removing tile mastic from plaster walls
 

Remodeling the kitchen (due to an addition and a door and window
elimination) and now have more cabinet and countertop area. I built the
new cabinets and refaced the old. Now I need to remove the ceramic tile
from the walls (countertop to bottom of cabinets). The walls are plaster
and I like the tile but cannot match the color for newly created areas
as the house was built in the 50's. I like the look of tile between the
countertop and cabinets.

I have have read about tiling over existing tile. Has anyone one done
that? Results?

If I end up having to remove the old tile, does anyone know how to take
the tile adhesive off the plaster wall? Heat gun and scrape?

Has anyone done this? Maybe remove the old mastic and add 1/4 inch
backerboard to even out the gouges I'll probably get from removing the
mastic?

I've been to tile stores but the sales people only know how to sell tile
and have been of no help.

Thanks, Jane

If I end up having to remove the old tile, does anyone know how to
take
the tile adhesive off the plaster wall? Heat gun and scrape?

Heat gun should work.
Good Luck!
-David

In article . com, "Dave" wrote:


If I end up having to remove the old tile, does anyone know how to
take
the tile adhesive off the plaster wall? Heat gun and scrape?

Heat gun should work.

But make sure to have adequate ventilation. The fumes from that stuff are
obnoxious.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

The heat gun is worth a try, but I had a house built in 1966 that I
tried to remove the tiles and cement from both the bathroom and kitchen
to no avail. I tried every concievable option, and in the end the
damage the drywall was just too great in all cases. It was just easier
to cut out the old drywall and refit fresh drywall in. This may sound
a bit daunting at first, but I can guarentee in the end it will be
easier than taking the tiles off unless of course we are only talking
about a handful of tiles.

clipped

I have have read about tiling over existing tile. Has anyone one done
that? Results?

Not exactly - we have 35 y/o metal tile on backsplash over cooktop in
our kitchen, which apparently was installed to last forever :o) Paint
was fading, and repaint and ripping out tile not attractive ideas. We
considered ceramic tile over it, but I don't like greasy grout. We used
contact cement, same as contractor used on other areas, and covered it
with neutral color laminate (same type as counter tops), then installed
textured glass over that, held in place and sealed up tight with clear
silicone caulk. We had the glass cut, edges ground, then tempered.
Looks great, cleaning is a snap, and cost about $80 total for that area
of wall. We were "lucky" to get seconds of laminate at HD. When we
first thought of using glass, I considered just a colored glass - or
painting the back side - hung like mirror. When we visited the glass
shop, hubby liked a particular pattern. Since it came only 6' wide with
up/down pattern, we have a seam. Did the seam with clear sil., after
making sure that both pieces were level and flush with each other. The
seam is almost invisible because of the pattern. If we get tired of it,
we can cut the caulk and haul it to the trash. It is about 7' wide,
between counter backsplash to upper cabinet.

I've looked around quite a bit for ideas for using glass, and found zip.
If I had my druthers, I would have used a laminate with more color and
pattern, with perhaps just a wavy glass over it. The glass shop
mentioned one other person who used a green glass which had been
sandblasted - sounded gorgeous. Some clear glass with wire mesh is
pretty cool for "tech" looking kitchen.

I can email a pic, if you like.


If I end up having to remove the old tile, does anyone know how to take
the tile adhesive off the plaster wall? Heat gun and scrape?

Has anyone done this? Maybe remove the old mastic and add 1/4 inch
backerboard to even out the gouges I'll probably get from removing the
mastic?

I've been to tile stores but the sales people only know how to sell tile
and have been of no help.

Thanks, Jane

Would you consider posting on an internet site? It's free. Try
photobucket.com.
Hopefully you camouflage your email address, as spammers troll for addresses
in newsgroups. You can expect to receive an irresistable offer on a fortune
in Nigeria. Some poor fellow needs your money, to get him out of trouble,
and he will then let you share in the fortune that his father, a deposed man
formerly of enormous influence, had hidden somewhere.

"Norminn" wrote
I can email a pic, if you like.