How do I replace a broken tile?
Getting the old one out without damaging its neighbours, and matching what you cannot buy any more.
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Time
- 1 hr 30 min
- Read
- 2 min
- Safety
- caution
Short answer
Rake out the grout all round first, then break the tile from the centre outwards. Going straight at it with a chisel takes the neighbouring tiles with it.
The difficulty is never the new tile — it is removing the old one without turning one broken tile into four. Cutting it free before breaking it is what protects the ones around it.
Safety
What you'll need
- Replacement tile
- Grout rake or multi-tool
- Cold chisel and hammer
- Tile adhesive
- Grout
- Eye protection
- Drill (optional)
Step by step
- Find a matching tile first.Before removing anything. Check a box in the loft, the original supplier, or a tile shop's discontinued stock. If nothing matches, consider taking one from behind an appliance and putting the mismatched one there.
- Rake out the grout all round.The critical step. A grout rake or an oscillating multi-tool, right down to the tile edges. This isolates the tile so the break does not travel into its neighbours.
- Drill some relief holes.Several holes in the middle of the tile with a tile bit. It gives the tile somewhere to collapse into and greatly reduces the force needed.
- Break from the centre outwards.Cold chisel in the middle, working outwards towards the edges. Never start at an edge — the force goes sideways into the tile next to it.
- Scrape the bed back to a flat surface.All the old adhesive off. A new tile on a lumpy bed sits proud and cracks. This is the fiddliest part and it decides whether the repair is invisible.
- Test the fit dry.The new tile should sit flush with its neighbours with even gaps. Adjust the bed before any adhesive.
- Butter the tile and set it.Adhesive on the back of the tile rather than the wall for a single replacement. Press in, check it is flush, and use spacers or wedges to hold the gaps.
- Grout after the adhesive has set.At least 24 hours. Match the grout colour — new grout against old is often more visible than the tile itself. Seal it if it is in a wet area.
Tips
- Always keep spare tiles from a job, in the loft, labelled. Ranges are discontinued constantly and this is the only reliable way to match later.
- New grout is brighter than old. Grouting the whole wall, or at least the whole affected area, sometimes looks better than one fresh line.
- For a hairline crack rather than a break, a tile repair kit may be less disruptive than replacement.
Questions people ask
How do I remove a tile without breaking the others?
Rake the grout out all round first to isolate it, drill relief holes in the middle, and break from the centre outwards. Starting at an edge is what damages neighbours.
What if I cannot match the tile?
Take a matching tile from a hidden area — behind a washing machine or inside a cupboard — and put the odd one there instead.