Repair and reglazing of bathroom tile

Melody Jacobs
by Melody Jacobs
I have 1950's tile in my bathroom - that great green and yellow (thank heaven it wasn't my neighbor's pink)! My son and his girlfriend were horsing around one day and slammed the door into it breaking one tile that was already cracked and another below it. Now while I know it was my bad for 20 years ago not putting a door stop there but now I'm faced with the dilemma of how to fix it. I'm getting ready to sell in the next 6 months so had realized I'd probably be better served by having the tile reglazed in a more neutral color. Plus the grout needs replaced. Keeping in mind that my strengths lie more in the destruction end of things, I'm trying to figure the best way to fix all these things. Are those old tiles a pretty standard size? Should I chip out the old tiles myself? Should I remove the old grout and tile and then hire out the reglazing and then regrout? Whats the best way to attack my project? Thanks all.
  11 answers
  • Kathy Knight Kathy Knight on Apr 16, 2014
    About 10 years ago, we had a company re-glaze our white tub. It looked great for a while but was very hard to clean and nicked easily. I would get advice from the company you choose-and maybe replace it. Then my husband tackled the bathroom, the tiles were only on the shower and some were getting ready to fall off, so he tackled that job. He also re-tiled that (with some advice from The Tile Store) and it turned out great!
  • Milicent Borre Milicent Borre on Apr 16, 2014
    Hard to say without seeing it, but if you can't find the tile to match to replace the tile sounds like a total redo of the tile. Can you post a picture?
  • Debbie Debbie on Apr 16, 2014
    On the internet are the instructions on painting the tile..replace the two broken pieces with whatever fits the size and paint them all..you also could regrout..they also have a paint for that
  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Apr 17, 2014
    Check on line and see if you can find a restoration company or a recycling company in your area...you might be able to find a couple of tiles. I have heard that re-glazing is not the best way to go (unless it has been improved drastically over the past couple of years!) As for the yellow, play into it with white. And put in some molding. I have actually seen where beadboard was glued over tile, and a small shelf put at the top where the different levels in the wall meet. It turns out STUNNING! I could not afford to redo 2 bathrooms so I worked with paint. My 70s green is now back in.
    • See 2 previous
    • Carmen Carmen on Feb 07, 2015
      @Jeanette S Lowes has a wall paper that resembles beadboard, add thin chair rail molding paint & it looks like the real deal with no loss of space.
  • A permanent fix for outdated ceramic tile would be a concrete type overlay. Replace the missing tile with any color of tile that fits. Prime the tile and apply an overlay with a trowel, you can trowel very thin or you can apply thicker (@1/4 in) and stamp, stain with your color of choice and seal... I use this and sell this product...http://flex-c-ment.com/images/data%20sheets/Sprayflex_mix.pdf
  • Lynne Reynolds Lynne Reynolds on Apr 17, 2014
    To replace the 2 broken tiles only, you can use a chisel on the grout lines & gently tap w/ a hammer around each side. Tape the good tiles surrounding the bad ones to protect them from scratches. The chisel can gradually be tapped under the bad ones to loosen & remove them. Save them for size & color. If there is a ceramic shop (art studio) in your area, they should be able to make & match the glaze for you. You can also take the pieces to a retail store that carries ceramic tile or try online. Google vintage or antique tile salvage & send a small sample & size if they think they have it. Use a tile mastic that spreads on w/ a trowel to replace, clean grout area of debris & let dry. Buy a premixed grout to match the existing. Wear some playtex gloves & scoop out some grout & gently rub into joints. Wipe away grout that gets on tile face w/ a damp sponge being careful not to remove too much from the grouted spaces between tiles. fill in any other missing grout the same way. Rinse & squeeze the sponge in a bucket as needed but don't dump it down your drains when you're finished. It's best to cleanup w/ a hose outside. Done counters, floors & tables this way too.
    • Melody Jacobs Melody Jacobs on Apr 19, 2014
      @Lynne Reynolds Thank you so much Lynne. I hadn't thought of saving the pieces for matching and using an art studio to match the color. Thanks for the tutorial on the whole process because as you can probably guess, I also do have missing grout. Thanks so much.
  • Mitziblueyes Mitziblueyes on Apr 18, 2014
    About ten years ago I primed my "50's pink" bathroom w slick surface primer. Sponge painted w 3 colors of paint and the put a single coat of poly on it. We didn't have the funds to redo. The paint started to chip in shower area about 1.5 yrs ago, the painted I saved worked fine for touch ups. But now it's time to redo. If I go this route again (no have the money but being a Scrooge on spending it) I'm thinking I'll cut out group, paint again, poly 3coats then grout!! My whole bathroom is tiled in shower and 4"up wall.
    • Melody Jacobs Melody Jacobs on Apr 19, 2014
      @Mitziblueyes So you grouted after painting and poly? Thanks this sounds actually doable. Since I'm going to have to replace a couple of tiles, painting the whole thing makes it tie in.
  • Mitziblueyes Mitziblueyes on Apr 18, 2014
    (Sorry for typos -5:30am!)*Now have money, but Scrooge! Cut out grout! (I'm addicted to this site y'all are fantastic!! )
  • Melody Jacobs Melody Jacobs on Apr 19, 2014
    That's actually a good idea. I remember renovating my Kansas City house and the tile was set in concrete. That was a nightmare to get out and this is the same darned stuff.
  • Carmen Carmen on Feb 07, 2015
    Time intensive but you can experiment with tile repair kits, check for online videos of how to. Removing grout and caulk is not difficult, neither is re-caulking and re-grouting. To finish it off the lines can be painted. Your son and his girlfriend can contribute labor since they chipped the tile.
  • Debi53 Debi53 on Jun 01, 2015
    We had hideous traffic light yellow tiles on our shower walls. We also had ugly white worn-out melamine counter tops. We had a company that does a chemical bonding spray to redo ours. You could replace the broken tile with any color. It doesn't matter what your old color(s) are. Our shiny yellow tiles now look like textured stone. I had this done on all three of my baths' sink counters and tub surrounds. It has been 4 years and still looks brand new. They are in & out in a 2 day process & leave no mess to clean up. Easiest redo I have ever done.