Appreciation post: A broken tile at the community pool taught me a new trick

I was helping fix a cracked tile at the local rec center pool, and the old maintenance guy, Frank, showed me how to use a grout saw to undercut the mortar bed. I had always just tried to pry things out, which usually made a bigger mess. He said to cut a clean line about an eighth of an inch deep first, and the tile popped right out without damaging the ones next to it. Anyone have a different method for pulling a single tile without wrecking the surrounding ones?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivert182mo ago

Ever try using a heat gun first? I used to just go at tiles with a hammer and chisel, which always cracked the neighbors. But heating the tile for a minute or two with a heat gun can soften the adhesive underneath. Then you can slide a putty knife in and pop it out pretty clean. It's way less messy than prying cold tile.

brooke4751mo ago

Huh, that's a good point... I never thought about heat on the adhesive. But you know what works weirdly well on some of those hard to reach spots? A dental pick. Not even kidding. You can get those thin metal ones from a hardware store or even a cheap dental kit. You work it under the broken edge and wiggle it around the old glue lines. It's slow but it's saved me from chipping the good tiles more than once.

thomas.cameron2mo ago

Honestly, the real trick is to check if it's a mud-set or thin-set job first. If it's a mud bed like Frank's, undercutting is the only way that makes sense. But on a modern thin-set job over backer board, you can sometimes just drill a small hole in the center of the broken tile. It relieves the pressure and lets you break the tile inward with a small chisel, so you're not putting force on the edges. Then you clean out the pieces and scrape the old glue. Saves the grout lines around it every time.