A cracked tile in the bathroom, kitchen or laundry can make an entire room feel tired. While it can look unappealing, a cracked tile is no reason to commit to a full scale renovation when everything else is in perfect working order. Simply replacing the broken tile can work wonders.
This is an easy DIY job you can definitely tackle yourself, but be warned: the hardest part is finding a replacement tile to match the existing ones!
Gather your supplies
- Multi-tool with diamond segment blade
- Replacement tiles, to suit
- Tile adhesive
- Grout
- Drop sheet
- Pencil
- Hammer
- Chisel
- Tile cutter
- Tile nibblers
- Trowel
- Rubber mallet
- Rubber pointing trowel
- Tile spacers
- Float
- Soft sponge
- Soft dry cloth
- White silicone
- Spray bottle
- Mild detergent
Here’s how
Step 1
Spread drop sheet on floor or bench. Use pencil to mark up tiles to be removed.
Step 2
Use multi-tool to cut away grout between tiles to be removed. Also clean up edges of surrounding tiles.
Step 3
With chisel flat against wall, tap end of chisel with hammer to loosen tiles and remove them from wall. Clean up wall with chisel so it is smooth and flat. Brush away dust.
Step 4
Mark up any tiles that need to be trimmed. For a large cut, mark up tile to be cut and use tile cutter to score in required location. Use snapping mechanism on tile cutter to neatly break tile in scored location
Step 5
For short cuts, mark up tile to be cut and use tile nibblers to trim. You could score tile first with tile cutter and then follow scored line with tile nibblers.
Step 6
Prepare tile adhesive following product instructions. Use trowel to apply adhesive to back of tile.
Step 7
For those tiling jobs where tiles have an exposed edge, as here, position new tile so cut edge faces neighbouring tiles. Press tile in position, then tap with rubber mallet to achieve a good bond.
Step 8
Repeat for all remaining tiles, including any feature tiles. Keep tiles separated evenly using tile spacers. Let dry, then remove spacers.
Step 9
Prepare grout following pack instructions. Use float to apply grout to tiles, forcing it into gaps. When joints are filled in 1 area, hold pointing trowel at a 90° angle to face of tiles, scrape off excess grout and transfer it to surrounding joints. (You do not need to fill gap between benchtop and bottom row of tiles.)
Repeat until all joints are grouted. Leave for about 20 minutes to part-dry.
Step 10
Wipe away excess grout using a damp sponge, taking care not to remove grout from between tiles. Keep a bucket of fresh water nearby and rinse out sponge frequently. Leave grout to dry.
Step 11
Remove haze of grout from tiles by polishing with soft dry cloth.
Step 12
Fill gaps at top of splashback, along exposed edge and counter top, using white silicone. To do this, apply a neat bead of silicone, spray with a solution of water and mild detergent, then wipe away excess silicone using an old plastic card or your finger. Let dry.
Tip: For best results along a counter top, remove an existing run of sealant, clean up bench, then replace with a new bead of silicone.
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