Bathroom Tile Repair

Nothing can enhance the look of a bathroom more than a beautiful outlay of ceramic tile. Many things can be done with ceramic tile within a bathroom, from a simple tile border around the bathroom to an entire wall covered in ceramic tile. One of the endearing qualities of tile is that when properly maintained, the room will look so clean that it will simply sparkle.

Although tile is very durable it certainly is not indestructible. Sometimes ceramic tile will chip, crack and even completely break after years of use or if there happens to be a defect in manufacture. Replacing broken tile in your bathroom is really no big affair if you take your time and have the right tools to accomplish the task. You'll also need to have a bit of patience when it comes to removing the broken pieces. Of course it makes no difference whether you have ceramic tile, porcelain tile or stone tile. The replacement procedure is exactly the same.

You'll find that there are two things which help to hold the bathroom tile in place. The part that you can see which helps keep the tile in place is the grout, and the other is the adhesive which is underneath the tile. You will have to deal with both of these in order to get the broken or otherwise damaged tile out.

Tools you will need: small chisel, safety goggles, hammer, damp sponge.

First you will need to tackle removing the grout. You can use a small chisel or an awl to scrape the grout from around the damaged tile, being careful not to nick or crack the tiles which surround the broken tile. After you have successfully scraped the grout from around the broken tile, you'll need to use the chisel to get the pieces of the tile out.

Again use caution while doing this as you do not want to break more tiles during your repair project. You should also wear the proper safety equipment while performing this step. Safety goggles are required because no matter what type of tile you are trying to remove, it can splinter and send pieces into your eye.

Now that you have the broken tile and out, you will need to remove as much of the older adhesive as you possibly can. You may use your chisel and a hammer to gently but firmly remove the old adhesive, being careful not to damage the surface underneath.

Okay now hard part is over. It is time to replace the adhesive and set the new tile in its place. Gently tap the tile in while making sure it does not slip one way or the other. Once you have the tile level with the surrounding tiles and in proper alignment, you will need to allow the tile adhesive to completely cure before going on to the next step, which is grouting.

Once the adhesive has completely cured, it is time to place your grout. Be certain that you work the grout down into the grooves surrounding the new tile. Using a damp sponge you can remove any excess grout, and then use your fingers to smooth the channels around the new tile to match the surrounding grout. Consider this project done!