We’re no strangers to removing unsightly trees—figurative ones, that is. In our first house the yard transformation included taking out several dead or dangerous trees that a home inspection warned might fall. This project presented a similar removal challenge, but instead of living trees the offenders were tiles in our bathroom:
We’ve never loved the beige-on-beige look in that bathroom. Most of the tiles are neutral enough to fade into the background, but one border stood out—the repeat tree sketch that runs along all four walls. Every time we walked in we could hear the opening chant from The Lion King playing in our heads. (Yes, we were humming it through this whole project.)
Tile isn’t permanent, and replacing a few tiles is a common way to update a space when individual tiles are broken or simply don’t match your style. We debated options and eventually chose clear glass subway tiles—glossy, slightly reflective, and a modern take on classic white subway tile. They were the ideal size to replace the entire border and would help freshen the room alongside other beige-to-white changes we’d already made, like painting off-white trim and swapping out the beige toilet. Held against the old border, the glass tile instantly modernized the look—tiny blue cast in some photos comes from reflections in the room, but the tiles are clear glass and pick up surrounding colors.
After checking local tile shops and big-box stores, we found these at The Tile Shop, where we’d picked up materials for other projects. With a 10% discount code we only needed about $50 worth of tile to redo the entire border. The shopping trip was quick—except for repeatedly peeling Clara away from demo displays. She loves crawling into the fake showers and even lying down in them, which became a running joke we called “The Crime Scene.”
Although the tile itself was affordable, the cost climbed once we factored in the tool needed to cut out the old border: a Dremel MultiMax and a grout-cutting attachment. The tool and the specialty head ran about $130, but we treated it as a gift and an investment—it’s versatile and has already been useful on other projects, so it wasn’t a one-off expense.
We were a little nervous at first, but the Dremel was straightforward. We attached the grout-cutting head, turned it on, and guided the oscillating blade slowly into the grout line. John tried it first, then I gave it a go. The attachment cut grout effectively without aggressively scratching adjacent tiles, so slips weren’t catastrophic. The grout joint also acted as a natural guide, helping keep a straight line as we worked.
After scoring the grout around a tile, we expected the tile to pop free easily. Instead the tile chipped and came off in pieces—one shard even nicked my neck. Thankfully we wore safety glasses, so our eyes were protected. John carefully used a screwdriver and hammer to pry at the edges, and eventually got under the first tile.
More prying and tapping revealed one tile removed, and dozens more to go. The photos show the tile appeared to be applied over drywall rather than cement board. It’s not ideal, but because this is the wall beside the toilet and not the shower wall, we decided it didn’t warrant tearing everything down to replace the substrate.
Yes, the process was messy.
The rows that had been set with thinset on cement came off more easily than those on drywall, so the work sped up a bit as we went. Cutting grout still took more time than we expected, but progress was steady.
By the end of Clara’s nap—about two and a half hours—we’d removed the entire border without further injuries. High fives all around. We did get the wall and floor pretty messy, but after sweeping, wiping down, and a quick shower in the hall bath the room was ready for the new tile.
We consider completing a project in one nap a small victory. We still had to prep and install the replacement tiles, so we saved that for the next day once a few finishing touches and photos were ready. Have you tackled tile removal yourself? Any tips for grout cutting or favorite tools you recommend?