How to Remove Old Layers of Tile in a Hallway

Tile on a Mortar Bed

• 1

  Remove all furniture from the hallway. If you have framed artwork or photographs hanging in the hallway, remove them from the walls. A stray shard of tile could cause serious damage to your belongings, so it is best to keep them out of harm's way.

• 2

  Place an old towel over the tiles and smash them with a sledgehammer. The towel will help to keep broken pieces of tile controlled and prevent personal injury and damage to the hallway.

• 3

  Chisel down through the mortar bed to the tar paper level. Dig in with a flatbar and pry the tile and mortar loose in large chunks. Once you have cleared an initial small area of tile, it should be easy to scrape up the rest with the flatbar.

Tile on Plywood or Cement

• 4

  Prep the hallway by removing all furniture and framed artwork and photographs from the area.

• 5

  Chip out an entire row of tile down the entire length of the hallway using a chisel. Next, chip out a row of tile across the width of the hallway. Make it so the intersection of the two rows is near the middle of the hallway. You should now have the plywood or cement backerboard exposed.

• 6

  Cut through the plywood or cement using a reciprocating saw. Use a 12-inch wood cutting blade for plywood or a carbide grit masonry cutting blade for cement. Before you cut all the way through to the subfloor, pull the saw toward yourself. Cut through the underlayment at a low angle.

• 7

  Insert a flatbar into the cut area and pry up the tile and underlayment. If the backerboard was glued in place, you could damage the subflooring during removal. Damaged panels will need to be replaced.