Tiletools.com

Before You Begin

Step-By-Step:

1. Locate Hazzards
2. What's Behind the Tile?
3. Demolish the Tile
4. Clean the Floor
5. Check the Studs
6. Level the Wall Studs

Tools Needed:

1. Stud/Pipe/Cable Finder
2. Canvas Tarp
3. Small Sledge-hammer
4. Concrete Chisel
5. Broom
6. Shop Vac
7. Hammer
8. Large Contractor's Level

Other Needed Equipment

1. Safety Glasses
2. Hearing Protection
3. N95 Dust Mask
4. Work Gloves
5. Kneepads

1. Chipping Hammer
2. Hole Saw
3. Reciprocating Saw
4. V-notch Tile Trowel
5. Tavy Thin-Skin®
   

In this project, we will be removing both the tile and the backer-board or cement lathe/wire wall, preparing the area re-tiling. If you're replacing a bathtub or attempting to repair an area of tile, this project is not for you. (coming soon) for our step-by-step guide to repairing and replacing wall tiles.

If you're removing tile to prepare the surface for any new installation, you might want to re-think if you even need to remove the existing tile at all!

Consider a product called Tavy Thin-Skin®. This revolutionary product allows you to tile over any clean level surface including: vinyl, wood, composite, and even your old tile! The paper-thin membrane underlayment system prepares your existing tile surface so that you can lay a new layer on top of it.

Step 1: Locate Hazzards
(Stud/Pipe/Cable Finder)

Before you get started, using a stud/pipe/cable finder, locate any pipes and electrical wires that are lurking behind the wall. Turn off the electricity to the area at the breaker. It's also a good idea to shut off all water lines that may be routed behind the wall.

Step 2: What's Behind the Tile?
(Work gloves, Safety glasses, Ear plugs, N95 Dust mask)
(Concrete Chisel, Small Sledgehammer)

Now that we have the electric to the area turned off and the water pipes shut off. We can start by removing 1 tile and see what's behind it. Start off by using a small sledgehammer and chisel to remove a tile. Then punch a hole into the wall. We'll easily be able to determine if the wall is a cement/lathe, cement/chicken-wire, or newer cement-board/backer-board. Occasionally you'll come across regular drywall or green-board even though you shouldn't.

Step 3: Demolish the Tile
(Work gloves, Safety glasses, Ear plugs, N95 Dust mask, Steel-toe Shoes)
(Hole Saw, Reciprocating Saw, Small Sledgehammer, Concrete Chisel)

Get a canvas tarp and place it under the section of tile to keep the mess your about to create manageable. Based on what type of wall we found we will begin removing the tile and wall in chunks.

FOR: Drywall, Green-board, Cement-board, or Backer-board
Chisel out tiles about 16" apart both horizontally and vertically. Then using a 1" hole saw, drill holes into the wall, these holes will be our pilot holes where we will then use a reciprocating saw to "connect the dots" making sure to avoid damaging any pipes and/or electrical wires running behind the wall. These 16" x 16" chunks of tile and wall will be heavy so make sure you're wearing steel-toed safety shoes to avoid breaking a toe. Also make sure your wearing safety goggles, ear plugs, and a dust mask rated N95 or better.

FOR: Cement/Lathe or Chicken-wire (aka "Bunker-wall")
Using a small 1.5-3 lbs. sledge-hammer and concrete chisel, punch holes into the wall in a vertical-line pattern, then "connect the dots". Be careful of the studs which should be 16" apart. Plan to cut out 16" by 16" pieces. Make sure to wear safety glasses and steel-tipped safety shoes as you will have flying shards of tile and heavy chunks of tile, mortar, and backer-board/concrete falling everywhere during the process. Also make sure your wearing safety goggles, ear plugs, and a dust mask rated N95 or better.

Note: A common sledgehammer mistake is not properly controlling the weight of the hammer. Using a sledgehammer that's heavier than the job requires will likely result in damage to the sub-floor and pipes. Sledge hammers are designed to carry the brute force of the weight in the head on it's own. Swinging a sledgehammer with all your body weight behind it like you often see in the movies and HGTV will result in as much destruction as you see in the movies and TV. Typically this is not what's desired.

Step 4: Clean the Floor
(N95 Dust mask, Ear plugs)
(Broom, Shop Vac)

Carefully remove debris from the canvass tarp and then remove the tarp from the area. Start out by using a broom to sweep the area of debris, then go over the entire area with a shop vac to remove all the loose particles. Since shop vacs are loud, protect your ears with hearing protection.

Step 5: Check the Studs
(Hammer)

After the wall of tile has been removed there are likely to be nails and/or staples protruding from the wall studs. The best way to check for nails is to rub a hammer over the studs to check for bumps that will reveal the nail locations.

Step 6: Level the Wall Studs
(Kneepads)
(Contractor's Level )

Now that we're looking at a wall with open studs, we'll want to make sure that they're vertically level. Using our trusty contractor's level we'll quickly check the studs to make sure they're vertically level. If we find that they're not "plumb" we would consider how far off they are. If they're off slightly then we'll be able to use shims to build up the stud to level them. If they are off by a 1/2" or more we should then consult a contractor to verify that the wall is structurally sound before moving on to putting up a new layer of backer-board.