removing tiles then repainting

[AmandaAnne]

I want to remove the old tiles in my kitchen and paint in their place. Can anyone give me suggestions about the best way to avoid removing excess plaster from the wall, and how to remove the old adhesive and smooth down the wall ready for painting. Many thanks

 

[Davey]

This is a messy job - I know I have just finished my kitchen!

I found the best way was to use a large flat scraper and tap it behind the tiles with a hammer. It should then be possible to lever the tiles from the wall - wear safety glasses and gloves as the tiles can shatter. The difficulty depends on how well the tiles have been put on in the first place! On three of my walls the tiles came off very easily with little damage to the plaster. Whether the fourth wall had been tiled by someone different or whether a different adhesive had been used I will never know but it was a nightmare resulting in lots of damage to the wall!

Having removed the tiles any adhesive can be removed using the same scraper and any holes filled. If you are going to paint the walls then you need to make sure that the finish is perfect as paint will not hide any inperfections. In this respect it may be easier if you were to paper the wall or retile. Hope this helps