When it comes to tile walls in bathrooms, two main things can go wrong with them. The first and most common problem is cracked or damaged tile walls. When this happens, it can become an expensive repair if you don’t know how to fix the wall correctly, but luckily we’ve compiled these five tips that will help you successfully repair tile walls in bathrooms!
Remove Bathroom Tiles
To remove tile from a wall, first, carefully chip away at it using a chisel and hammer. Use a safety mask to shield your face from dust. Once you have removed an area of about 10 square inches, take a utility knife and remove each tile, working slowly so that you don’t accidentally break one. When removing large chunks of tile, you can also use an angle grinder fitted with either a diamond-grit disk or a sanding disk attachment.
Remove Grout From the Tiles
Grout is used between tiles to create a solid, seamless connection. While grout can be a handy space-saving tool, it’s also one of the most difficult parts of tile repair. A few different tools exist for removing grout from tiles, but regardless of what you use, patience and caution are important to avoid breaking or cracking tiles in addition to breaking up old grout. The best approach when trying to remove grout is careful chipping or scraping with a chisel and/or screwdriver.
Prime, Sand, and Paint any Bare reas
Before you repair your tile walls, make sure there are no loose or cracked tiles, chipped grout, or bare patches. If there are, remove them and fill any holes with fresh mortar. Make sure they’re securely set in place and allow them to dry fully before painting. To ensure a smooth finish, sand down all of your tile surfaces using fine-grit sandpaper. This will help give you a smoother finish when it comes time to paint. Once all of your surfaces have been primed and sanded, apply two coats of paint: one thin coat that will act as an undercoat and another thick coat that will serve as a topcoat. Allow each coat to dry completely before applying another layer of paint so that each layer bonds well with its predecessor.
Apply New Grout
To fill spaces between tiles and walls, it’s best to use new grout. To ensure your new grout is properly applied, follow these steps: 1) Ensure all surfaces are free of dirt or debris by wiping them with a damp cloth. 2) Mix equal parts of water and grout and spread a layer of grout onto the tile using a rubber float. 3) Apply additional layers using a damp sponge until you achieve desired thickness.
Re-attach Tiles
Although tiles may appear firmly attached, you’ll often find that they’re only held on by a small amount of silicone adhesive. When tiles start coming loose, clean off all of the old adhesives and apply new sealant with a high-quality applicator. Use scrap pieces of tile or flooring as spacers so that you don’t push them too far out of place while cleaning up the excess adhesive.