How to Remove Old Wall Tiles
Monday, October 18th, 2010Removing old wall tiles is never the easiest DIY job – especially if you’re a novice. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a single tile or a whole wall, the task can time consuming and at times frustrating. Patience and persistence are two of the main tools you’ll need in abundance when you start this project, but those alone won’t remove the wall tiles. Here at Online Tiles, we want the removing of tiles to be as easy as picking out the new ones you want and if you follow our simple “how to” guide it can be.
When removing old wall tiles (as with any DIY project) the first thing to do is make sure you have the right tools:
• A hammer
• A bolster chisel
• Safety goggles
• Sandpaper
• Heavy duty scribe
Make sure you’ve prepared the area too. We recommend covering any surfaces, with a large canvas tarp – this will stop any falling tiles from causing damage. Once the area is prepared and you have the tools to hand, the fun work can begin.
Starting at one end, use a heavy duty scribe to scrape out the grout. Follow this up by whipping on the safety goggles (to project your eyes from the flying shards of tile) and getting the bolster chisel as parallel to the wall as possible (by doing this, at Online Tiles we’ve found you’re less likely to damage the plaster, meaning re-tiling will be easier) and then hammer away.
Once your old wall tiles have been removed, finish the job by sanding down the walls.
Happy with your handy work and ready to continue your DIYing? Why not look through our website to see the huge selection of quality wall tiles we have from all over the world. If you know what you want and you want to complete the job, visit one of our partner showrooms.

