How to remove glass tile...

[surferguy]

I used the white adhesive for a small section of glass tile. I am not satisfied with the job and I wish to re do it.

Questions... Can I salvage the tile?

How do I remove the tile from the adhesive? Would a heat gun work?

Should I just rip them down and accept that I effed it up and start over...

[Dan02]

Well usually if you put down tile right, it ain't coming up again, atleast in anything that would resemble reasonable shape for reuse.

[surferguy]

thats the problem, I know I put them down right... but for lack of getting into to many details, they need to come out

[SportsJunky]

I'm in the midle of doing the same thing right now. Is it glass mosaic on a mesh backing? Are they solid tiles like a 3x3 or something? How long ago did they go up? The white mastic you used stays pliable for a day or two and you can usually slide a putty knife underneath and work out the tile.

If the adhesive has dried then you may need to bust one or two to get a starting point and then pop out the rest. Put them in a bucket of water for a few hours. This should soften up the mastic enough for you to scrape/peel it off the glass.

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by surferguy

thats the problem, I know I put them down right... but for lack of getting into to many details, they need to come out

I need home reno nightmare details.

[Frequitude]

[surferguy]

ok details..
The tiles are on the back of an island facing a living room. They are 1 inch x 1 inch glass back with a mesh. I have schluting all around the tile. The tiles were placed on the back of a ikea cabinet (the flimsy 1/4 stuff), what I didn't notice was the minor bow in the backing until I finished. my client is now worried that if it was bumped the grout could break.

Status: Tile complete 2 weeks ago, no grouting has occurred. I am worried about breaking the backing on the cabinet. That is why I was hoping that maybe a heat gun would work. I now realize I should have put another piece of hardboard down to stiffen and straighten out the bow...but here we are.

Thoughts? More details?

[SportsJunky]

I don't think heating the adhesive will work as its acrylic but you could give it a shot. What about using epoxy grout in the joints? Pretty tough to crack epoxy grout in a residential application.

[surferguy]

never heard of an exopy grout, Home depot or rona? specialty shop?

[SportsJunky]

They all have them but you may need to go to a tile distributor to get any nonstandard type colors. Laticrete, Custom or Mapei would be the brands I would stick with.

[zarrell]

Why not brace the cabinet's back from the inside of the cabinet? If you could stiffen that your problem would be solved.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by surferguy

ok details..
The tiles are on the back of an island facing a living room. They are 1 inch x 1 inch glass back with a mesh. I have schluting all around the tile. The tiles were placed on the back of a ikea cabinet (the flimsy 1/4 stuff), what I didn't notice was the minor bow in the backing until I finished. my client is now worried that if it was bumped the grout could break.

Status: Tile complete 2 weeks ago, no grouting has occurred. I am worried about breaking the backing on the cabinet. That is why I was hoping that maybe a heat gun would work. I now realize I should have put another piece of hardboard down to stiffen and straighten out the bow...but here we are.

Thoughts? More details?

Bro, you took a risk that didn't pay off. Fix it properly. You can't affix anything to a 1/4" substrate. Tear the whole thing off the cabinet and start fresh. You'll make no money on this, but you'll bank goodwill. Trying to save 1X1 tiles in front of a client is worse than a gas station employee giving you $.99 change instead of a loonie. Just do it right this time and forget about it and hope that he acknowledges that you fixed it and maybe sends some business your way.
And next time someone asks you to stick anything to an IKEA anything, get something in writing that you take no responsibility for the fact that they build everything out of particleboard.

[surferguy]

^^ good points. I will do the right thing.

Thanks for the help