When it comes time to remodel a room however it s important to remove any old surfaces before installing new ones.
Taking glass tiles off a wall.
Start at the corners and work your way toward the middle and wall stud.
The method used to attach the tiles to the wall affects the way the tiles come off.
Getting the tiles off a wall without damage takes patience and the right tools.
Okay with the safety precautions are taken care of it s time to start removing those old wall tiles before fitting new ones.
Then use a utility knife or rotary grinder to scrape away the grout until the spacer lugs between the tiles are visible.
Next use a chisel and hammer to pry the tiles off of the wall.
A metal chisel and hammer can make quick work of popping tiles cleanly away from the wall.
Test old tiles and mortar for asbestos and if asbestos is found hire a professional to remove the tiles safely.
Even modern tiles often use lead glaze which creates lead dust during removal.
How to remove wall tiles.
It takes time patience and the right tools.
Scrape the wall working the leading edge of a long handled floor scraper behind the broken tiles.
Where i didn t pop off the entire tile with that method i used my other scraper to hammer under the remaining portions of the tile and remove it that way.
Glass tiles with their beauty and light reflecting qualities are a popular component of many home designs.
Ceramic tiles and mortar commonly contained asbestos until the 1980s in the us and the 1990s in some regions.
The first thing you want to do is try to locate a loose tile.
Place the chisel just under the tile and use the hammer with quick taps to pop the piece.
Tiles installed with thinset or another tile adhesive often require more work to remove them.
As the tiles fall they can take out tiles below or loosen leftover grout and tile as you go.
Removing tiles from the wall neatly without breaking them.
Let the tiles fall onto the drop cloth as you scrape them off the wall.
This includes removing any old glass tiles that have been installed in areas such as bathroom walls and kitchen.
You may get some cracked glass but for me the vast majority of the tiles came off in one piece when i used this technique.
Although you can chip away the grout by hand with small tools you are likely to damage the wall in the process.