How To Remove Tiles With Ease
Strip a whole bathroom in minutes or lift one cracked tile without disturbing the tiles around it.
The short answer
To remove tiles, protect the room, crack one tile with a hammer or drill a small hole in it, then chip the tiles away with an SDS drill on chisel mode or a hammer and bolster chisel. Scrape off the old adhesive before retiling. For a single damaged tile, rake out the grout first and work from the middle with a hand chisel so the neighbouring tiles stay intact.
Taking tiles off a bathroom, kitchen or en-suite wall is one of the quicker parts of a renovation, as long as you pick the right approach before you start swinging a hammer. A full strip-out and a single cracked tile are two very different jobs.
On a recent bathroom renovation we used an SDS drill on chisel setting and had the old wall tiles off in a matter of minutes, which is the shot you can see at the top of this page. That speed is exactly what you want when everything's coming off. Swapping out one damaged tile is another matter, because the same drill would crack the tiles around it, so a hammer, a chisel and some patience win there.
SDS Drill Or Hammer And Chisel
An SDS drill with a chisel bit does the heavy lifting on a full strip-out. It hammers in behind the tiles and pops them off with a lot of the adhesive still attached, and on a big wall your wrists and shoulders will thank you for it. A hammer and bolster chisel does the same job more slowly, which is fine for a splashback or a single row.
For one cracked tile in an otherwise sound wall, go by hand. Small, controlled taps from the middle outwards keep the force away from the edges, so the tiles you're keeping don't crack or lift.
Tools For Removing Tiles
- Safety glasses
- Heavy-duty gloves
- Dust sheets
- Club hammer
- Bolster or cold chisel
- Wide scraper
- Grout rake, for removing a single tile
- SDS drill with a chisel bit (optional, for full walls)
How To Remove Tiles Step By Step
1. Clear And Protect The Room
Tile removal is dusty and messy, so take everything out of the room that you can move. Cover anything that has to stay, such as a bath, basin or radiator, with dust sheets. Put your safety glasses and gloves on before the first tile comes off, because shards fly in all directions and the broken edges are as sharp as glass.
2. Break Into The First Tile
Crack one tile with a sharp tap of the hammer, or drill a small hole in its middle. Once it's broken, your chisel or SDS bit has a way in behind the rest. Start somewhere with a free edge where possible, such as the top row or beside a window reveal.
3. Chip The Tiles Away
On a full strip, run the SDS chisel in behind the tiles at a shallow angle and let them drop away in sections. Keep the bit low against the wall so it lifts the tiles rather than digging into the plaster or render behind.
For a single tile, rake the grout out around it first so it isn't bonded to its neighbours. Our guide on removing and replacing tile grout covers that part, and a dedicated grout removing tool makes it far quicker than a hand rake. Then work from the centre of the cracked tile outwards with a hand chisel, lifting small pieces at a time.
4. Scrape Off The Old Adhesive
Hardened adhesive stays on the wall once the tiles are off. If you're retiling, scrape it back with a wide scraper or the SDS chisel until the surface is flat, as lumps left behind will push the new tiles out of line. Cut any old silicone away along the bath and basin too, and our guide to removing bathroom sealant shows how to get the residue off.
5. Clear Up The Debris
Pick up the larger shards by hand with gloves on, bag them in heavy rubble sacks and then vacuum the fine dust. Keep the glasses on while you clear up, as this is the stage where you're bending low over the sharpest bits.
Our Bathroom Before And After Removing The Tiles
The old green patterned tiles in this bathroom had to go. With the SDS drill, we stripped the walls back to the render and blockwork quickly, and the two photos below show the room before we started and once the tiles were off.
Preparing The Wall Once The Tiles Are Off
Have a good look at the wall before you plan the next step. In our bathroom, parts of the render came away with the tiles and a patch of blockwork was left bare behind the old fittings. Loose render needs knocking off and patching, and the wall should be flat, sound and dry before anything new goes on.
If you're retiling, our rundown of the tools you need for tiling and our guide on cutting tiles with or without a tile cutter pick up from here.
Getting Old Tiles Off Without Wrecking The Wall
When a whole kitchen, bathroom or en-suite is coming back to bare wall, the SDS drill on chisel mode is the quickest and least tiring way to do it, and it's what took our green tiles off. One cracked tile is the opposite job, where a grout rake, a hand chisel and a light touch keep its neighbours safe. Whichever you're tackling, cover the room, keep your glasses on and get the wall flat before the new tiles go up.
More Questions Answered
Can you remove tiles without damaging the plaster?
You can remove tiles with little damage to plaster by working the chisel in at a shallow angle and lifting the tiles rather than hammering into the wall. Some plaster will still come away where the adhesive has bonded hard, especially on older walls. Plan to patch or skim the wall before retiling.
How do you remove a single tile without breaking the others?
Remove a single tile by raking out all the grout around it first, so it's no longer bonded to the tiles next to it. Crack it in the centre, then chip it away from the middle outwards with a hand chisel and light hammer taps. Keep the force away from the edges and scrape the old adhesive off before fitting the new tile.
Is an SDS drill worth buying for removing tiles?
An SDS drill is worth buying for removing tiles if you're stripping a whole room, as the chisel function does in minutes what takes hours by hand. It's also useful for breaking up concrete and drilling into masonry. For a small splashback or one damaged tile, a hammer and chisel does the job without the cost.
Can you tile over old tiles instead of removing them?
You can tile over old tiles if they're firmly bonded, flat and clean, and the wall or floor can take the extra weight. Loose, cracked or hollow-sounding tiles must come off first. Tiling over also builds up the thickness, which affects sockets, trims, doors and fittings, so removing the old tiles is the better option on most renovations.
Which tool did you use to strip the bathroom tiles?
An SDS drill with a chisel bit. It had the walls of our bathroom cleared in a matter of minutes, which is ideal when every tile is going. We wouldn't use it to take out one damaged tile, though, as the vibration would crack the ones you're trying to keep.
What state will the wall be in once the tiles come off?
Rarely perfect. Our bathroom lost some render along with the tiles, and the blockwork was left bare where the old fittings had been. Tap the wall over and knock off anything loose or hollow, patch it, and wait until it's flat, sound and dry before you think about retiling.
Do I really need safety glasses and gloves to remove tiles?
Yes. Broken tile cuts as cleanly as broken glass, and the shards go everywhere once you start chiselling. The clear-up catches people out, so leave both on until the last bag of rubble is out of the room.
What should I do with the old adhesive left on the wall?
Get it off if you're retiling. Any ridge of old adhesive will tip the new tiles and throw your lines out, so work over the wall with a wide scraper or the SDS chisel until it's flat. While you're at it, cut out the old silicone around the bath and basin.
Dave, or Demolition Dave as the team calls him, worked as a builder for over 10 years before joining DIY Works. He now concentrates on his own properties and writes most of our construction content, along with tools, carpentry and plenty more.