Cleaning old tiles for reuse

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Andy Unique

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I started the easy job of removing old, cracked grout in our shower yesterday so that I could re grout. Unfortunately it turns out that there has been water getting behind those tiles for quite some time and some of the tiles came off revealing that the board underneath is completely shot.

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Live action shot of my day being ruined

I have now pulled off all the tiles, only breaking 2, and started the process of removing the old board (appears to be hardwood plywood in some places, OSB(!) in another so that it can start drying and I can see if the structure of the wall is damaged. This is a massive chore because the screw heads are rusted, full of tile adhesive or both so I've had to gut the board away from the fixings in a lot of places.

Since all the tiles came off in tact I'm thinking about reusing them (potentially adding a band of another colour of tile to free up some to replace the damaged ones). My questions are:
1) Is this a terrible idea, and if so, why?
2) Obviously I need to get the old grout and adhesive off the tiles to reuse them, but how clean do they need to be? Getting off the stuff that stands proud of the tile is pretty easy (I think it's been getting damp for a while) but getting the stuff that's inside the recesses on the back of the tile off is very slow.

Thanks for any advice.

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Glory shot of the disaster. The random holes are to provide a little ventilation until I get to removing the entire board.
 
Ye Gods and small fishes that's an unholy mess!

How fond are you of the tiles?

It'll be a laborious task to clean them all thoroughly to reuse on the same wall.

Are you going to fit aqua boards to suit?
 
It depends on the tile adhesive used, some of it will soften with steam (for example from a steam wallpaper stripper) and then scrape off reasonably easily.
 
Odds said:
Ye Gods and small fishes that's an unholy mess!

How fond are you of the tiles?

It'll be a laborious task to clean them all thoroughly to reuse on the same wall.

Are you going to fit aqua boards to suit?
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Yes, based on some internet research that’s what I’m planning. I’m just concentrating on cleaning the damaged material off at the moment so that whatever’s underneath can dry properly.

Is aqua board the name for a type of plasterboard or is it a brand name?
 
8x4 (12mm)cement board is cheapest, £20 locally,
Tiles can be cleaned after a few weeks soak in a bucket of water to soften adhesive , not recommended though , I prefer large format tiles , less grout line to leak .
For showers shower panel is great alternative and very easy to use and leak free installed correctly .
 
If the existing adhesive is easy to remove, it is likely that someone used a tub of adhesive rather than cement based powder. Soaking the tiles in a bucket for a few hours will soften the adhesive.

A couple of years ago, I had to help a customer remove the day old adhesive from (expemsive) small porcelain floor tiles that had been laid badly. We were able to use chisels to clean them up, but only because the adhesive had not set fully.

If you plan to use a different colour as a border, make sure that they are the same thickness (or thinner).

Edit, I forgot to add that the adhesive on the floor tiles was cement based. Had we waited a few days longer, the tiles would have ended up in a skip.
 
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foxhole said:
For showers shower panel is great alternative and very easy to use and leak free installed correctly .
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That is an excellent idea that I hadn't thought of. I presume it doesn't look as nice as a well tiled shower but appearances are a long way second to 'never bloody leaking again' on my priority list.
 
Sorry but not those horrible tiles. B&Q have 20% off at the moment, Get down there with £100 and pick up some nice modern large format porcelain ones.
 
Andy Unique said:
That is an excellent idea that I hadn't thought of. I presume it doesn't look as nice as a well tiled shower but appearances are a long way second to 'never bloody leaking again' on my priority list.
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Plain white tends to be cheapest .
[GALLERY=media, 102235][/GALLERY]
Or a pattern
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My last two efforts.
 
cdbe said:
Sorry but not those horrible tiles. B&Q have 20% off at the moment, Get down there with £100 and pick up some nice modern large format porcelain ones.
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Plain white are so dull and while i agree the large format tiles are good for effectively covering a large area i always prefer a max of 12x12 and ideally a 6x6 to work with.
 
You can also get an acrylic splashback type backing for bathrooms, or if you have money, use tempered glass.
The template is made with MDF, holes etc drilled, then the shape mapped onto glass and tempered.
The back can be painted before it is glued to the wall.

www.meandmyglass.co.uk

Glass Splashback for Bathrooms & Showers - Me and My Glass

Glass splashbacks can be used in many areas of the home including bathrooms and shower rooms. We provide a made to measure cut size service.
www.meandmyglass.co.uk www.meandmyglass.co.uk
 
Andy Unique said:
That is an excellent idea that I hadn't thought of. I presume it doesn't look as nice as a well tiled shower but appearances are a long way second to 'never bloody leaking again' on my priority list.
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You can also get real stone/slate sheets which are less than 3mm thick. But £2-350 an 8x4.Also in a tile or 4x2’ sheet.
 
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