How To Remove Tile From Your Floor

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Tile is beautiful, but over time it can stain, discolor from the sun or from use, grout lines can become discolored, or it may not be your style any longer. Tile is a strong material choice for your floors, which makes it a little more difficult to remove as well. If you have a lot of tile you may want to hire a floor removal company to help you out. If it's not too big of a job, you can attempt it yourself, but note it is a fairly messy job. See below for instructions and tips on how to remove tile from your home.

Here's What You'll Need:

• Chisel
• Hammer
• Large garbage can
• Broom 
• Shovel
• Pry bar
• Painter's tape
• Plastic

Instructions:

1. Start by removing any baseboards or trim work around the tile flooring you are planning on removing. 
2. Next, use plastic (or cardboard) and tape to cover any vents that may be in the area where you are removing tile to prevent dust or pieces of tile from getting into your duct work. The dust from removing the tile can spread through the vents and make your entire home dusty.
3. If you can, cover doorways around the room where you are working with plastic and tape to prevent the dust and debris from getting into other areas of your home. Also cover any adjoining floors surrounding the tile with plastic to prevent dust and debris from getting on it (such as carpeting next to the tile).
4. Now you can begin removing the tile. Use a hammer to break apart one piece of tile. Then use the crowbar or chisel to begin pulling up the rest of that piece of tile. Once it's removed, you can work on removing the rest of the tile surrounding that one piece.
5. Use your hammer along with the chisel or crowbar to lift up the pieces of tile. Some pieces may come up easier than others, and you may end up with a lot of tiny pieces being broken off.
6. Once you have the entire floor removed, use a shovel to remove the pieces of tile. Place the pieces into a garbage can and dispose of them.
7. Now that the tile is removed, you may begin working to remove any underlayment (concrete board) below the tile (if you have any).
8. Use your tools to remove this just as you did the tile. There may be screws that were holding the underlayment in place. Be sure to remove these screws so you have a bare floor to lay down your new flooring.

This is could be a big job if you have a lot of tile. In this case, leave this job to a professional flooring removal company. Keep dust out of the rest of your home by covering up doorways with plastic, and laying plastic around surrounding flooring.

3 August 2017