I just bought this old house. The kitchen cabinets are old and need to be replaced. But the countertop and back splash is made of beautiful hand-painted tiles. I want to find a way to remove the tiles without breaking them, and re-install them on top of the new cabinets. Any ideas of how I can accomplish that?
2007-01-21 05:47:02 · 5 answers · asked by Wu A 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Decorating & Remodeling
You can try, but the chances are unlikely that you'll be able to get them all off without breaking some. Have you thought about just removing the countertop and keeping it to put on top of the new cabinets? That can be done..... Or having a pro cut off the top layer of the countertop, keeping the tiles intact and placing this back on top of a new countertop? That could work....
Good luck...
2007-01-21 06:10:56 · answer #1 · answered by The ReDesign Diva 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Removing old tiles for reuse is nearly, but not totally impossible. You might look into the possibility of removing the entire counter tops and setting them on your new cabinets, that is if your new are the same size or a little smaller than your current ones and if the cabinet siting(pattern) is the same.
Or you might be able to salvage enough of the old tiles to work into a complimentary set of new tiles. Start by degrouting or removing the stuff between the tiles, this not only will have to be done anyway but will let you see how the tiles were adhered to the counter's surface. Generally the tiles were laid with either thinset (concrete) or a chemical bonding agent. Either way try removing a tile or two by using a hammer and a painters' tool. I mean something that looks like a funny putty knife, they are sometimes called a five in one or six or seven in one.
If you don't have any success with this method, you might consider calling a local tile layer for ideas. If they have some great, if not then you might try removing the wood or particle board counter top from the tile using common wood working tools and soaking the wood in a tub to soften it.
I hope I have been of some help.
2007-01-21 06:03:33 · answer #2 · answered by MT C 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
use a grout saw to take away all the grout that surrounds the tile. a little deeper than tile is thick. take some tape and tape the tile to the surrounding tiles or put something on the ground so that when the tile comes loose the tile does not break. next step is to use something that vibrates. can be a sander without the sandpaper and hold that against the tile. it will take some time but older tiles are coming loose. for a quick solution drill a hole and cover it up later with something ornamental
2016-05-24 06:12:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I really don't think you can remove the tiles without breaking them...so sorry. You could try this site...maybe there is something I'm missing... http://homeimprovement.divinfo.com/
2007-01-21 05:51:15 · answer #4 · answered by Reenie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no
2007-01-21 05:52:02 · answer #5 · answered by chocomichie 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋