Removing wall tiles

[Graham & Brenda]

Does anyone have any tips for removing tiles from dry lined plasterboard walls please? As I try to do so, most of the plaster comes with them leaving virtually nothing behind - except the wall cavity!

Thanks,

Graham

[Ianhaycox]

If it's not too late you have a couple of options,

Tile on Tiles - Just stick the new tiles on top of the old. Last time I did it I roughed up the surface of the old tiles slightly with an angle grinder and ensured the old and new tiles overlapped the original joints. A good degreasing clean may be sufficient.

New plasterboard - It sounds drastic but it's usually easier in the long run. Just rip out the old wall/section with the tiles on and replace with a new sheet of placo. At least you have a fresh, flat clean surface to stick onto.

[1951art]

Hi - I had the same problem with my kitchen but learnt from a bit of butchery that Barratts did on my new house a few years ago. They fixed the wrong tiles throughout and had to replace them - removal of the plasterboard was the chosen method and surprisingly it worked. (Serves me right for buying a Barratts house in the first place but having an older place in France at least means only one lot of renovation)

The French board I removed (with a handsaw - be careful of wires/pipes that may run behind) had insulation attached. I took a sample to the local bricolage who identified the right stuff and provided me with the adhesive to attach it to the stone wall underneath. Once retiled over it looks really good and you would never know it had been patched in. Just try to ensure your new tile line overlaps the new joint.

It really was a much simpler way of achieving the desired effect and I didn't end up with smashed tiles flying all over the place.

Good luck