Tiling/removing tiles

B

Brik

Registered User
Messages
28
Hi All,

Long story short, we had a tiler in recently, did a great job on the bathroom walls but made a complete mess of the floor, it looks terrible. Any idea if there is a way to remove the tiles from the bathroom floor while trying to save as many of the tiles as possible (they are expensive and cant afford to buy that quantity again!)? I know generally you cant save the tiles but if there is any way at all I would like to try, so that I can get them put down again properly (and by a different tiler!!!)

Thanks for any advice.
 
Are tiles put down onto concrete or board?( upstairs or downstairs).
What is so bad about tiles may i ask?
 
The tiles are on marine ply in an upstairs bathroom.

Basically the floor tiles are a match to the wall ones and they are meant to continue on the same lines but instead they were put down staggered and the size of the gap between them is about 4 times the size of that between the wall ones. You might not notice one or the other of them but the two combined means that it really stands out and looks awful.
And before you ask we had spoken to him about how to put down the floor tiles but he did his own thing anyway.
 
When I was removing my tiles I was using a screw driver and a hammer instead of a chizzel. I would put the screw driver on the bottom part of the grout and hammer it in. Most tiles came of in one piece. (However, I am not a professional, only talking from my experience)
 
I would not use a screw driver, I would firstly choose a sacrificial tile that could be broken to give you best access to the rest and give you a good idea of what tools yoiu will need for the job by assessing how good his coverage with adhesive was, etc. If you are patient with it you should yield better results. You will then prob have to reboard.
Good luck.
You could try searching/posting on http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=30, (dedicated to tiling)
 
Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it and hopefully I will be able to save as many of the tiles as possible.
 
This idea, to mind sounds like a real non-runner. Even if (big if) you manage to recover 75% of the tiles you'll have a huge job trying to remove adhesive from the backs and from the floor, the time and effort involved would make salvage uneconomical I would have thought (except in the case of travertine or other particularly expensive tiles). Is it really that bad?
 
My wife was extremely upset, this was meant to be the 'showpiece' bathroom and almost our entire tiling allowance (new house) was spent on the tiles. To get new floor tiles again would cost about 600 (I dont have the invoice on me so I am not 100% sure) and would involve a wait of almost 2 month again. So if it was possible to get them up and clean them it would be preferable.
 
an angle grinder with wire brush attachment will remove the adhesive from the back of the tiles if you get them off, i reused tiles i had put down in the wrong bathroom that way...
 
I would have thought that removing/cleaning the tiles is the last thing you want to do as it will be very time consuming. Now if time = money ......... it may be as well to leave them down, or, just break them out and start all over again. By the way, how did he mess up so badly on the floor after doing a good job on the walls?
 
Brik.
when i read your post my memories came flooding back.about 2 months ago my brand new beautiful house was tiled by a friend of mine. he did the bathrooms lovely , ensuite perfect etc. all the main bathroom was tiled and looked class. i gave him polished porcelain tiles for the whole ground floor i.e. downstairs toilet, kitchen,hallway,utility. he never leveleed the floor and they are a mess. i would have to buy 45 sq yards to put them down again. you cant take up tiles without breaking at least a good few of them and the rest will be ruined with adhesive. your tiler was a cowboy as was mine. i had mine only paid half the money and he is coming back. but all he is going to be able to do is replace about 10 of them. we have taken to strategically placing rugs around the house to hide the worst ones and to be honest its working. no one notices them. like you i wanted my polished porcelain tiles to be the showpiece but i have spent thousands on them and now need to cover them. all i can say is that you have learnt a lesson the hard way, as have i. i have decided to leave them now, cover the worst ones, get him to take up the really bad ones . if i decide to stay in the house long term then in a few years i will get them taken up, floor levelled and tiled properly. hope this helps. its not as bad as you think. belive me
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top