If you are planning to refresh a kitchen or bathroom, you may need to know how to remove wall tiles. Taking on the task of removing wall tiles yourself is not as difficult as you might imagine. Messy, yes, and we can’t promise your manicure will survive, but it’s one of the least skilled DIY jobs around and it’s virtually impossible to go wrong.
For this step-by-step guide to wall tile removal, we asked tiling and DIY experts for their top tips to increase your chances of success; with old, cracked or uneven tiles, you can then learn how to tile a wall for a stylish new look.
“Removing the tiles is an easy task, but there are a few tools and tips that will ensure the job goes smoothly,” says Anna Forden, Purchasing Manager at Walls & Floors. (opens in a new tab). “If you have a friend who can help clean up after you as you go, the task will be much faster and more fun.”
How to remove wall tiles
The ease with which you manage to remove the wall tiles depends on the quality of their initial installation. If the tiler was careful with the adhesive, you may find that it practically falls off once you start.
Either way, wall tiles tend to be easier to remove than floor tiles because they’re generally thinner and lighter, and you’ll have gravity on your side. With that done, you can invest in your new kitchen wall tile ideas and bathroom wall tile ideas.
You might have a few of these handy, but we’ve put together a list of the essentials for removing wall tile.
You will need:
- Safety glasses
- Protective gloves
- Anti dust mask
- Old cardboard boxes or thick dust sheets
- Hammer or mallet
- masonry chisel
- Scraper
1. Protect the space
The area directly under the wall tiles will need to be well protected from falling debris. “Sharp pieces of tile falling from a wall into your bathtub, shower tray or even just the floor below can cause irreparable damage,” says Anna Forden of Walls & Floors. “Cardboard is good enough to protect these spaces from falling tiles. It’s worth saving all packaging from the recycling bin in the weeks leading up to this task.
Use dust cloths to protect surfaces farther from the main job site – you’ll be surprised how far the dust and dirt travels when the tiles start to crumble.
2. Remove the first tile
Once you’ve put on the proper protective gear (don’t forget closed-toed shoes), it’s time to figure out the best place to start. “The ideal place to start is with a tile that is already coming loose or has some degree of damage,” says John Geraghty, tile expert at My Job Quote. (opens in a new tab).
If you can’t locate a broken or loose tile, try loosening a tile or tapping one with a chisel until it begins to break. “You can also use a grout rake to scrape the grout around the tile until you have a wide enough gap to wedge your chisel in,” adds Harriet Goodacre, tile consultant at Topps Tiles. (opens in a new tab). “It’s also a good method if you’re trying to salvage tiles for reuse.”
One of the benefits of starting with an intact tile is that it gives you more control over where you start. If you’re right-handed, experts agree it’s best to work from the top left corner of your tiled area and move to the right as you work, moving slowly along the wall as each line tile horizontal is removed. Lefties should work in the opposite direction.
3. Peel off the tiles from the wall
Once your first tile has been cracked enough to wedge a chisel into it, you’re in business. “Insert a chisel between the edges of the tile and the wall, and tap gently with a hammer or mallet until the tile comes off,” advises Abbas Youssefi, director of Porcelain Superstore. (opens in a new tab). “You may need to shear in different places and use the chisel as leverage to lift the tile.”
The first tile is always the hardest, but subsequent tiles should come off fairly easily. The more you can wedge the chisel under the tile, the more likely you are to remove it in large chunks. Scraping off tiny shards of tile is tedious.
If you have help on hand, have them try to catch bigger tiles before they fall. This is particularly useful if you are removing heavy natural stone wall tiles or large format tiles, which could damage the area below, no matter how well covered it is.
4. Tidy up the wall
Thinking of tiling the wall you just worked on? It’s worth taking some time now, while the dust cloths are still in place, to scrape off any remaining tile adhesive. Tap on large pieces with a chisel and mallet and use a scraper or sander to smooth out any remaining roughness.
If plaster has come off the walls along with the tiles, you may need to patch and sand the holes. A seriously uneven wall will benefit from being replastered before installing new tiles.
5. Clean
Gather your dust sheets from each corner and take them outside before emptying the contents into a cardboard box. Even heavy-duty trash bags tend to tear when filled with heavy construction waste.
Next, use a dustpan and brush to scoop up any rubble that has escaped from the dust sheets, then go over all surfaces with a vacuum cleaner followed by a damp cloth.
How to remove wall tiles in one piece?
Salvaging tiles to sell or reuse certainly makes environmental sense, but it takes learning how to remove wall tiles to a new level, and the job will take a lot longer. The style and quality of the tiles you remove will play an important role. If they look tired, chipped and outdated, and therefore unlikely to be reused, it really isn’t worth it.
“Success largely depends on the tile itself, the adhesive used and the installation method,” explains Abbas Youssefi, director of Porcelain Superstore. “Larger porcelain tiles are more difficult to remove without breaking, especially if they have been installed correctly using a modern porcelain tile adhesive. However, if you are removing smaller ceramic wall tiles (such as subway tiles) that have been attached with “ready-to-use adhesive”, chances are you will be able to remove the tiles without damaging them. .
A grout rake is a useful addition to your tile removal toolbox. Use it to scrape grout from all edges of the tile before gently pushing it away from the wall. A specialty tile scraper is also worth the extra expense, as it has a wider, flatter head than a chisel.
