Removing A Tile Shower Floor

How to remove tile takes time and hard work.

Removing a tile shower floor.

Make sure that the base floor surface is even and free of any stubborn tile adhesives as a smooth surface is essential to the proper adhesion of the new tiles. Always wear safety glasses when removing ceramic tile. Install the tile around the drain the same way you installed tiles on the floor using spacers. Once you have removed all of the tiles check the base floor of your shower for any tile adhesives.

Unlike tile on cement board or wood there s no underlayment or subfloor that can be pried up and thrown away. In some cases the only way to tear out the ceramic tile is with heavy equipment such as a jackhammer or air chisel. Removing floor tile can be a difficult and time consuming project and the challenges often remain hidden until the project is underway. Remove any appliances or built in furniture like cabinets if possible.

Remove baseboards or trim work around the room. If you re removing tile flooring from your bathroom take out the toilet and any pedestal sinks and disconnect all the water pipes or drains that go through the floor. Remove the tile adhesive by applying paint remover and scrubbing with a scrub brush. Taking care when removing the trimwork allows it to be reinstalled when a new floor is installed after the tile floor is removed.

If you replace them you might leave a gap between the wall tiles and the floor which might look ugly too. If you don t know what s under your ceramic floor tile you ll have to do some detective work to find out whether it s plywood cement backerboard or a thick bed of. Start with a chisel and hand maul. When installing tile in a shower the rule usually is to lay the floor first so there s little chance the water dripping from the walls would seep through the floor tiles edges.

Once cured remove all the spacers. There s no easy way on how to remove tile. One thing that needs to be demolished is a full ceramic tile shower with a seat and a concrete mud floor. Leave the floor to cure for 24 hours.

I m feeling pretty good about removing the tile from the walls and ceiling but i don. Depending on the construction the tile may be attached to bare cement a plywood or mason board underlayment or even affixed to a previously installed floor.