Reusing wall tile

[prohbe]

I recently had an acquaintance tile my bathroom - While I have seen him do some really splendid work - in this case he completely botched it. (Yes, I paid him the same as a general contractor.)

Many of the tiles are chipped or unevenly cut even though cut with a Wet Saw The tile is pretty high end Italian - I believe marble with ceramic backing. The tile is placed over Cement Board which I put up.

I probably could have done a better job than what he did and am fairly dogmatic about wanting it done "RIGHT" so my thought is to pull off both the tiles and cement board and have a good Tile person redo it from scratch. Is there any way of reusing the tile that are still in good shape. If so what is the best technique for getting the glue/grout off. Or do I just buy several thousand dollars of new tile?

Thank you
Peter

[beejay1124]

to get the tiles off - go over them with a steam wallpaper stripper----steep the tiles in warm water and this will help you get the adhesive off

[buildersmate]

The surface of tiles are impervious to water (even hot water) so I'm not sure about the above. It has never worked for me like that.
It is sometimes possible to get them off by mechanical means - a bolster in the crack between the tile and the backing board but it depends how well they were stuck down in the first place. This has only ever worked for me with tiles that were stuck onto a plaster surface that hadn't dried out properly - and hence they came off easily.
As for reusing them, I have ever only tried this to reclaim a few tiles that were otherwise impossible to match (discontinued). It was a very dusty job - sanding enough of the backing adhesive away to produce a flat enough surface to reuse.
Sorry, but I think that this is a bridge too far.

[tezestwing]

I think your only salvation is that the adhesive may still be curing so you may scape off or if you have a angle grinder with a grizzly disc to grind it off very dusty though! I needed a couple of old match tiles recently with adhesive still on the back and I managed to hold in vice and hack sawed down through the adhesive to prevent dust all over, long job though other wise it could be as BM posted hth Tez

[prohbe]

Thanks all, I think this confirms what I knew all along. I will try to see if I can clean up one tile and if it isn't easy then just scrap the project and buy new tile

[alavahalf]

Some years ago my wife kept asking me to tidy up the bathroom...but it was one of those jobs I never got round to..
One day I came home to find my wife had removed all the tiles from our bathroom. walls....hoping that this would encourage me to make a start.
Previous to this some of them had been loose and the whole thing looking a bit shabby....I would have liked to have re-tiled, but at the time we needed to scrimp and save.
Furious at her starting this job, I said we could'nt afford it..she said ''We will re-use the old tiles''....fine...'' Try removing the old grout'' I said....you clean them and I'll fix them...knowing that she would never get the dried grout off.
A couple of days later no more had been said about the tiles..I thought it was all over and I had won.
The following evening I came home from work to find the kitchen table stacked high with our old ceramic tiles all clean and warm..with the backs where the grout is applied, as clean as the day they were made...

''That shut you up'' was her welcome...
''How did you manage that'' I enquired...''Top secret'' she said looking all smug.

What she had done... was put all the tiles carefully in the dustbin, then cover them with water..and leave them for a couple of days...!
The tile does'nt really absorb the water very well ...but the grout does....so the grout came off really easy with a scouring pad after being soaked.
She then dried them outside in the breeze for a day ,and before I came home she popped them in the oven on a low heat.
''Very clever''... I said..you think she'd have baked a cake at the same time..!

[prohbe]

That is a great idea certainly worth trying. Thank you.

[RATTER15]

Marble with a ceramic backing? I have never heard of that or even why marble would need a ceramic backing?

Incidentally, I am a qualified marble mason? just a trade I decided to leave many years ago.