Safely and Quickly Remove Ceramic Tile

There are two methods that you can use to remove ceramic tile from the walls or floor of a kitchen or bathroom. The method you use will depend on how the ceramic tiles are mounted to the wall. If the ceramic tiles are mounted to cement board which is then in turn mounted to the wall with nails, this makes the process much easier and quicker. If you find that the ceramic tiles are mounted to some other type of surface (i.e. set in to the concrete or the cement board is fastened with screws) you will need to use the second method described. Over the years, I have viewed television shows and read magazine articles that prescribe breaking each tile with a hammer. I have found this method to be dangerous (the tiles can fragment into very sharp shards) and messy as this turns one big (translation - easy to clean up) tile into a bunch of little tiny pieces. Regardless of the method that you implement in your demolition project, here is a list of the tools that you will need.

Required Tools

Small hammer

Stiff-bladed putty knife

Regular head screw driver

Small hammer

Flat chisel bar

Flat bladed shovel

Leather gloves

Long sleeve shirt

Safety glasses

Particle mask

5 gallon bucket

Recommended Tools

Plastic sheeting and masking tape to seal off any door openings

Spray bottle of water to mist down the dust

Once you have gathered your tools and adequately sealed off the door opening to reduce the amount of dust that will inevitably end up in the rest of your house, open a window and use a window fan to help ventilate your work space. Begin the process by using the regular head screwdriver to score out all of the grout between the tiles where the tiled surface begins (next to a hardwood floor seam or at a corner). This step will make it easier to pop the tiles off of the backer. Remove a few of the tiles by placing the chisel bar at a low angle on the edge of a tile and gently tapping the tile with the hammer until it pops off. If you are lucky, the tiles will pop off in tact but if not, this is not a concern. Continue using the chisel bar and remove several tiles in that area. Once you have removed the tiles in a 12 inch by 12 inch area, use the stiff bladed putty knife to remove the adhesive down to the backer board. And try to find a nail or screw head to determine how the backer board is secured to the floor joists or wall studs. If it shows a phillips head, they are screws, but if the head is flat, they are nails. Based on what you find, you can proceed with either of the two methods below.

Remove the cement board and the tiles at the same time.

If the cement board is nailed to the wall or floor, use the hammer to break up the exposed cement board. Then use the chisel bar and hammer to pry up the cement board. You can also use the flat bladed shovel to help pry the cement board up. The cement board will break and the tiles will pop off as you pry up. The eventual outcome is to remove all of the cement board and tiles and this is easiest to do if you start at a point farthest away from the door and fold the cement board over onto the existing flooring. You can then shovel the debris into the 5 gallon bucket (gradually moving closer to the door) and carry it outside to a waiting receptacle. This is difficult to do if you have to balance on floor joists while walking to the door, but it never seems to work out that you can start the job in the far corner of the bathroom. Once you have removed all of the cement board and tiles, go back over the studs or joists and use your hammer and chisel bar to remove the exposed nail heads. To help reduce dust, I like to give the area a light spray down with water using a spray bottle.

Remove the tiles individually.

If the area that you are working on is small or if (for some unknown reason) you want to try to preserve the tiles or even if you find that the cement board is screwed down or (heaven forbid) the tiles are set directly in cement, you can remove the tiles from the backing first. To do this "en mass" you simply start in the area of the tiles that you have cleared and use the flat bladed shovel to pry up the tiles. This works better once you have some enough space to push the shovel into the tiles. For a more delicate approach, begin by attempting to pry the tiles individually off of the backer with the scraper. If this does not work, try using the chisel bar and as a last resort, apply a few gentle taps with the hammer (although this may result in chipped tiles). If the tiles are important enough to try to salvage, then be patient and tedious in the job. Once the tiles are removed, remove the backer board by either removing the screws and remove or use a hammer and pry bar to break up the backer. If you discover that the backer is cement over chicken wire, you may need to use a heavier hammer to break it up and remove it. As above, it is always easier to start at the far end of the room and work towards the door and use the spray bottle to help reduce the amount of dust that you create.

Whether you remove the ceramic tiles and backer board in one fell swoop or you take the time to remove the tiles separately, what you will end up with is a blank slate to begin your remodeling project in your kitchen or bathroom, the rest of the house filled with annoying dust for the next month, and an unimaginably heavy mess outside for the trash collectors to fumble with. Be sure to use the safety items listed above to ensure a safe and rewarding demolition project.