"SQLit" wrote in message news:OObQc.1784$Lj.1700@fed1read03...
"Cindy" wrote in message
...
Both of my showers have a valve that sends water either to the shower
head or to the tub nozzle, and both valves are frozen in the wall. The
plumber told me he would have to break the wall in each bathroom. My
question: how do I get the tiles off so that I can reinstall them
after the repair? I can't get any more of these colors and forsee
disaster unless I can somehow preserve every single one of the
existing tiles. One posting in this group, in answer to another
person's question, suggested breaking the tiles off the wall and be
sure to put a blanket below (presumably so the tiles won't shatter as
they fall). But, how do you get each tile off the wall in one piece
without cracking or chipping it? I would be willing to spend an
entire month with dental floss and solvent sawing away underneath the
tiles to break the seal. Has anyone done this or do you have any
suggestions for how to go about it? Is there any solvent you would
recommend to dissolve the glue that is holding the tile to the walls?
Also, how do I get the grout out? I'm a total novice, but am
absolutely determined to save these tiles somehow. Would like to hear
all suggestions, regardless of how time-consuming. Many thanks!

As stated before what is on the other side of the wall? Come in that way.
There are larger chrome plates made for this purpose.

{Cindy - The other side of the wall is the exterior of the house.
There is no way in from behind.}

As for saving the tile,,,,,,, no such luck in my history. If it comes off
easy it was not installed correctly. Then I would worry about leaks soon to
appear.

I guess you could get a roto zip and cut out each tile separately. Then try
to remove the adhesive from the backing. Then how do you replace the backing
on the wall so that you have a water proof seal from the plumbing?
I would follow the plumbing pros advice. Some valves can be fixed from the
front after they have been dissembled without making the hole any larger.

(Cindy - The plumber did try to fix it from the front after
loosening the cover plate, but couldn't get the valve out. It is
frozen solid, apparently.)