mosaic tile removal HELP PLEASE!

[Mother1ship]

two years ago I bought a Morgan OI 41 ketch. love the boat, but it was owned previously by someone who, bless his heart, had never owned a sailboat. And he decided to remove the cheap fabric from all bulkheads (understandable) and replace it with mosaic tile. Real small little tiles like you find in gas station restrooms, the little one-inch ones that come in a 12 x 12 sheet. they are EVERYWHERE! behind the galley, the nav station, filling the walls of the aft stateroom and I cannot take it anymore.

Can anyone tell me the best way to remediate this abomination to boats? I estimate i have a total of 20 square feet of the stuff scattered all over the boat, on most bulkheads and inside hull walls. Assuming i can get that OFF, i need recommendations for teak strips or something cheaper to replace it with.

plan B would be to put wood strips over top of the tile, what do you think about that? Attaching them would be challenging, but do you see any other problems with that plan?

[a64pilot]

Tile can be removed rather easily.
However it’s almost certain that the veneer under it is trashed, so your looking at replacing the veneer, which isn’t all that hard either and will come out looking gorgeous. It will look like a new boat, and you can choose the veneer of course.
I wouldn’t consider trying to veneer tile

[Lake-Effect]

I expect that the tiles are glued down. Sometimes it pries up easily with careful use of a putty knife. If it was the usual tile adhesive, heating the tiles with a heat gun before trying to pry may help to loosen the adhesive.


Pick an out of the way area to try to pry some up, which will answer the question of how they're attached. If the PO used epoxy or 5200, God help you...


In any case, the surface underneath will probably be trashed as a64 mentioned. and you will have to replace the veneer.


ps - if the tile was done neatly around the galley area, i would probably leave it.

[Mother1ship]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. At least gives me a starting point...

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Mother1ship

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. At least gives me a starting point...

You're welcome.


Here's some advice for tile removal in the home, which might also apply to your boat.

[stormalong]

As lake-effect said, if the tiles were applied using tile mastic they can be removed by softening the glue with a heat gun. This will be a very slow process and must be done with the hatches open. The fumes given off from the heated mastic are at best noxious, at worst deadly. Once you have some of the tile off, while the mastic is still hot, scrape as much of it off the bulkhead as you can. This will be a very slow process. In residential tile removal it is faster to remove the drywall and replace it than removing the tile from the drywall.

[Cheechako]

Yes, usually mastic. You can break them off with a rigid blade and hammer, softening with heat may help although tile resists heat super well. Just get to work and try a spot!

[Bycrick]

Or you might try a Fein Multitool. They have a hardened steel scraper blade available which might make it a simple, if not quick, job.

[Seymore]

The standard glue for floor tile is a rubber glue. The solvent for that is a benzene, like WD-40. Perhaps WD-40 will dissolve the glue on your wall tiles so they can be pried off.

[Mother1ship]

That k you very much, sailing friends, for the responses.

[Aeolus6]

The tile removal issue is an interesting problem/question.

Phosphoric acid is used industrially to etch floor surfaces covered in glazed tile.

I wonder if etching the tiles would provide sufficient tooth for an industrial adhesive to adhere veneer or laminate over the tiles, rather than having to remove them.
A test area would answer the question?

[Mother1ship]

Interesting idea. I could fill the grout lines, and veneer would have a smooth surface for adherence...

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Mother1ship

two years ago I bought a Morgan OI 41 ketch. love the boat, but it was owned previously by someone who, bless his heart, had never owned a sailboat. And he decided to remove the cheap fabric from all bulkheads (understandable) and replace it with mosaic tile. Real small little tiles like you find in gas station restrooms, the little one-inch ones that come in a 12 x 12 sheet. they are EVERYWHERE! behind the galley, the nav station, filling the walls of the aft stateroom and I cannot take it anymore.

Can anyone tell me the best way to remediate this abomination to boats? I estimate i have a total of 20 square feet of the stuff scattered all over the boat, on most bulkheads and inside hull walls. Assuming i can get that OFF, i need recommendations for teak strips or something cheaper to replace it with.

plan B would be to put wood strips over top of the tile, what do you think about that? Attaching them would be challenging, but do you see any other problems with that plan?

In the remodeling biz, this is usually accomplished with a light duty chipper gun and scraper blade - should take it off like butter. If you decide to buy one, I'd suggest one with a standard 1/2" chuck so you can find bits for it anywhere. Most of these are triple mode which means they can also be used as a hammer drill or straight drill. Expect to pay less than three hundred for a good Bosch. DO NOT try and use a jack hammer as they're extremely heavy and hard to control in tight spaces (meaning you'll probably destroy your wall in the process)

[atlroofman]

Originally Posted by Mother1ship

two years ago I bought a Morgan OI 41 ketch. love the boat, but it was owned previously by someone who, bless his heart, had never owned a sailboat. And he decided to remove the cheap fabric from all bulkheads (understandable) and replace it with mosaic tile. Real small little tiles like you find in gas station restrooms, the little one-inch ones that come in a 12 x 12 sheet. they are EVERYWHERE! behind the galley, the nav station, filling the walls of the aft stateroom and I cannot take it anymore.

Can anyone tell me the best way to remediate this abomination to boats? I estimate i have a total of 20 square feet of the stuff scattered all over the boat, on most bulkheads and inside hull walls. Assuming i can get that OFF, i need recommendations for teak strips or something cheaper to replace it with.

plan B would be to put wood strips over top of the tile, what do you think about that? Attaching them would be challenging, but do you see any other problems with that plan?

Forget about removal unless it is a weight consideration. Attach Teak over the top with a structural sealant so humidity will not be a concern. I would use NP1 one part urithane sealant. But do not stay on the boat for 24 hrs after install while sealant is flashing.

[keyway]

Hammer and chisel. I have been using a diamabrush to remove everything from timbers. Should work well to remove that remaining mastic prior to refinishing