Renovating the interior of an apartment is a pleasant, but troublesome event. For example, when renovating a bathroom or kitchen, many questions arise: what to do with old floor tiles, can they be removed from the floor without damaging them, and is it worth it? It may be necessary to keep the tiles intact if you decide to install underfloor heating in the kitchen or bathroom, and the current flooring cost you a substantial amount or just completely suits you. You can also give a second life to an old but solid facing material by adapting it to a garage or cottage. In any of these cases, you will have to figure out how to remove the tile from the floor without damaging it.
Following the step-by-step instructions, you can easily master all the stages of dismantling the old ceramic floor in the apartment and save the old tiles. One has only to stock up on patience, a little skill, dexterity, add diligence, and the rest will follow.
Materials and tools for removing the old coating
Everything you need to work on removing the old floor covering is in the hardware store. For dismantling tiles will need:
- paint knife;
- chisel;
- chisel;
- hammer;
- masking tape;
- putty knife;
- dishes with water, a sponge or a spray bottle;
- thin steel wire 20–30 cm long.
We do not forget about our own safety in the course of work. We get:
- household gloves (preferably cotton);
- knee pads.
Advice. When starting work with an old coating, take care to protect furniture, indoor decor items, plumbing fixtures in the bathroom and toilet from dust, as well as flying fragments of ceramics and pieces of mortar. It is advisable to cover them with a thick film, and curtain the openings and doors with a damp sheet.
Assess the scope and timing of work
It is immediately necessary to determine on which solution the tile is held. The complexity and complexity of the process, the time spent on the work and the efficiency of the efforts made depend on this. After all, our goal is not just to get rid of the old flooring, but also to keep it intact.
As experienced craftsmen note, it is quite realistic to keep 80–90% of the dismantled old tiles intact.
So, the compositions on which the old tile is held on the floor can be as follows:
- Cement-sand mortar. Most likely, the floor covering, which has remained since the Soviet times, is kept on it. Made with high quality, to the conscience, but the tile is old, has lost its "relevance". If you decide to remove the old undamaged tile and reuse it, then you need to prepare for a difficult, time-consuming process that stretches out over time. Additionally, water-salt solutions will be required for long-term wetting of the old cement base to make it loose and pliable. If this does not help much, you will have to look in the hardware store for a special acid-based solution designed for this purpose.
- Tile adhesive. A modern material that has been used for 20–25 years, also containing cement, but more plastic and easy to process. In this case, work with the floor goes faster, requires less effort.
Advice. Before work, it is important to make sure that there are no hidden wiring or pipelines in the floor. If you have moved to a new apartment, do not be too lazy to remove the skirting boards around the entire perimeter of the room before dismantling and examine the corners and suspicious inclusions on the wall adjacent to the floor.
If there are underfloor heating in the bathroom and kitchen, it is necessary to dismantle the tiles with all caution. It is easy to damage the electrical cable or pipes close to the floor. It is not yet known how the master laying this system equipped the cables.
The eyes are afraid, the hands are doing: floor tile removal technology
The sequence of work for the careful removal of the old tiled flooring will be as follows.
Step one
Delete grout between old tiles. It is more convenient to start work on the floor closer to the wall, from the edge. To do this, use a painting knife. We carefully clean the seams, trying not to damage the edges of the tiles. Typically, the grout material is porous and fragile, easily amenable. To simplify the process, we moisten the seams with plenty of water using a sponge or a spray bottle.
step two
After carefully removing the seams into the resulting cracks, pour water in moderation (carefully: the neighbors are below) and wait for a while. Let the solution absorb moisture and become loose.
Step Three
Carefully begin to remove the first tile. To do this, carefully tap the surface of the old tile with a spatula, feeling for the fragile connections with the base that are characteristic of the sound. In order not to crumble the old tile, it is advisable to wrap the edges with masking tape, and only then bring the chisel to the very bottom of the tile and gently tap with a hammer. We need to save the tile, so no sudden movements, we do everything measuredly, careful blows. The goal is to move the tile, not break it.
To facilitate and speed up the dismantling process, try using steel wire hooks. They are driven deeply with sharp ends on both sides of the tile into the cleaned and moistened seams. A force is applied and the tile is torn off, keeping the old ceramic intact.
This algorithm must be followed in the future, carefully removing tile by tile, pre-wetting the base, pasting the edges with tape, being careful, not fussing. It will take a long time, but remember that your goal is to dismantle the tiled floor without damaging the material.
Advice. You can clean the bottom of the tile from adhesive residue after dismantling with a sharp spatula dipped in water. A metal brush will help complete the operation. The situation with cement is more complicated. You can not do without a container with a water-salt solution, where the removed tile with cement residues will have to be soaked for several hours. Only after that, with a spatula, you can try to clean off the cement build-up.
We hope that all of the above will inspire you on your own and boldly take up the reorganization of your living space. Happy repair!
