding was not vertically aligned properly and neither was its base. If this defect is not eliminated in time, serious problems will subsequently arise, for example, when installing a shower cabin.

Removing glued tiles

In cases where the tile was put on glue and the base was well prepared and leveled, after removing the old tile and irregularities from the remaining glue, you can proceed to the new cladding.

A suitable tool for removing old adhesive residue is an electric scraper with a thin steel spatula. The frequency of blows that the tip of the spatula delivers is regulated in three degrees.

In order to preserve the base under the old lining to the maximum extent, it is not advisable to break the tile into pieces, but if possible it is better to remove it entirely. To do this, you can use a conventional puncher or a specialized weight category of 3-4 kg.

What points are important when choosing a perforator:

• If you are faced with the question of how to remove the tile without damaging it and the base, a significant advantage of the perforator will be the ability to smoothly control the impact energy.
• In combination with a properly sized flat chisel, this will allow you to peel off the tile intact, and not break it into pieces with sharp edges. So the base under it will remain flat without the remnants of pieces of tiles that would have to be beaten off additionally.
• Also, when working with a perforator, a low level of vibration is important, which is transmitted to the hands. Choose a rotary hammer with an anti-vibration system.
• The puncher should be light and comfortable to work in all spatial positions, including overhead, minimally burden the hands and at the same time easily cope with the task.

Choosing the right flat chisel is also essential to get the job done.

Advice!
Better choose quality tools well-known manufacturers.
It is easy and pleasant to work with them.
And, in the long run, they cost less.

Tile Removal Precautions

In the end, I would like to note that the removal of tiles is associated with a large amount of building dust.

• it is obligatory to work in a protective breathing mask and gloves;
• so that your hair is not clogged with dust, wear a hat;
• be sure to protect your eyes with goggles so that dust and pieces of tile with sharp edges do not get into them;
• when working in a very dusty environment good decision there will be work overalls made of thin soft fabric, which will definitely protect the whole body, but is inexpensive.

Despite the fact that the work takes place only in the bathroom, traces of dust penetrate throughout the house. The air flow enters through the smallest holes and spreads small particles dust everywhere it can reach. So you have to work hard closed doors and preferably with an open window.

Conclusion

By carefully preparing yourself, purchasing the right tools, and remembering safety precautions, you can easily cope with such daunting task like replacing tiles in a bathroom. And the video posted here will add clarity to these issues, look!

Starting renovations in the bathroom or kitchen, we are often faced with the need to dismantle the dilapidated finishing coating.

The tile is durable and strong, as a result, even ten years after gluing, problems may arise with its removal.

The question arises how to remove the tiles from the wall with minimal effort, cost and without damaging the base. There are several options for implementing this task:

• when the dilapidated tile is of no value and it needs to be dismantled all and quickly;
• when the old tile needs to be preserved as much as possible;
• when you need to carefully remove one or two fragments and replace.

The first option is the least problematic and does not require a special description. A perforator is taken, a pen nozzle is installed and the entire finish layer is chipped off in shock mode.

At the same time, you can quite simply beat off the glue with which the ceramics were attached to the base. Problems will arise only if the base of the wall is unreliable and fragile. For example, if the tile is glued to the plasterboard.

Drywall is much inferior in strength to tile adhesive, therefore, most likely, during dismantling, the sheets will be seriously damaged and they will also have to be dismantled in order to mount new ones.

If there is no puncher, then you will have to work manually - with a hammer and a chisel. It takes longer, but be careful.

Preservation of tiles

Sometimes the tile in the bathroom looks no longer attractive, outdated, but its condition is still quite decent to be used in the country or somewhere in the closet, where aesthetics are not so important.

In this case, you can try to remove the tile carefully, keeping maximum amount intact.

In this case, the power tool is not suitable, you need to work more delicately.

From the tools you will need a hammer, a chisel, a chisel or a large flat screwdriver, a metal spatula, a knife, or possibly a grinder with a diamond wheel.

To keep intact the maximum number of fragments in the bathroom, they must be isolated from each other. To do this, the seams are first embroidered - the grout for the seams is removed. Sometimes it is soft and easily picked out with a knife or spatula. If it doesn't work, then you can try to wet it.

If it is a quality mixture on cement or acrylic base, a knife and a spatula will not take it, and it will not work to soak it.

In this case, you will have to carefully embroider the seams with a grinder. The diamond wheel is ideal, it bites into the stone perfectly. But sometimes the seams in the bathroom are too thin for him, in which case you can try to work with a ceramic circle of small thickness.

After stitching, you can start beating.

Each fragment is carefully knocked out with a hammer and a chisel, tapped from all sides.

If the glue is weak, then you can count on a large percentage of the whole tile.

If the master did his best, then it is unlikely that even half of the tiles will be saved.

It is worth remembering that the procedure will take a lot of time, it will take a lot of effort, and the result is doubtful. In some cases, it is cheaper and easier to buy the required volume of new cheap tiles than to fiddle with ceramic tiles in the bathroom.

Replacement of one or two elements

It happens that during operation several fragments on the wall are damaged.

At the same time, the decoration in the bathroom is still relatively new and does not need to be completely replaced, and the remains of tiles of this shade are stored in the closet.

In this case, you can try to remove the damaged fragments and replace them with whole ones from the stock.

But for this it is necessary to delicately remove the damaged fragment, trying not to scratch the neighboring ones.

The procedure is feasible, but troublesome:

It is likely that the freshly laid fragment will be different from the rest on the wall. It is even more likely that the color of the seam will be different.

Therefore, before proceeding with the replacement, you need to assess the extent of the damage and understand whether the replacement will help or if it will only exacerbate the problem.

Expenses

This work can be entrusted to those who make a living like this and know better how to remove the tiles from the wall.

If you need to remove all the old finishes and at the same time the safety of the tiles does not play any role, then you can use the services of low-skilled workers who, for a moderate amount, will quickly complete the entire volume in a short time.

Dismantling in such a situation will cost 200-250 r / m2. If the safety of the material is required, then it is better not to entrust such a task to handymen, but to find qualified tilers. It will be expensive, but the percentage of the whole tile will be maximum.

On an ongoing basis, such a service is rarely offered, therefore, the price and terms will have to be negotiated individually.

It is better to replace one or two fragments on your own, because the master will take an impressive amount for the challenge - no one wants to go for the sake of one tile.

The blue tile from the times of the USSR, which was used to decorate the walls in the kitchen in our apartment, has clearly outlived its usefulness, we thought. long to think, how to remove old tiles, we did not. Traditionally, a perforator came to the rescue. My husband has been using it for a long time not only as a drill and screwdriver, but also as a crowbar. In this case, it is not necessary to use a special nozzle - a chisel:

Suitable conventional drill or drill:

Break off old tiles It is better to start with a puncher from above and gradually go down. You should first cover the floor with old newspapers, cardboard or cloth so as not to scratch it with fragments.

It is unlikely that a perforator will be able to remove the tile without damaging it. As you can see, the result is this - the tile was crushed into small pieces:

The method will be relevant in cases where it is required to remove the old tile from the wall completely and irrevocably, throwing it into a landfill.

A wall cleaned of old tiles can be cleaned with a metal spatula.

How to carefully remove tiles from the wall

But there are times when it is necessary remove the tiles from the wall without damaging. For example, to conduct communications or use an outwardly attractive (albeit old) tile for finishing rooms in the country.

1. Hammer and chisel

Insert a chisel into the seam and carefully, but hitting it hard with a hammer, we try to remove the tile from the wall. Use gloves to avoid scratching your hands when catching tiles

Alternatively, the tile can be gently loosened with the same chisel and gently separated by hand from the wall.

2. Bulgarian with special nozzles

On the Internet, you can find workshops in which old tiles are cut out with a grinder using special nozzles. How realistic this is, I don’t know, we haven’t tried it.

3. Combined method

You can also beat off tiles manually, without a puncher:

• grout seams are sprayed with water from a spray bottle (starting from the very top),
• seams are cleaned with a metal scraper, chisel or spatula,
• gently tap the tile with a hammer to determine the voids,
• slip a chisel under the tile and carefully remove it from the wall,

4. Steel wire hooks

Hooks are slipped under the tile from both sides and pulled with all their might.

And here is a video showing how to do it:

Good luck with your repair! We'd love it if you share too. own experience. We will be happy to answer your questions, which you can write to us in the comment form below.

It may be necessary to remove tiles from the floor in several cases: from elementary dismantling to temporary removal in order to install or repair a warm floor. Or simply remove the damaged fragment of the cladding to replace it with a new one. Each option requires a specific tool and method of work. Consider several options for removing tiles from the floor.

The floor covering loses its appearance. It accounts for the maximum mechanical impact. Therefore, it is more often dismantled. Before starting work, it is recommended to ask yourself a few questions:

1. How is the wiring of sewerage, water, heating in the apartment. In new buildings, communications are often placed under the floor. By dismantling the tiles, you can damage the wiring system.
2. The presence of a system of underfloor heating. Is there any? The depth of the screed under it. This factor influences the choice of instrument.
3. What solution was used for the tiles. Glue or cement?
4. Finishing material will be re-installed or a new one will be purchased flooring? In the first variant, quick dismantling using a perforator, in the second, mechanical neat work.
5. Dismantle, remove plumbing and furniture. During work, fragments fly off, damaging them.
6. Take care of personal protective equipment - goggles, a respirator, tight gloves.
7. When working with the tool, follow the safety regulations.

The voiced points will help to prepare for the work and do it efficiently, without much difficulty dismantling the floor tiles.

What tools are needed for dismantling

Before work, if possible, remove or cover furniture, plumbing. This will protect it from chips, damage, pollution.

Prepare tool:

• Spray. Needed for wetting seams.
• Skarpel or chisel, hammer. It is used when it is necessary to carefully remove the tile.
• Putty knife. For cleaning fabrics, foundations and seams.
• Perforator with a nozzle shovel. This method produces a quick dismantling of tiles. It is also in demand when the adhesive base is cement.
• Seam opener. A spatula is also suitable, but with a specialized tool, the risk of chipping is reduced.
• Drill or screwdriver. If the preservation of the lining is not required, then the seams are embroidered with these tools.
• Two pieces of hard wire with a diameter no thicker than the width of the tile joints. They make U-shaped hooks.

A simple tool is required for the job. His choice depends on how you need to remove the tile without damaging it or dismantle it for disposal.

To remove the mortar from the tile, you will need: spatula, coarse sandpaper and bar, rasp, grinder with a metal brush. The most convenient and affordable tool for work is selected.

It should be understood that if the old cement coating was made, then it will not be possible to remove it without flaws. Therefore, the advice applies to the topcoat laid with glue.

The whole process is decomposed into several stages:

1. Sewing seams. Intertile joints are abundantly wetted with water through a spray bottle. There are grouts that cannot be softened in this way. For them, special solvents are used, either lemon or acetic acid. The liquid is abundantly applied to the joints, 20 minutes are given to soften the grout. Take a spatula or a special joint expander, remove the solution.
2. Glue saturation with water. Liquid is applied liberally into the seams. Wait 20 minutes. During this time, the glue will be saturated with moisture and lose some of its strength. You can start dismantling.
3. To begin with, I gently tap the outer canvas, looking for voids. It is important to know that technology floor cladding must be covered by 90% adhesive. Otherwise, during operation, it will be pricked under mechanical influence. If no voids are found, a scarpel is carefully slipped under the edge. It is knocked out with gentle hammer blows. Skarpel held under acute angle. Such processing is carried out around the edge. When the first canvas is removed, knocking out subsequent modules is done on both sides. Which reduces the risk of damage.

You can also use homemade hooks. They are brought in at opposite edges of the canvases and pulled out.

If the tile is needed whole, then the work is done only mechanically. Dismantling is done without haste, carefully. To remove the lining from the wall without damage, start from the top row. For wall tiles, the percentage of adhesive coverage is recommended from 70%. Finding voids is much easier.

A firmly laid finish cannot be removed without defects. You can't do without a perforator in such situations. it will also be difficult to remove whole. It was exposed to constant moisture and the strength properties changed because of this.

Tile removal methods

With a hammer and chisel or chisel

This method is used if it is required to remove the old tiles from the floor without defects and if there is a risk of damage to the underfloor heating system, communications. After removing the grout from the joints, take a chisel and bring it under open edge tiles at an acute angle. Slight blows along the edge are knocked out. After removing the first canvas, it becomes possible to knock out adjacent modules from both sides.

With a perforator

This method is good when you want to quickly remove the old cladding without saving the material and if cement was used as an adhesive. For a perforator, a spatula nozzle is used. The mode is selected strobing. The spatula is brought under the edge of the tile at an angle and proceed to dismantling. If the old coating was attached to the glue, then there is a chance to remove the lining quickly and without damage.

metal hooks

U-shaped profiles are made from hard wire. The seams are sutured. The interstitial space is wetted with water. Hooks are brought under ceramic tiles with opposite sides. With a pulling movement, the tile comes off the surface. it fast way for removing ceramic coating. If the finish was of high quality, then in this way it is removed without damage. The efficiency of the method is higher than the first option.

After dismantling the cladding, they clean the floor from the old mortar after wetting the surface. Removal of residual cement or glue is done with a spatula or perforator. The first option allows you to work without damaging. The second is used for cement bases, where there is no risk of damage to communications and heating. After these works, the surface for a new finishing ready.

How to remove adhesive or cement from a tile surface

If it was possible to remove the lining without damage, then it can be reused. But before that, clean off the remnants of the old solution from the canvases. Both mechanical methods and power tools are used:

• Putty knife. You can clean the glue by pre-wetting it. With a spatula, the solution is carefully picked up, cleaned off.
• Sandpaper. A coarse-grained sheet and a bar are taken. The paper is fixed on the blank. The resulting tool is cleaned.
• Rasp. Similarly sandpaper will help clean up the residue.
• Bulgarian. Can use a metal brush as a nozzle. This method will speed up the process, but you should act carefully so as not to damage the panels.

To facilitate the removal of cement from ceramic panels. It is pre-soaked for several hours. If this method did not help, then sprinkle the old solution with salt. It destroys its structure, it becomes loose. This greatly simplifies the cleaning process.

Removing a damaged tile

Separately, it can be distinguished, the technology of dismantling piece facing material. It often happens that improperly laid tiles chip or crack. In order not to completely change the lining, the damaged area is removed. To begin with, the seams are embroidered around the deformed canvas. If possible, the edges of neighboring modules are protected from damage with molar tape.

Drill several holes in the surface. This will loosen the web. And then, with the help of a chisel and a hammer, gently break off the tiles in pieces. To put a new one, they clean the base. Small litter from the resulting hole is blown out with a hair dryer.

Useful video: How to remove old tiles from the floor?

Conclusion

It is quite possible for anyone to qualitatively remove the old finish at home with their own hands. It is important to follow the technology and safety rules during work. The choice of method and tool depends on the adhesive composition, and whether or not the reuse of the material is planned. If there is no confidence in your abilities and skills, then it is better to turn to a professional tiler. which will carry out high level dismantling and installation of a new coating.

Before you remove the tiles from the wall, you should pick up right tool. Depending on the base, it can be a puncher, a regular chisel, a spatula, or even a grinder.

Any apartment or Vacation home periodically in need of repair. Sometimes it is enough to change accessories and furniture to make the atmosphere fresher and more cheerful. But in most cases, you will have to work on a more thorough alteration. If everything is clear with the replacement of wallpaper and painting the walls, then the question of how to remove the tiles from the wall can drive many into a dead end. Especially if this process must be carried out carefully, without damaging the tile.

In fact, dismantling is not a big difficulty. Most importantly stock up necessary tools and determine how the tile was glued to the wall (using cement or adhesive mortar). It happens that the old tile needs to be removed not completely, but only some part of it. Then you should be especially careful not to damage not only neighboring tiles, but also the wall in the kitchen itself.

What will we need?

It is almost impossible to completely clean the surface of the tile and not damage a single fragment. But if you show accuracy and a little skill, it is quite possible to keep the tile intact as much as possible. How successful the work will be depends primarily on the quality of the laid tiles and on adhesive composition, as well as the statute of limitations.

The work may require the use of the following tools and materials:

• drill and perforator;
• metal spatula;
• hammer;
• scraper to remove the grout;
• knife
• chisels.

Do not forget about the precautions. Dismantling old tiles is a dusty and dirty process, so you should stock up on work clothes, special goggles, a mask or gauze bandage, and gloves. To make it easier for yourself to clean up after work, you can lay an oilcloth on the floor.

Dismantling process

If the tile was mounted to the kitchen wall with cement mortar, then it is almost impossible to remove it intact. Therefore, a puncher with a special nozzle is required here. If the tile was attached to the glue, then there are more chances to dismantle it without damage. The easiest way is to remove the tile without preserving its integrity. In the process, you will need a puncher with a chisel attachment. Before starting, you need to put on work clothes, goggles and a mask, as the process will be quite dusty with a lot of flying small fragments. Cement mortar remaining on the wall after removing the tiles can be removed with a hammer.

After removing the grout, you should begin to dismantle the old tile. Here you will need a perforator and a flat-shaped nozzle that goes behind the tile to clean out the old mortar. If glue was used during the laying process, and not on cement mortar, then successful removal without deformation is possible. Otherwise, the tile is likely to crack.

Instead of a puncher, you can use a chisel with a hammer. After removing the grout, you need to put a chisel under the tile and gently, without sudden movements, use a hammer to beat it off the wall.

Deleting multiple items

It is not always necessary to completely remove the tiles from the walls of the kitchen. It is enough to replace two or three tiles on which chips or other defects have appeared. Here you need to be extremely careful with exactly the tile that should remain. The process of dismantling tiles from the central part of the wall or in the corner is considered especially laborious. First of all, it is necessary to soften the grout with water and remove it as in previous cases. A puncher should not be used in this case. Dismantling occurs with a hammer and chisel.

Cement mortar can greatly complicate the task. Therefore, the tiles must be removed carefully and in parts. First you need to use a drill to make several holes in the tile, and then remove it piece by piece with a spatula.

How to remove tiles from drywall?

If the wall in the kitchen is made of drywall, then removing the tiles carefully without damaging either it or the wall surface is almost impossible. The adhesive mortar adheres very strongly to drywall, eating into the surface. You can remove one or more tiles, followed by replacing a piece of drywall. But with a whole wall, everything is much more complicated. You should hope for luck, and carefully proceed to the dismantling process. The chisel must be inserted between the tile and the adhesive and tapped on it with a hammer. The tile either flies off by itself, or together with a piece of drywall. Alternatively, you can try cutting ceramics with a grinder.