Tile Removal Canberra

Tile removal is the first stage of every retile and every renovation we do, and it decides how well the new tiles last. Nothing laid over a bad surface stays good, so the old tiles come off properly, the surface under them is checked, and the waste leaves with us.

Anyone retiling a bathroom, a laundry or a kitchen wall or floor, or renovating the whole room. Older houses are where the surprises are. In the ex-government houses and 1960s to 1980s brick homes of Belconnen, Tuggeranong, Woden and the Inner North, hidden substrate damage, failing membranes and rotted subfloors are a common finding at demolition.

1. We look before we quote. We inspect the substrate where we can before finalising the quote, so there are no surprises once demolition begins.
2. We check what is behind the wall. Before the wall tiles come off, we check for plumbing or electrical hidden behind them.
3. Walls and floors come back to a sound substrate. Anything loose or damp is dealt with before anything new goes on.
4. The floor is checked. Most houses here are slab-on-ground, so the floor under old tiles is usually concrete. It is moisture-tested and sealed before anything is laid over it.
5. The waste goes, and the site is left tidy.

From there a wet area moves on to waterproofing, and then to the new tiles: our bathroom tiling page sets out that stage, and the floor tiling guide has the checklist for a new floor.

• Retile or renovate. If the layout works, removal is the start of a retile. If it does not, it is the start of a renovation. Both begin the same way.
• Whether to heat the floor. With the old tiles up, this is the one time underfloor heating can go in without lifting a finished floor.
• What is behind older wall tiles. Bonded asbestos sheeting turns up behind wall tiles in older houses. How it is identified, who removes it and how it is priced is set out separately, and our guide to what a renovation includes and what it does not lists it among the questions to ask.

If only a few tiles are chipped or cracked, the whole floor may not need to come up. Replacing the damaged tiles can be enough. The hard part is finding a tile that matches the undamaged sections, and we will tell you straight away whether a match is realistic or whether the floor is better done as a whole. That is tile replacement, on our tiling page.