How to Remove Wall Tiles

To remove the wall tiles, you have to apply a different and more difficult technique than the floor tiles because the wall tiles are placed very closely together, with minimal grout size. This means you have to be extra careful when you want to remove the wall tiles without damaging the surroundings.

Table of Contents

Prepare before removing bricks

Protect yourself and the space around you. Wear goggles, long sleeves, long pants, and work gloves to prevent sharp shards, even if you don’t plan to break the tile. Clean up the surrounding area and spread a cloth or tarp to protect fragile surfaces and make cleanup quicker. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Use wooden planks to protect the shower floor and porcelain bathtub from falling tiles. ^{[2] X Research Source}
Cover the drainage holes with duct tape on top.

Determine the location to remove the grout. The rest of this section is about removing grout, to reduce the risk of brick breakage and make it easier to remove the tile. Peeling grout helps with tile removal, but most people save time by only stripping grout in the most important places:

If you are only removing a single brick, remove the grout around the brick to avoid damaging the surrounding bricks.
If you need to remove the entire wall, just peel off the grout with the ceiling and floor.

Heat the grout (optional). The grout is usually easy to peel off, but if needed you can use a heat gun or a dryer to soften the grout. ^{[3] X Research Source} If you only peel off a small amount each time, it is recommended to allow 30 seconds to warm up the joint before pry.

Pry the grout with a multi-purpose knife. This method is time consuming but has little risk of damaging the surrounding brick. Insert the blade into the sturdy handle if you have one, and carefully cut several times around the tile to be removed. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Groove saws are generally not effective with wall tiles because adjacent tiles have hooks below the grout.

Use a disc grinder instead of a knife. A hand-held disc grinder can remove grout faster than a knife, but it’s easy to break the tile if you slip your hand. Set the machine to the lowest power and grind along the grout at a slow speed. ^{[5] X Research Source} You can increase the speed of the grinding disc if you can control the grinder well and the tiles do not crack when peeled off.

You may have to purchase a smaller grinding wheel to fit the gap between the tiles.

Peel off the grout until the tile joint is exposed. You don’t have to peel off all the grout, but you do need to peel most of it off to get the brick out. At a minimum, peel until the metal hook is exposed. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Remove bricks

Try to find a brick that is already loose. If you’re going to be removing tiles on an entire wall, try tapping the edge of each brick with a chisel to check for looseness. The first brick is the hardest to remove, so you should spend some time looking for any that are easy to remove. If you find one, use one of the two methods below to remove it. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Make sure the brick is located where you have peeled off the grout, or in a waterlogged area.

Peel bricks from the wall. This method will get the most tiles back for reuse, unless the tiles are too strong or the tiles are not very old. Try inserting a chisel, mortar scraper, or other flat tool into the gap between the brick and the wall, in a direction roughly parallel to the wall. ^{[8] X Research Source}^{[9] X Research Source} Use a hammer to knock on the handle of the tool until the brick comes off. You may have to pry the tile in two or three places if it sticks too tightly.

If the tile is broken but not completely peeled off, try using a steam chisel. ^{[10] X Research Source}
Ask someone else to pick up the brick as it comes off (remember to wear gloves).
The first brick is often the hardest to remove. Try to get the first brick out, then attack the edge of the next brick. You must be careful when working near the edge of the tile because the tile is very easy to chip.

Break bricks if needed. If the tile is attached directly to the grout then you should probably give up hope of getting it back. Start by punching a hole in the center of the brick with a hammer and chisel, then chisel away the cracked pieces, being careful not to break the surrounding bricks.

Eye protection is a very important step to this method.
Porcelain tiles will break into very sharp pieces like glass. If this is the case, you should break the brick from the edges with a hammer and chisel, to reduce the number of broken pieces.

Remove any remaining adhesive material. Use the chisel to chisel away the adhesive until the wall surface is relatively flat. ^{[11] X Research Source} You may not be able to remove all adhesive and grout from the wall, but make sure the new tile is flush with the surrounding old tile.

Remove the connecting hook before placing new tiles on the wall. They are made of metal and can be left over after you remove the tiles. These hooks can be removed by pulling them out with forceps or pliers, cutting them off with a multi-purpose knife, or flattening them with sandpaper.

Advice

Remember to check the suitability of the new brick with the old one, as their sizes may vary.
Remember that the first brick is very fragile during removal.
Drywall is almost always damaged when you remove the tiles. Even if only a part of the paper has come loose, you still need to fix it before laying new tiles. ^{[12] X Research Sources}^{[13] X Research Sources}

Steps

Prepare before removing bricks

Remove bricks

Advice

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