Remove & Replace Bathroom Tile

8 years ago

A bathroom remodel was not in my immediate future but due to a suddenly cracked toilet & sink, I need to replace both. My current floor/wall tile is dated so installing new fixtures on old tile will kill me, but so will a complete bathroom renovation if I am forced to hire a professional. I’m a semi experienced DIYer but have never done any tiling. I would like to remove & replace the tile (still undecided about the floor) with the exception of the tub surround, which I will leave for later & a more experienced person.

Currently the tile goes halfway up but I would re-tile to the ceiling. My walls are plaster. I’ve chopped out some of the old tile to have a look behind. I can remove all the tile myself but my concern is the prep required once all is removed. I’ve read/watched forums/videos but am still unclear on what prep is required. Can I just apply adhesive & tile or do I need to use some backer-board or other materials? How flat does the wall need to be? Does all residue need to be removed?

Thanks for any comments & advice.

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Comments (5)

pricklypearcactus
8 years ago
I am not a pro, but have done my own DIY tile work (including floors, wall tile above tub, and full shower including pan and walls). I found it helpful to pick up and read a few books on setting tile so I could be walked through techniques. What you set the tile on is very important because an unstable surface will result in problems (tile or grout cracking, even tile falling off the wall).

I found these books useful.
- Tile Your World - John Bridge
- Setting Tile - Michael Byrne
I believe your wall tile is set on a mortar bed. That means you have some metal lathe (mesh) and then a thick bed of mortar over top of that. Then the tile is set over top of that. You seem to be doing quite a bit of damage to the mortar as you are removing tile. Your tile actually looks quite nice to me at least. Classic white 4x4.

I had this same construction on the walls above a tub. I tore it all out down to the studs and then installed cement board and waterproofing before tiling. The original tile in my bathroom was white with harvest gold speckles (to coordinate with the gross harvest gold tub).
DavidR
8 years ago
FWIW: I've done a lot of home maintenance and repair over the years. I also try to know my limitations. You may be more daring than I am, but bathroom tile is one thing I always get an experienced pro to handle.
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Fori
8 years ago
Should probably point out that you can definitely reuse your toilet in the future and most likely can reuse the sink as well, so don't feel like it would be bad to put new fixtures in if you aren't ready for the rest of it.
User
8 years ago
Your questions already betray you as having too little knowledge or experience to tackle this. You have mud set everything. To which you’ve done a great deal of damage, when you could have just replaced the toilet and sink. Those are easy jobs. And if you didn’t have the knowledge and skill to do the easy jobs, the very hard ones are well beyond your grasp.

You needed to do more research before acting. Start here.

https://www.tcnatile.com/products-and-services/publications/218-english-publications/188-handbook/957-2018-tcna-handbook-for-ceramic-glass-and-stone-tile-installation.html

Then, Hire a Pro.

http://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2018/

https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer

http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/bath.design.rules.htm#.Wws3rv9OnYX

https://nkba.org/info/why-hire-a-designer
rm101
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Sophie- I haven't done any damage, yet. if you're referring to the piece that was exposed down to the mesh, that portion is hidden by the medicine cabinet. The tile was chipped away to determine if it could be recessed. I used it to show what was behind the tile. Thx for your comments.