Removing Ceramic Tile

by Murray Anderson

Depending on where they are and how they're installed removing ceramic tiles can be either a nightmare to remove or a relatively simple job requiring very little effort. As well, removing all the ceramic tiles from a wall or floor rather than just trying to remove one or a small number will be easier simply because you're not worrying about damaging the surrounding tiles. Here's some ideas on how to remove ceramic tiles in a number of different situations.

Ceramic wall tiles on cement board or Gyproc

This is by far the easiest situation. If you want to protect the underlying wall, use a 3” stiff putty knife (or a painter's 5 in 1 tool) held at a very low angle relative to the wall (almost parallel). Starting at one edge of the wall place the blade against the mastic and give the handle a solid 'whack' with a hammer. In most cases the knife will slide under the tile and by simply lifting the handle up, the tile will 'pop' off the wall.
Removing a single tile from a wall can be trickier. In this case, your first step is to remove the grout surrounding the tile you want to remove (using a rotary tool, a thin chisel or a grout removing tool). Once you've removed the grout all around the tile, again use your stiff putty knife at a low angle and bang it under the tile.

Removing ceramic floor tiles

Removing floor tiles laid on cement board is more work than wall tiles but the methodology is similar. At an edge, where flooring materials come together start by removing any edgings or moldings. Now, you may be able to remove a starter tile using your putty knife, but more likely, you will need to remove the grout around a few tiles.
Once you get a few starter tiles off the floor, break up the underlying cement board by banging on it with your hammer and get rid of it. Now you've created a small opening where you can slide a flat bladed shovel under both the cement board and the ceramic tiles. Lifting up the shovel will break the cement board and the grout holding the tiles, giving you a piece of floor you can remove. Repeat the process, sliding the shovel under the cement board then lifting and you can get rid of the floor in chunks.

Old ceramic tiles laid directly onto a cement base

This is by far the most difficult situation to deal with and thankfully this installation technique isn't used anymore, however, there are lots of old homes with ceramic tiles installed (mortared) right onto a cement base. Once the mortar has cured, the concrete base and the floor tiles are in reality a single piece. The only way to remove ceramic tiles in this situation is to break up the tiles along the underlying mortar with a sledge hammer. It's back breaking, labor intensive project.

A safety reminder

No matter whether you're removing a whole floor or wall of tiles or just a single tile, remember you need to wear wrap around eye protection and good quality work gloves. Obviously, it's also a good idea to place protective covering on the floors and walls around where you're working.