How to Remove Tile Floor
First, you need a clear floor area to work with. If you’re removing tile flooring from your bathroom, take out the toilet and any pedestal sinks and disconnect all the water pipes or drains that go through the floor. If you don’t know what’s under your ceramic floor tile, you’ll have to do some detective work to find out whether it’s plywood, cement backerboard, or a thick bed of mortar.
Remove Ceramic Tile from a Bed of Mortar
If it’s a mortar bed:
Remove Ceramic Tile from Plywood
If the tile is stuck to plywood, the strategy is a little different.
Removing Tile Attached to Cement Backerboard
Tile that’s attached to cement backerboard needs the same kind of treatment as tile stuck to plywood.
Use a recip saw with a carbide-grit masonry cutting blade and work in one small area at a time. If the backerboard is glued down, the plywood subfloor may be damaged during the removal process. Any panels that are damaged while removing the ceramic floor tiles will have to be ripped out and replaced.
