Out with the Old Tile

John Whipple General Contractor

Bad day at the office? Did some jerk cut you off in traffic? Perfect timing for your tile demolition project. Pick up a framing hammer and get rid of your frustration. But before you start swinging, let's look at what can go wrong and what you should do to prepare.

How are you going to protect your home from demo debris and dust? Will your home's heating system pick up the dust from this renovation and spread it through the house? Will you nick a water line and have to scramble for the main water shutoff?

This story can help you prevent potential disaster. Stack the odds in your favor, and learn how to cover the basics here.

Note: Prepping your home properly is important whether you plan to demo on your own or hire a pro. If you DIY, make sure you're comfortable handling heavy demolition equipment — power tools use a lot of force — and have experience with demo work. Demolition is hard and physical, so make sure you're fit for the job and comfortable handling any tool before using it. Use the proper safety equipment, and don't hesitate to call a pro if you're having trouble with this messy, noisy work.

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1. Protect your floors. It's easy to forget about floor protection until the dirt, dust and tile pile up. We use Ram Board to protect finished floors. Combined with a plastic tarp, it can keep debris from harming the finished flooring and dust from flying everywhere.

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by Forum Phi

2. Take down art. Any art hanging on a wall should be removed before demolition. Often the stress or vibration of removing tile from the back side of the wall can cause paintings to fall and glass to break.

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by John Whipple - By Any Design ltd.

3. Seal off the space.This doorway is covered with a plastic sheet that seals the room to keep dust from moving throughout the house. The handy zipper allows for easy access.

Make sure you tape these sheets to the door casing and not the wall — when the tape comes off, paint often does, too. We like to use a light tack painter's tape and then a high tack tape to bond to that.

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by John Whipple - By Any Design ltd.

4. Prepare for noise.Removing tile from concrete is always noisy. Unlike chipping tile off a soft substrate like drywall, removing tile from concrete is 10 times the chore. We use a large demolition hammer that chips the floor. I vibrate the tile with the tool using light downward pressure and then chip away the tile. If you live in a multifamily unit, make sure that the other residents know when you're working because the sound can travel through several stories.

5. Protect yourself. Tile demolition isn't just potentially dangerous for your home, it can hurt you, too. Take extra precaution to protect yourself if you're doing any demo on your own, and keep kids and pets out of this space. Look at what I'm wearing in this photo: heavy-duty coveralls, eye protection, lung protection, gloves and ear protection. You'll want to do the same on any demo site.

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by Republic Tile Works, LLC

6. Turn off the main water valve. Shut off the water to the home before doing any demolition in case a wayward blow harms a water line. You should know where your main water shutoff is for your home or rental.

Turning off and removing old plumbing lines is part of any bathroom renovation. Make sure you understand the steps involved before tackling the job yourself.

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by shophardcorehammers.com

7. Find the right tools.Unlike a standard hammer, a framing hammer has straighter claws on the back side, which makes it a great pick-axe when flipped around. A carpenter's hammer makes it impossible to strike on a wall — something you'll need to do to chip tile off the wall.

I usually chip through the tile and wall substrate carefully, using the claws of a framing hammer. If there's a backer board, you can usually grip the edges of larger sheets to pull it all down at the same time. Make sure you do this using a full face mask, gloves, long sleeves and pants.

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by Michael Matrka, Inc

8. Plan how to deal with waste. Demolition waste piles up fast, so you have to plan how you are going to dispose of cardboard, paper and metal. Old drywall will most likely need to be dumped separately. Recently my local landfill banned any drywall with tile attached to it. Find out in advance where you can dispose of what so you can plan your trips to the landfill properly.

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