Find how to get rid of floor tiles and put the labor fees you are going to preserve towards some stunning new flooring tiles.
Looking for out new bathroom ground tile ideas or kitchen flooring tile ideas is the exciting element. Before you even think about how to lay bathroom ground tiles, whichever place it is that you are retiling, it is possible there will be some present flooring tiles to occur up.
Whilst it is often achievable to tile in excess of the best of current floor tiles, authorities recommend from reducing corners. ‘We’d typically endorse taking away current flooring tiles just before retiling, to ensure you have a audio and secure base. A clean installation is practically often the better possibility,’ suggests Abbas Youssefi, director at Porcelain Superstore (opens in new tab).
Use our guidebook to establish how to get rid of ground tiles, with a great deal of assistance from the industry experts, and choose no matter whether it’s a job you can confidently tackle.
How to take out floor tiles
When taking away existing flooring tiles you will want a couple of simple instruments. The relieve with which your floor tiles arrive up will count on how nicely they had been mounted in the first place, as properly as the form of material they are made from. Reliable stone tile is heavier and thicker than ceramic tile, for illustration.
For eliminating tiles you will almost unquestionably need some kind of leverage tool these kinds of as a masonry chisel, as properly as a mallet or rubber hammer. A robust scraper is also helpful. We’d usually endorse donning security goggles, to defend your eyes from traveling shards of tile, and we have also shown a number of additional objects that may well show beneficial.
You will want:
1. Prep the space
‘Prepare the space by taking away any home furnishings or appliances that may get in the way of the method. It’s critical to costume appropriately, as getting rid of ground tiles can lead to personal injury. Make sure you include your arms and legs, and use gloves, basic safety goggles, shut-toe sneakers and a dust mask to preserve your self harmless,’ says John Geraghty, tiling professional at My Occupation Quote (opens in new tab). ‘Cover any surfaces that you really do not want to get dusty, you can use plastic sheeting or dust sheets to do so.’
It is also worthy of taping up any doorways into adjacent rooms with masking tape to try and hold the dust contained. Open up the windows as huge as probable to aid hold the air distinct within the home whilst you are functioning.
Also examine the baseboards, if applicable. Any that are put in on prime of the tiles need to ideally be taken off in advance of you start out.
2. Get began
The greatest put to start out when selecting how to clear away ground tiles is with a tile that is now coming free, is cracked or weakened. If all the tiles are audio, use your hammer to faucet just one tile until eventually it has damaged enough to get your chisel beneath.
‘Situate the chisel less than the loose tile to carry the edge and strike the finish of the chisel with a mallet to elevate the tile from the base,’ claims John Geraghty. ‘Don’t get worried if the tile does not raise in one particular piece, it’s very widespread for tiles to break in the approach. Keep on to take away the tiles with the chisel and mallet till all tiles are dislodged.
There is no escaping the fact that eliminating ground tiles is tricky get the job done, and will no doubt depart you with aching arms and sore knees the upcoming working day. But if no total of muscle mass-operate and grunt is shifting those tiles, it could be time to contact in reinforcements.
‘If the tiles have been laid making use of a present day tile adhesive (from the 1970s onwards) and laid on a cement-based or plywood substrate, then straightforward hand instruments must be sufficient for removing them,’ explains Harriet Goodacre, Tile Specialist at Topps Tiles (opens in new tab). ‘However, if you are attempting to lift ground tiles from stable mortar, it’s very best to employ the service of expert products this kind of as a hand-held ability scraper.’
Electricity scrapers are equipped with a chisel that hammers again and forth and should really make gentle perform of eliminating flooring tiles. ‘These instruments do vibrate, so you will will need to consider standard breaks,’ advises Abbas Youssefi, director, Porcelain Superstore. ‘You use them in the exact way as a guide chisel, but it is a whole lot more quickly and can show a pretty wise expenditure.’
4. Cleanse up the sub-floor
At the time your tiles have all been lifted and carried outside the house to your skip or rubble sacks, it is time to evaluate the condition of the flooring beneath. If you are fortunate, any remaining tile adhesive will be straightforward ample to take out with a chisel, ground scraper or sanding block. It might acquire all three.
5. Distinct up
New tile adhesive will not stick well to dusty surfaces, so the closing process is to sweep up all remaining dust, tile fragments and outdated adhesive from your ground.
Use a dustpan to take out the bulk of the mess, and then observe up with a vacuum cleaner – a hefty-duty vacuum created for outdoor/garage use is best. Maintaining all those home windows open, of program.
An even sub-flooring is essential for acquiring beautiful floor tile ideas that are level and will not crack in years to come. If you cannot get every single scrap of old adhesive up, or the ensuing flooring just isn’t level, experts recommend laying a levelling compound (slender-established mortar), ahead of any new tiles are laid.
Is it achievable to remove floor tiles without having breaking them?
‘It is doable to eliminate flooring tiles without the need of breaking them but it is complicated and there is constantly a possibility of damaging the tiles,’ advises Adrian Blundell, Output Director at Craven Dunnill Jackfield (opens in new tab).
‘There are expert installers who have out this function. They will start off by eradicating the grout from about all the tiles so they are not touching and will not split in opposition to each other. Just one tile will then want to be broken to enable access to the underside of the adjacent tile and then the tiles can be diligently prized up 1 by a person.’
Though you can try it yourself, if the tiles are treasured to you, we’d often advise paying an expert to minimize breakages. Even so, be prepared to drop a truthful handful of tiles in the approach.