Removing old adhesive

[ag1975]

Hi. I'll be tiling a bathroom in a couple of weeks and will be taking old wall tiles off. What options do I have with preparing the surface underneath? Is it possible to remove the old adhesive and tile staright onto the surface benath?

Cheers

 

[StephenR]

I've pulled many bathrooms apart and the one thing I can never predict is what the surface underneath will be like. Does the adhesive stay on the walls or come away with the tiles. Does the wall come with it. Does the action of taking off the tiles weaken the walls, destroy the substrate. Even of the tiles come off well, is the substrate suitable (for all sorts of reasons) for retiling?

If the surface is sound and you only have to remove old adhesive, a long two handed 6" blade scraper will do the trick and don't skimp on having a sharp blade.

cheers,

Stephen

 

[ag1975]

Cheers Stephen, so if the tiles don't take any of the substrate off with the adhesive, then I should be ok to scrape the old adhesive off with just a scraper? Would I need to soak the old adhesive with anything to soften it up?

 

[village tiling]

if you manage to take the tiles off without damaging the wall it is possible to remove the adhesive. some of it should just scrape off but the adhesive will most likely be achrilic so try soaking it with water or a good way to do it would be using a wallpaper stripper (steamer),i know it sounds weird to use one but it does work.

 

[ag1975]

Why is it likely to be acrylic adhesive?

 

[village tiling]

because ceramic wall tile adhesive usually is.

 

[AliGage]

What are the tiles you are planning to fix? I think answer this question first is critical. You could spend a few days cleaning up all the old plasterboard only to find your tiles weight 40kg per m2.
Personally though be it plasterboard or hardibacker, both are cheap enough to purchase and relatively easy to install. For a small outlay you'll save yourself a couple of days of tedious graft.

 

[ag1975]

I'm not sure what tiles they are yet, doubt they'll be too heavy though. What weight can hardibacker take? I think I remember plasterboard being able to take 30kg per m2.

Is acrylic a mastic?

 

[tfs]

If its plasterboard, I would just rip off all the tiles areas and resheat if possible.

Leaves a superior surface to tile to in comparison to old torn up plasterboard surface.

I would tank too if possible.