Hello everyone,
We have been homeowners for just under four weeks and are completely renovating a house built in 1956.
In the bathroom, we have now encountered a “problem”:
Not only were multiple layers of wallpaper glued on top of each other in every room... no, in the bathroom, it was taken to the extreme. There are three (!) layers of tiles glued on top of each other.
To me, this is a total mess. I would like to remove all the tiles and start from scratch.
The contractors have already spent the entire day trying to remove the top layer of white tiles. Regarding the other two layers (brown and underneath red), they say the effort is not worth it for the following reasons:
- The tiles are glued so firmly that it would take days or weeks to completely remove them. They spent nearly one hour just removing a 10cm by 10cm (4 inches by 4 inches) section.
- The walls underneath are very uneven. After removal, at least a few centimeters (inches) of plaster would need to be reapplied, followed by drywall installation.
- The walls (especially around the door area, which is a non-load-bearing wall with a thickness of only 70mm (3 inches)) are quite old. The tiles apparently provide “extra” stability to the structure.
In short, they advised against full removal because the cost and benefit would not be proportional. They would essentially build a new layer on top of the old tiles and then tile the new ones over that.
Of course, the electrical wiring and plumbing would be renewed. This work would only be done fully in areas where all layers need to be removed.
I would really prefer to remove the tiles, but after today’s hard work, it only makes limited sense to me.
I’m interested in hearing your opinions and suggestions on the best way to proceed if the tiles remain in place.
We have been homeowners for just under four weeks and are completely renovating a house built in 1956.
In the bathroom, we have now encountered a “problem”:
Not only were multiple layers of wallpaper glued on top of each other in every room... no, in the bathroom, it was taken to the extreme. There are three (!) layers of tiles glued on top of each other.
To me, this is a total mess. I would like to remove all the tiles and start from scratch.
The contractors have already spent the entire day trying to remove the top layer of white tiles. Regarding the other two layers (brown and underneath red), they say the effort is not worth it for the following reasons:
- The tiles are glued so firmly that it would take days or weeks to completely remove them. They spent nearly one hour just removing a 10cm by 10cm (4 inches by 4 inches) section.
- The walls underneath are very uneven. After removal, at least a few centimeters (inches) of plaster would need to be reapplied, followed by drywall installation.
- The walls (especially around the door area, which is a non-load-bearing wall with a thickness of only 70mm (3 inches)) are quite old. The tiles apparently provide “extra” stability to the structure.
In short, they advised against full removal because the cost and benefit would not be proportional. They would essentially build a new layer on top of the old tiles and then tile the new ones over that.
Of course, the electrical wiring and plumbing would be renewed. This work would only be done fully in areas where all layers need to be removed.
I would really prefer to remove the tiles, but after today’s hard work, it only makes limited sense to me.
I’m interested in hearing your opinions and suggestions on the best way to proceed if the tiles remain in place.
C
Caspar20204 Jan 2019 22:28Laynne schrieb:
They took almost an hour for about 10cm by 10cm (4 inches by 4 inches)Do I only have a nail file?
H
HilfeHilfe4 Jan 2019 22:29Laynne schrieb:
Because it somehow looks completely wrong... similar to wallpaper. "I’m not going to bother scraping it off, I’ll just keep wallpapering over it."
I know that tiles are often laid over existing tiles because it’s cheaper and faster. But three layers???
Sometimes it’s even discouraged, since tile adhesive doesn’t last forever and with each new layer of tiles, the weight increases...
I’m just an amateur and Google gives both sides..It’s like yxxxxxxxxxxl adhesive. Sticks like crazy. You have an old house, accept it.HilfeHilfe schrieb:
This is like yxxxxxxxxxxl adhesive. It sticks incredibly well. You have an old house, so you have to accept that.I just wanted to get your opinion on whether this makes sense or not. I already changed my mind earlier in the day...
Caspar2020 schrieb:
Did you only use a nail file? They really struggled with the chisel hammer. The stuff just holds unbelievably well, which is why I asked if it really makes sense to remove the tiles or just add a third layer of tiles on top.
H
HilfeHilfe4 Jan 2019 23:14Laynne schrieb:
I just wanted to get your opinion on whether this makes sense or not. I already changed mine earlier today...
They really struggled with the chipping hammer. The stuff just holds incredibly well, which is why I asked if it really makes sense to remove the tiles or just apply a third layer of tiles on top.The 3rd layer would be your new tiles. So yes.
I wouldn’t have removed the white tiles from around 2000, and with a build year of 1956, I would have suspected it wasn’t just the second layer—at least on the wall facing the hallway. The floor plan could have raised suspicion, or at the latest after removing the door frame.
This has to do with the thin wall and the fact that tiles back then were set with a thicker bedding layer: you can’t chip them off with fine precision, some of the wall surface will always crumble. With a thin wall, I would have expected nothing else than layers 2 and 3 simply being placed one on top of the other. For walls 14.5cm (6 inches) thick or at the latest 17.5cm (7 inches) thick, however, I would have expected the old layer to be removed each time.
When undertaking a full renovation for the first time, never work only with daring people, but always also with experienced professionals.
My advice now is to decide on each wall section separately (one entire wall side or one whole niche side) and proceed to remove more only if more than one-third of the surface on that section has already been chipped off; otherwise, rebuild.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
This has to do with the thin wall and the fact that tiles back then were set with a thicker bedding layer: you can’t chip them off with fine precision, some of the wall surface will always crumble. With a thin wall, I would have expected nothing else than layers 2 and 3 simply being placed one on top of the other. For walls 14.5cm (6 inches) thick or at the latest 17.5cm (7 inches) thick, however, I would have expected the old layer to be removed each time.
When undertaking a full renovation for the first time, never work only with daring people, but always also with experienced professionals.
My advice now is to decide on each wall section separately (one entire wall side or one whole niche side) and proceed to remove more only if more than one-third of the surface on that section has already been chipped off; otherwise, rebuild.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
HilfeHilfe schrieb:
You have an old house, accept itThat may be true for many things, but not for a few annoying tiles. I would want to remove those as well; otherwise, in 15 years during the first bathroom renovation, we’ll be dealing with layer number five, and the utility room will have lost half of its floor space by then.
The thick bed mortar is persistent, but with the right equipment, it’s not a huge problem—it should come off within half a day. Of course, if you try with a small 3-joule hammer, it becomes a real struggle. They should use proper tools—after all, no one would think of doing a core drill with a small cordless screwdriver...
If a few bricks crumble in the process, that’s not an issue; it can be patched up easily. Afterwards, the walls can be evened out with an appropriate diamond blade on an angle grinder, if necessary at all (in our case, the mortar mostly came off in large pieces).
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