# Removing Ceramic Tiles from Hardwood Floors **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793 "2004-11-20T03:34:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/1 "2004-11-20T03:34:32Z")
Not sure if this is better suited to IMHO, but– The previous owner of my house installed ceramic tiles over the hardwood floors in the living room, dining room, and hallway. What is the best way to remove the tiles and mastic without ruining the hardwood? Will the hardwood still be useable with some refinishing? Any suggestions will help. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/2 "2004-11-20T03:42:48Z")
As for as I know they will have to be scraped up. As long as any gouges made when removing the tiles aren’t very deep, the floors can be sanded smooth and refinished. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/3 "2004-11-20T03:50:53Z")
Personally, I think you’re screwed. Unless they did a piss poor job of tile setting, the wood is going to be quite damaged by the removal. That’s been my experience, anyways. No magic solutions here. Chisling at them would maybe cause less damage than prying them up. Use a very wide chisle and go at it. There will probably be a lot of mastic sticking to the wood in places. All of it will have to come up if you are going to try to refinish the wood. You might look into some engineered wood flooring after the tile is up. USE EYE PROTECTION ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/4 "2004-11-20T03:54:29Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > USE EYE PROTECTION Speaking from experience? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/5 "2004-11-20T03:55:16Z")
Also, try to get as parallel to the floor as possible with the chisle to minimize wood damage. You’re basically trying to get under the tile as you chisle, but avoid the urge to pry up. Let the chisle do the work. To start, you may have to break a tile, but you might find a real loose one, or an edge where it meets carpet or a threshold or something. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/6 "2004-11-20T03:58:10Z")
> [@Heart On My Sleeve](#): > > Speaking from experience? ☹ Nope. Number one rule of demolition: Protect yourself. Safety glasses, gloves, strong clothes, work footwear, sometimes a hard hat. Better safe than sorrry. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/7 "2004-11-20T05:06:14Z")
Be aware that this is going to be **VERY DUSTY**. Imagine the dustiest you think it’s going to be and then multiply that by a billion, honestly. If you can, try taping off that room, and turn off the air. Wear masks. When we took up the tile in my parents’ SMALL bathroom, there was dust all over the house, even upstairs where the air wasn’t even running and the doors were closed. It was truly amazing. Maybe it’s not always like that, but I highly reccommend the masks and the taping at the very least. It was insidious fine dust and if you have any kind of breathing problem it may be very difficult for you to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/8 "2004-11-20T14:53:35Z")
You said “ceramic tiles and mastic”. Mastic is a term for a thick tarry glue, whereas certamic tiles are normally laid with a concrete-like material called mortar or thinset. Do you really have ceramic tiles laid with mastic, or did you just use the wrong word? Or is the floor still 100% intact and you don’t know what’s under the tile yet? You’d want to use a different technique depending on which you’ve got. Certainly there’s a huge difference between trying to get cement off of wood and trying to get tar off of wood. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/9 "2004-11-20T16:06:45Z")
> [@Heart On My Sleeve](#): > > The previous owner of my house installed ceramic tiles over the hardwood floors in the living room, dining room, and hallway. AUGH! AUGH! AUGH! Oh my God, the horror. Oh, sorry… that just about killed me… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/10 "2004-11-20T16:26:02Z")
You’d be better off to sell the house and buy one with the floor you desire. Your time and effort (1000 hours, maybe more ) will yield little if any economic benefit when it comes time to sell. Furthermore, you have no guarantee that the underlying hardwood (which was covered for a reason) will yield a satisfactory result. Splinters. deep gouges etc. Is there a discreet area that you can test out your procedure and determine whether to continue or not ? ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ceramic-tiles-from-hardwood-floors/275793/11 "2004-11-20T22:07:58Z")
Perhaps I’ll just have the contractors do all that. We do have contractors, but we are looking at different ways of saving time/money. We wouldn’t lay anything down ourselves, we thought we might be able to tear up the ceramic ourselves. Sounds like a hassle, though. The husband is at Home Depot buying supplies, so I guess at this point, I really don’t have a choice :rolleyes: I personally don’t know what’s under there. My husband basically wrote that message through me. Thanks for all the info.