How to tear down old wall tile in bathroom for remodel

[ctewmey]

I am looking for advice on how to tear down old wall tile in a standard size bathroom. I am having to replace the bathtub also. I thought I read somewhere that it was easier to cut the drywall and pull it all off and then replace the drywall.

Also, when I do tear down the wall and tile (if this is recommended by you) and remove the old tub. Does the drywall go up first and then the new bathtub installed?

I would greatly appreciate advice on this. I am planning to start this project in a couple of weeks.

Thanks, ctewmey

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Welcome, ctewmey.

Don't be afraid of giving us a first name to use. We're a friendly bunch.

Yes, removing the drywall with tile still on it is far easier than chipping off the tile. And because drywall is inappropriate for installing tile in a wet area, you're getting 2 birds with one stone by removing it all. You'll want a backerboard like Durock, or Permabase, or Hardibacker, or........

Use a flat bar to remove the outer bullnoses of the tile job (if any). Then run a drywall saw along the edge of the remaining tiles on all walls. Use that same drywall saw to cut a few "hand holes" right along the edge of the tiles so you can get a gloved hand in it. Then pull the drywall and tile off the wall. Start with the 2 side walls until they are out. Finish up on the back wall.

The tub goes up against the studs, so you need to take care of the tub installation before your backerboard and drywall patching is done.

[sabianq]

i hope this helps,
I already tore one down, a 1957 bathroom, maybe this might give you some insight, I mover a wall 13 inches back to make a shower /bathroom, I in the middle of framing it. but the tear out took me a little over a 2 weekends, I am only doing this on my free time.

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/...007#post515007

and here is the shutterfly link my wife posted the pictures on.
http://projectbathroom.shutterfly.com/

the framing was not a load bearing wall, you need to assess whether the wall is load bearing, in general, if the wall runs perpendicular to the joists (cross ways) then there is a good chance that the joists are resting on the wall, but is the wall runs parallel to the joists, and it is located between joists, then it is not load bearing.
but you need to know! 100%
otherwise you need to support the joists when you are removing the wall.
you can still move load-bearing walls as long as you support the joists adequately

the tile was set in steel mesh with like 2 inches of concrete and then thinset then tile.

i used a pick to pull the tile off the wall in big chunks
oh and the waste it generates it big, i filled up a 15 yard roll off with an 80 sq ft bathroom and wall.

when i tore out the bathroom, i removed the entire thing, makes it easier to fix problems that you may not notice.

and drywall is cheap