Changing Tile in a Kitchen
Hi, do anyone have an idea of how difficult it is to change tile in a kitchen? There is tile, we are not crazy about it and would like to change it. Is it easy to remove? thank you
Hi,
do anyone have an idea of how difficult it is to change tile in a kitchen?
There is tile, we are not crazy about it and would like to change it. Is it easy to remove?
thank you
jessenyc and brucef are correct, and make their points clearly.
it probably isn’t all that big a deal– even if you have to remove to the studs it isn’t too too bad to reinstall the backboard, mend the seams, and change your tile.
just do your homework, and get started. you can do it.
first time i did tile work i was a mess!! I did choose tiles that pretty much lined up though, so that i had no complicated cutting to so… 2x2s and 1x1s. later on you can do more complicated projects. it’s actually fun!
don’t panic about it. what is the worst? you call in a pro. not such a big deal…
A friend had black mirror tile from the 80s — came right off.
If this is pre-war tile and covers the whole kitchen, you might be looking at a partial gut. Possibly when you remove the tile, there will be nothing left of the wall and you will have to rebuild that with sheetrock. Also you may have to remove and then put back fixtures such as sinks, which means plumbing. But still, not impossible.
If the tile is dirty or cracked, it can be fixed.
If you don’t like the color, it can be changed.
hi
thank you for the input. There is existing tile- it is the back splash, but it goes around the entire kitchen. I think it might just be on sheet rock.
It depends on how the exising tile (and I do assume we are talking backsplash not counter) is fastened. If tile was thin setted onto backerboard, you have nothing to lose by trying to pop tiles off with flooring Chisel, maybe starting where you have a butt edge, like maybe behind an outlet cover plate.
If they pop off easy, it may be possible to clean it up and put new tiles over the old hinset remnant with new thinset. If there was only sheetrock behind, it should be demo’d and new backerboard installed.
Depending on the size and orientation of your kitchen, I like to go to the extra trouble to get HardiBacker in a 4X8, which Kamco has. I rip it to get long strips 18″X8′. That bridges irregular stud placement. You’ll need special tools/blade to cut bacerboard, I prefer the Snapper tool.
If you need help bruce at jerseydata.net
Hi Jennie,
Tiling itself is pretty easy, just takes some patience. There are plenty of videos on youtube (look up “ceramictilepro”) and instructions you can find on google, etc.
If there are already tiles on the wall, then the wall has to come down to the studs (tile and sheetrock ripped off) and new sheetrock put up (why I’m having someone re-tile my shower). That’s bigger, but not too bad as a DYI project, but is best left to someone who knows what they’re doing, especially if there are electric wires, etc behind the wall (in which case definitely hire someone).
I’m currently using a guy who came recommended on Brownstoner to re-do my shower tiles (walls came down to the studs to remove moldy sheetrock, etc). This is his second project for me and his third for my building. His name is Gus and can be reached at 646-491-3226. He’s very reasonably priced and does a ton of work in brownstone Brooklyn. You might want to give him, or others, a call if you need to take a wall down to the studs. Otherwise go to Lowes, get some tile and grout, etc, and have fun!
p.s. Get some tile samples at Lowes as you can return what you don’t use. Use duct tape to temporarily hang on your wall to see what they look like in your room. Every room and lighting makes tiles, like paint, look different.