Removing Wall Tile From Cement Board

Two honey badger demo forks attack tile and cement board that has been screwed down to the subfloor.

Removing wall tile from cement board.

Put the chisel along the top edge of the tile trim and hammer down. Start at a broken tile or between tiles where the grout has loosened. Get fair costs for your specific project requirements. See professionally prepared estimates for tile removal work.

Please consider a small donation to support my channel so i can keep bringing you great videos in the futur. It is difficult to remove tile from a cement backer board and even more difficult to avoid damaging the board in the process. In some cases the only way to tear out the ceramic tile is with heavy equipment such as a jackhammer or air chisel. Please see description for important information.

See typical tasks and time to remove tile along with per unit costs and material requirements. The homewyse tile removal calculator uses industry. Chip the grout along the grout lines use a ball peen or masonry hammer and cold chisel to tap the pieces free. Since backer board is relatively inexpensive it s not normally worth.

Lifting up the shovel from underneath will break the cement board and the grout holding the tile so you can remove it. Use a 3 4 or 1 in. Masonry chisel and a 2 lb. It s best to drive a tool under the tile at a low angle.

Hold a narrow chisel about the same width as the grout lines or slightly smaller against the grout. Once the grout is removed from around a tile try to pop the tile off the cement board by driving the stiff putty knife under the tile at a low angle. Tilt the chisel to a 60 degree angle once. Continue chipping until you have removed the trim pieces and have exposed the top edge of the flat tile.

Now you ve created a small opening where you can slide a flat bladed shovel under both the cement board and the ceramic tiles. Strike the end of the putty knife gently with the hammer. Hammer the chisel until it breaks through the grout. The blade of the putty knife should be nearly parallel with the floor.

Always wear safety glasses when removing ceramic tile. The cost to remove tile starts at 2 08 3 67 per square foot but can vary significantly with site conditions and options. Work the chisel between the tiles and the concrete hammering them up with a 2 lb.