# Forum Home Renovation Tiling  Removing kitchen wall tiles and adding new splashback

## braso111

Hi all, 
I'm currently a month or so from redoing our kitchen. I am waiting for some bench tops to be built and we just need to buy a couple more base cabinets and appliances. I have already put in new wall cabinets and a rangehood so some of the job is done.  
We want to remove the existing wall tiles and tile between the bench top and wall cabinets all the way around to the height of about 600mm. I would like to do this myself but I haven't done any tiling before. I'm after some advice on the simplest way to remove the existing tiles. I have seen some people recommending an air chisel and others using a cold chisel and hammer. I assume I would be better off waiting for the new bench top to be fitted before doing the tiling?  
I'm also after advice on the size and type of tile I could use to make the job simpler for a tiling novice. Any tips would be appreciated. 
Cheers
Shane  
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## Footscrazy

Hi
What is the substrate that the existing tiles are attached to?

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## Random Username

If the tiles are on plasterboard and well fixed....just rip the plasterboard down and re-sheet the area - it's quicker and cheaper than trying to remove tiles and patch the resulting inevitable holes.  Otherwise I have used just a cheap scraper as a chisel for small areas and belted it with a hammer. A proper chisel maybe needed if it's a solid wall with cementatious tile cement.

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## braso111

Thanks for the replies.
The tiles are fixed to plasterboard.  To be honest plastering is another thing I haven't done before so I would be happier just filling in the gaps.  The existing tiled area is only about 5500mm x 300mm so I'm hoping it won't take too long to remove.  I'm thinking a 50mm cold chisel at this stage.  I suppose I can just try the first one and see how I go.  I have a few weeks so I can just chip away at it (so to speak). 
Does anyone have any advice on the new tiles?  I'm thinking the small square type tiles that are stuck together with mesh may be easier to apply, but maybe I'm way off.  Ideally I'd like a tile of about 100mm x 600mm but I think the job would take forever using smaller tiles.

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## Random Username

Trust me - the holes and tears you'll get from removing tiles (unless the glue is total crap) will give you more practice in fixing plasterboard than you'll ever want.  Hint - trying to lever the tiles off with anything smaller than about a 60mm wide blade will just punch holes in the plasterboard.  Just remove the plasterboard!

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## Footscrazy

> Trust me - the holes and tears you'll get from removing tiles (unless the glue is total crap) will give you more practice in fixing plasterboard than you'll ever want.  Hint - trying to lever the tiles off with anything smaller than about a 60mm wide blade will just punch holes in the plasterboard.  Just remove the plasterboard!

  This is the right advice.
You will severely weaken the plasterboard removing the tiles from the old board, not to mention the time it will take.
New board is cheap, about $10 - $12 for a 2400 x 1200 sheet, it's simple to cut with a stanley knife and will give you a good substrate for your new tiles.
Just screw it to the wall studs with 25mm bugle screws or use plasterboard nails if you don't have a cordless, you don't need to stop it up as the tiles will cover the new board.
As far as tiles go mosaic tiles come on sheets, usually 300 x 300, and the sheets sag under their own weight so they need to be laid to a line parallel to the bench top.
My advice would be that if you haven't laid tiles before and want a good finish then get a tiler to lay them for you, a kitchen splash back can be laid in a few hours depending on the tiles, it won't cost an arm and a leg.

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## braso111

Alright, I've had a look at it and it makes a lot of sense.   Probably why there isn't a lot of info about removing tiles from plasterboard on the net.  Is a Stanley knife the best way to cut plasterboard?  I'll generally have a crack at something but I think you guys are right in recommending a tiler do the job.  My wife and I sort of decided to do that originally but we have spent an extra 50% over budget on our appliances so we are looking to save a bit of cash here and there.  If it takes a week or two more to get the job done, it'll be worth it knowing the tiling job will be done right. 
One more thing, is there a formula for ordering tiles?  eg calculate area and add 10% for corners/cut tiles.

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## gpkennedy

I agree with the suggestions to remove the tiles and plasterboard in the one go. The new board can be easily cut with a Stanley knife, you just score the line by dragging the blade over a line or you can use a metal T square. Measure twice, cut once. No need to cut all the way through the plasterboard, after you score just apply some pressure from behind and it will snap fairly cleanly.

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## Footscrazy

> Alright, I've had a look at it and it makes a lot of sense.   Probably why there isn't a lot of info about removing tiles from plasterboard on the net.  Is a Stanley knife the best way to cut plasterboard?  I'll generally have a crack at something but I think you guys are right in recommending a tiler do the job.  My wife and I sort of decided to do that originally but we have spent an extra 50% over budget on our appliances so we are looking to save a bit of cash here and there.  If it takes a week or two more to get the job done, it'll be worth it knowing the tiling job will be done right. 
> One more thing, is there a formula for ordering tiles?  eg calculate area and add 10% for corners/cut tiles.

  A couple of things.
A multi tool will cut out the plasterboard or you can do it by hand with a stanley knife or a rough hand saw.
The multi tool will be much faster and you can get into corners etc. with it, a cheap one will do the job and you will no doubt find other uses for it later.  250W 7 Accessories OZITO Multi Function Tool - Bunnings Warehouse 
Area + 10% should be fine, glad to hear you are going to get a tradesman to lay the tiles for you, you will be looking at them for a long time.
For what it's worth a good tiler will charge you about $80 per square metre, make sure that the joints in the corners and between the bench top and tiles are filled with silicone the same colour as the grout, if these joints are grouted they will invariably crack.

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## braso111

> A couple of things.
> A multi tool will cut out the plasterboard or you can do it by hand with a stanley knife or a rough hand saw.
> The multi tool will be much faster and you can get into corners etc. with it, a cheap one will do the job and you will no doubt find other uses for it later.  250W 7 Accessories OZITO Multi Function Tool - Bunnings Warehouse 
> Area + 10% should be fine, glad to hear you are going to get a tradesman to lay the tiles for you, you will be looking at them for a long time.
> For what it's worth a good tiler will charge you about $80 per square metre, make sure that the joints in the corners and between the bench top and tiles are filled with silicone the same colour as the grout, if these joints are grouted they will invariably crack.

  Thanks for that. Will have a look at the multi tool. Thanks for the tip about the grout too.  
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## Andolate

> Thanks for that. Will have a look at the multi tool. Thanks for the tip about the grout too.  
> Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

  You dont need a multitool, save your money for a better tool on a more important job.  
Just go and buy a plaster saw for $15 with the rubber handle and buy a studfinder with A/C detector. The stud finder will come in hany later but the AC detector on it will help indicate if and where  power cable might be in your wall before you start cutting through. 
1. Turn off your mains before puching through the plaster  ( whether or not AC was detected)  with the saw using the butt of your hand as the hammer. 
2. Use saw to cut all around plaster and use the edge around the tilng job as your guide for the cutout.  
3. Rip off wall.

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## braso111

Do I use the top of my old bench tops as the bottom guide for the cut outs or will I have to remove the bench top and go a bit lower?  
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## Random Username

Usually the tiles will be on top of the bench surface rather than behind it.  If the bench top can pop out of the way for a bit, then I'd go below it, just because I don't like having too many joins all sitting over each other when it's not like that for a specific reason.  But if I couldn't do that, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.  (and puttin the benchtop out of the way means less chance of a bit of tile scratching it during removal!)

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## Danny.S

Great advice.  I did my own kitchen Reno and tried in vain for about an hour to remove the tiles.  Ended up removing the plaster in half the time and $25 later had new plaster in place.  Glass splash back in my case and looked great.  There is a good reason people get paid to tile - you can almost always spot an amateur job.   
Good luck and I hope you love your new kitchen

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## braso111

Yes I am sold on the idea, just need to buy some plasterboard tomorrow and actually do the job.  The tiles are definitely above the current bench so I'll just cut it out there.  I wasn't sure about the messiness of having a join in the plasterboard there.  I suppose there will be silicone, glue and grout over the top eventually so it should be fine.  There is a phone socket and two powerpoints in the removal zone so I will have to factor them in.

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