How to Remove Tile from a Wall Without a Punch

Any apartment or country house periodically needs to be renovated. Sometimes it’s enough to change accessories and furniture to make the atmosphere fresher and more cheerful. But in most cases, you will have to work on a more thorough rework. If everything is clear with the replacement of wallpaper and painting the walls, then the question of how to remove tiles from the wall can drive many into a dead end. Especially if this process should be carried out carefully, without damaging the tile.

In fact, dismantling is not a big difficulty. The main thing is to stock up with the necessary tools and determine how the tile was glued to the wall (using cement or adhesive mortar). It happens that the old tile does not need to be removed completely, but only some part of it. Then you should be especially careful so as not to damage not only neighboring tiles, but also the wall in the kitchen itself.

What do we need?

It is almost impossible to completely clean the surface of the tile and not damage a single fragment. But if you show accuracy and a little dexterity, it is quite possible to keep the tile intact as much as possible. How successful the work will be depends primarily on the quality of the tiles laid and on the adhesive composition, as well as on the statute of limitations.

To work, you may need to use the following tools and materials:

• Drills and punch;
• Metal spatula;
• A hammer;
• Scraper to remove grout;
• A knife;
• Chisels.

Do not forget about precautions. Dismantling the old tile is a dusty and dirty process, so you should stock up on work clothes, special safety glasses, a mask or gauze bandage, as well as gloves. To facilitate cleaning after the work done, you can lay an oilcloth on the floor.

Dismantling process

If the tile was mounted to the kitchen wall using cement mortar, then it is almost impossible to remove it intact. Therefore, a perforator with a special nozzle is required here. If the tile was attached to the glue, then it is more likely to dismantle it without damage. The easiest way is to remove the tile without preserving its integrity. In the process, you will need a hammer drill with a nozzle chisel. Before you start, you need to wear work clothes, goggles and a mask, as the process will be dusty enough with a lot of flying small fragments. The cement mortar remaining on the wall after removing the tiles can be removed with a hammer.

A neat way requires a lot of effort and dexterity. Here it is necessary to use a sharpened knife and a spatula to remove grout from the seams. To make it softer and more pliable, you can moisten the surface with water with a sponge.

After removing the grout, you should proceed to dismantle the old tile. Here you will need a puncher and a nozzle of a flat shape, which is wound behind a tile to clean out the old mortar. If glue was used in the installation process, rather than cement mortar, successful removal without deformation is possible. Otherwise, the tile is likely to crack.

Instead of a punch, you can use a chisel with a hammer. After removing the grout, you need to make a chisel under the tile and carefully, without sudden movements, use a hammer to beat it off the wall.

Delete multiple items

It is not always required to completely remove the tiles from the walls of the kitchen. It may be enough to replace two or three tiles on which chips or other defects have appeared. Here you need to be extremely careful with the tile that should remain. Especially time-consuming is the process of dismantling tiles from the central part of the wall or in the corner. First of all, it is necessary to soften the grout with water and remove it as in previous cases. The hammer in this business should not be used. Dismantling takes place with a hammer and chisel.

Cement mortar can greatly complicate the task. Therefore, the tile must be removed carefully and in parts. First you need to use a drill to make several holes in the tile, and then use a spatula to remove it in pieces.

How to remove tiles from drywall?

If the wall in the kitchen is made of drywall, then it is almost impossible to remove the tile carefully, without damaging it or the surface of the wall. The adhesive solution is very firmly set with drywall, eating into the surface. You can remove one or more tiles with the subsequent replacement of a piece of drywall. But with a whole wall, everything is much more complicated. You should rely on luck, and carefully proceed with the dismantling process. The chisel must be made between the tile and the glue and tap on it with a hammer. The tile either flies off by itself, or together with a piece of drywall. As an option, you can try to cut ceramics with an angle grinder.

At the end of the work, it is necessary to assess the damage caused to the walls and decide what to do next. It may be necessary to replace individual sections of the drywall construction.

Removing old tiles from the wall is not as difficult as it might seem. As in any other business related to repair, careful preparation and thoughtful actions are required here. If you stock up with the necessary tools and materials, study tips and choose for yourself the most suitable method of dismantling, then you can cope with the task without the help of specialists.