Removing tile shower walls and floor

[Mike]

Can someone walk me through the steps I need to take to completely detile my shower and remove the drywall behind it?

We don't need to worry about saving the tiles, drywall or shower pan, all are being replaced by a professional tilesetter.

But we want to do the demo work ourselves to save money. I know we need to get down to studs and, as I understand it, the subfloor beneath the current shower pan, which was probably built 20 years ago.

I suppose the easy answer is to just take a hammer and prybar and start to work, but I've learned that easy answers aren't always the right ones in home repair. I want to make sure we don't damage the plumbing, and I don't have any idea at all about how I should go about removing the floor tiles, which are set pretty solidly into whatever was used beneath them.

Thanks so much!

[Roger Taylor]

For the walls, I would use a small cold chisel to carefully upend a few tiles, then cut thru the sheetrock with utility knife, then a sheetrock handsaw. That way you can locate the studs. Once done, you can use a 12-16 inch Superbar or other prybar and and begin prying the tile and sheetrock off bit by bit where it is nailed. Keep a flashlight handy to look around in dark spaces to make sure you aren't near pipes or wiring. Leave the floor to later. The floor tiles may be imbedded in a mortar base over a plastic or metal shower pan. If you have a crawlspace, you'll need to get under there to see how to proceed, and to see how the pan is attached to the floor. From below, you may be able to pound the mortar/pan loose, then pull up the pan from above.

[BocesLib]

BIG HAMMER!

[Mike]

Thanks, Roger. The shower is actually on the second floor, and the floor tiles are imbedded in a mortar base. We've pulled off some of the wall tiles along the floor, and we can see the degraded mortar, a wire mesh support and behind that, the vinyl liner.

Given that, suggestions for removal of the floor, anyone?

[Joe S]

I'm not sure what you're looking for.

It's hard and it's heavy. You're going to have to pound it into submission. A wide chisel helps. Mine's about 4" wide and helped alot.

At least the debris will be easy to dispose of. I had to haul mine UPstairs.

Joe

[G Henslee]

Mike,

Hammer and bar. > Thanks, Roger. The shower is actually on the second floor, and the