The Best Way to Remove Old Shower Tile
Sam Lutz • September 29, 2015
Bathroom remodeling projects (the big ones) often involve the removal of bathroom tiles. Whether you’re removing old shower tile to paint a wall, install a shower surround or install new tile, we’re posting this step-by-step tutorial to help you get started with the process.
Tools You’ll Need:
- Tarp (Maybe Several)
- Painter’s Tape
- Screwdriver
- Safety Glasses
- Utility Knife
- Chisel
- Hammer or Mallet
- Paint Scraper
Process:
- Lay down a tarp in the bottom of the bathtub or shower. If desired, use painter’s tape to secure the tarp to the walls of the shower.
- Turn off your water, then remove all fixtures from the walls, including the faucet, shower head, and hot and cold handles.
The shower head is easy to remove by simply unscrewing it from the pipe. The other fixtures will probably require the use of a screwdriver, although every model is different. Screws on faucet fixtures can appear behind hot/cold plates and on the underside of the fixtures. Faucet handles can be a challenge to remove because they can become fused with the faucet stems over the course of many years. If you’re having a hard time getting the faucet handles off of the stems, you can use a tool called a faucet extractor
to remove it. Or, you can devise a different system to remove the faucet handles, like this DIYer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6L_xF1CiQ0 - Score around the tiles with a utility knife. To do this, dig the utility knife into the grout. This will help you take out the tiles without breaking them. The less destruction you create during this process, the better. If you’re careful, you may even be able to save the cement backerboard behind the tile, which would save you time and trouble as you proceed with your renovation.
- Hold the chisel along the grout line at an angle to the tile, then gently hammer the chisel in underneath the first tile. Move the chisel along the edge of the first piece of tile and gently hammer the chisel in all the way around until you’ve made a full circuit of the tile.
- Slip a paint scraper under the first tile and tap it with the hammer until the tile pries away from the wall.
- Continue steps 4 and 5 until all the tile has been removed.
During this process, the backerboard may become damaged. If this happens, you’ll have to tear down the old backerboard and replace it with new backerboard. Use a hammer to tear through the old backerboard. For pieces that have been screwed into the studs underneath, use a reciprocating saw to remove the old screws.
For more information about this process, and for pictures, check out this helpful tutorial.
Good luck! If you’re in the middle of a bathroom remodel and need some new furniture or paint colors, stop in at Ace Paint and Unfinished Furniture. We can provide you with materials you’ll need to make your bathroom look beautiful.
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