Salvaging wall tiles

[anto]

Im currently refitting the bathroom of my first house.
The shower had been enclosed with a partition wall, tiled top to bottom with the same wall tiles as the rest of the bathroom.
Ive since ripped out the partition to put in a normal quadrant shower.
I made sure to remove the stud wall with as many tiles intact as possible but i am not sure of the best way to remove them from the plasterboard and grout. (They are all currently soaking in water to try and free the p'board).

I only really need about 20 or so tiles to fill the void left by the stud wall coming down.

Retiling the bathroom isnt an option yet, both financially and also because we arent 100% sure what way we would like the bathroom to be at present.

So, best way to remove grout from wall tiles?

Thanks,
Anton

 

[shed or dead]

Allow plenty of soaking time which will turn the tile adhesive back into a paste, this is why tiles fall off damp walls. When you are then dealing with individual tiles you'll find that the grout usually just crumbles off (my experience is with coloured grout, but I expect it all behaves the same). Any remaining traces can then be removed with a kitchen scouring sponge.

 

[anto]

Thanks shed or dead thats what i like to hear!

 

[octo0072000]

tiles

you can scratch the grout out from the tiles with a screw driver anything thin and pointed that will help get water get to the back of the tiles or one of those steam generator things like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-...omeGarden_CLV_Cleaning_CA&hash=item257546b113

 

[Justme]

Or just buy some cheap contrasting tiles & make a feature of the infill.

If you cant hide it show it.

 

[anto]

@Justme - it would look ridiculous if i did that i think. It would be 1nr strip of 150mm wide tiles in a pale green tiled room.

 

[bonepyro]

I am almost with Justme on this one. Is the gap from the removed tiles exactly equal to the width of the tiles you are trying to salvage, or will you end up with a strip of cut tiles, and shiny new grout where you fill back in?

In a bathroom I fitted out, we made a feature of the gap by making up a wooden infill, with some ogee / roman profile routed on the edges. We put a bunch of door knobs (fixed from behind) to act as hooks to put towels, bathrobes etc etc

Each to his own though, and I can also vouch for some success with using a steamer to weaken tile adhesive. (In my case not on purpose !)

 

[anto]

Itl be a full tiles width if i redo the cut tiles that are up against the door frame.
I will be fixing the shower panel to that section so something like a wooden infill or even a contrasting tile would look odd i reckon as it would be mostly hidden by the shower panel.

Il take another look at it tonight to see if it might work though....

 

[mike os]

just let them soak for a few days and the adhesive will scrape off easily,

 

[normspanners]

just let them soak for a few days and the adhesive will scrape off easily,

+1 on the soaking

 

[Sean]

Unless the job was done properly with waterproof adhesive or even cement based adhesive. Then there is no easy way! Gently with a sharp chisel and hammer or even a scutch comb

given the time and effort to get that off it would be just as easy to buy what tiles you need - but getting the tiles to match can be just as tricky.

tilings a ******* ...welcome to my world

 

[Shedendman]

soak in hand hot to warm water for 5 mins or so,then scrape the old crap off,dont let it go cold,oh and what idiot used plasterboard for a shower encloser?

 

[500e]

We must have had a proper builder, when I put in a new shower tray I soaked the tiles for 3 months you could still not chisel it off, gave up long before that & re covered whole shower with panels rather than tiles, only wanted 4 to replace some chipped around basin.
Spent to long looking for same size & colour drove me mad, colour size thickness

 

[anto]

soak in hand hot to warm water for 5 mins or so,then scrape the old crap off,dont let it go cold,oh and what idiot used plasterboard for a shower encloser?

Not guilty your honour!

The soaking seems to be doing the trick, ive got the tiles seperated into individuals now so i can get more in the container to get the adhesive off the back of them.

Thanks lads.

 

[mike os]

We must have had a proper builder, when I put in a new shower tray I soaked the tiles for 3 months you could still not chisel it off, gave up long before that & re covered whole shower with panels rather than tiles, only wanted 4 to replace some chipped around basin.
Spent to long looking for same size & colour drove me mad, colour size thickness

would be an old class A adhesive, some of them were actually waterproof, in which case attack with a grinder

 

[anto]

Well the soaking worked for the plasterboard that was still stuck to the back of the tiles but the adhesive that was used is like concrete! I reckon these tiles were put on circa 1980's when the house went up.
Is my only hope to grind/ sand the adhesive off?

 

[MCKDAVID]

probably......... not that difficult with a diamond disc.

 

[octo0072000]

try a belt sander with a coarse belt should do it

 

[anto]

No problem, cheers lads