Removing tiles- which multi tool blade (s)?

[GarF]

Will be stripping out a kitchen and loo ready for renovation and adapting a house for my mother in law soon. Looks like there’s less risk of an eye injury from using a multi tool to get the tiles off than with hammer and chisel. Unfortunately it’s not very convenient to go browsing at Axminster so I’ve consulting here instead. Am I right in thinking I will need a carbide edged blade to grind out the grout and a stiff scraping blade to pop the tiles off? I’m aiming to minimise collateral damage and maybe save having to completely re-plaster.
Cheers
G

 

[AJB Temple]

Wear safety glasses and gloves. Then use hammer and chisel or electric chisel. Multi tool will take forever and is a waste of time and blades.

 

[porker]

I use an SDS drill with a tile removing bit. Depends a bit on the area you need to do and what the tiles are stuck on with. Sometimes a hammer and chisel can be used to pop them off individually which reduces the mess. I agree a multitool is not really for this. If I was trying to remove an individual tile for replacement then I might use it to scrape out the grout with a carbide blade as you say but not to remove large numbers.

 

[GarF]

Good shout on the gloves. The only medical attention I can remember my dad ever needed while I was growing up was a trip to A&E to get a splinter of tile out of his hand. He got an unpleasant tetanus shot in his behind as a free bonus too! Hence the appeal of a non striking approach!

I’m taking down all the tiles to clear the way for the professionals

If chiselling, what's the preferred width/thickness?

 

[Terry - Somerset]

If the existing tiles are sound you could always just tile over them.

Somewhat unprofessional probably, and relies upon the new tiles going back roughly where the old tiles are.

But guaranteed - no replastering or making good, and little chance of injury.

 

[TheUnicorn]

If chiselling, what's the preferred width/thickness?

I would assume a nice wide blade would be best to it can sit flat on the wall and minimise the breakup of the tile, I would imagine a sharpened end would help to get behind them.

 

[porker]

mine is like this one tile chisel. 40mm blade but others available

 

[Lons]

One of the best tools I found for removing tiles, something I did on a regular basis for years was a modified brick laying trowel which I cut square across. Thin wide and flexible but strong steel it worked very well indeed and I went through several over the years as eventually they break where the tang is welded to the blade because that's where it's being hit with a hammer, doesn't need whacking hard btw just repeated blows. A full size trowel depending where it's cut will give a good 100mm edge to get behind the tile and force it off with minimal damage if used carefully.
We always had old trowels spare but you can buy a cheapie and square ended are available as

well though probably more expensive

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I used an SDS tile removing chisel from Screwfix. I managed to knock plaster off the opposite side of the wall. A friend ended up introducing himself to a neighbour through a hole in the wall. Go steady !

And yes, wear gloves and goggles. After a fortnight with a small injury on my finger that would not heal, I dug out a slither of chromed tile.

 

[pe2dave]

If you want to retain max plaster underneath (and have the time) a good multi-tool, with zero teeth tool works well.

 

[novocaine]

Bolster chisel and a good hammer.
If it's on plaster board, don't bother, rip the board out as well, it really isn't worth the agro to strip tiles of it.

 

[disco_monkey79]

I recently removed some delightful tiles from my bathroom and toilet. Having experimented with various size/shape chisels, I found a rigid filling knife/scraper easiest/most effective, as it fitted down behind the tile better than a bolster, so popped more tile off with each go.

It didn't do the filling knife much good, but hey ho

p.s. gloves are a must!! Tiles are evil

 

[lurker]

Use a face mask, the shards are beyond razor sharp and will ping off.
actually I would wear safety glasses AND a face mask.


I can vouch for this being good value
Titan TTB278SDS 6.3kg Electric SDS Plus Drill & 9 Piece Accessory Kit 230-240V