How to Remove Old Shower Tile From a Concrete Slab

Although tile is a very durable floor covering material, it can chip and discolor over time. When tile is used to cover a shower floor, moisture can exacerbate the problem by seeping into minute crevices within the tile and small cracks within the grout. Tile is commonly installed over an underlying wood floor, but it is typically installed over a concrete slab when used as a shower floor covering. The process of removing the tile from the slab is relatively straightforward, but it can take a considerable amount of time.

Safety glasses
Cold chisel
Hammer
Crowbar
Long-handled floor scraper

Instructions

- 1
  Chip away the grout that surrounds any one tile with a cold chisel. Drive the chisel into the grout at a slight angle with a hammer.
- 2
  Position the chisel in the center of the tile from which you removed the grout, then strike the chisel with the hammer to crack the tile into several pieces.
- 3
  Pry the tile fragments off the floor with a crowbar.
- 4
  Position the crowbar against the bottom of an adjoining tile, then strike the opposite end of the crowbar with the hammer to drive the crowbar toward the tile. The tile will chip into pieces as you drive the crowbar into the tile. Remove the remaining tiles using this method. The goal here is remove the majority of each tile piece.
- 5
  Remove the small tile fragments from the slab by pushing a long-handled floor scraper across the surface. Push the blade of the scraper across the slab in the same manner as if you were using a push broom.

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