Old tile floors do not remove themselves, and doing it wrong can damage your subfloor, crack neighboring tile, or release hidden asbestos. Demo Diego is San Diego's go-to tile demolition crew, stripping ceramic, porcelain, travertine, slate, and marble tile from kitchens, bathrooms, entryways, and entire homes. Whether you have 100 square feet in a Del Mar condo bathroom or 2,000 square feet across a Rancho Santa Fe estate, our crew delivers dustless tile removal with same-day debris hauling. Call 760-860-8080 to get your flooring project started the right way.
Tile demolition begins with protecting the areas of your home that are not being worked on. We install heavy-duty floor runners in all walkways and plastic dust barriers at every doorway leading to the work zone. Our crew uses ride-on floor scrapers and dust-free tile removal systems for large areas, and hand tools with HEPA-filtered vacuums for tight spaces and edges. The tile, thinset mortar, and cement board underlayment are removed as a unit, exposing the plywood or concrete subfloor beneath. We inspect the subfloor for damage, moisture, and levelness, and flag any issues for your flooring installer. All debris is loaded into our trucks and hauled away the same day, leaving you with a clean, prepped surface ready for new flooring.
Typical turnaround: 1-2 days
Exact pricing depends on project scope, accessibility, and debris volume. We provide free on-site estimates with transparent, all-inclusive pricing — no hidden fees.
Tile removal in San Diego typically costs $3 to $7 per square foot depending on the tile type, adhesive method, and underlayment. A 200-square-foot kitchen floor removal runs about $600 to $1,400. A whole-house tile removal of 1,500 square feet or more ranges from $4,500 to $10,000. Demo Diego provides flat-rate quotes after measuring your space.
Most residential tile removal jobs are completed in one to two days. A single bathroom can be done in a few hours. A full kitchen or living area takes a full day. Whole-house tile removal across 1,500 square feet or more typically takes two days. Our ride-on scrapers remove tile significantly faster than hand methods.
Yes. Thinset mortar left on the subfloor must be removed or ground smooth before new flooring can be installed. On concrete subfloors, we use diamond grinders to remove thinset and leave a flat surface. On plywood subfloors, we scrape the thinset or replace the underlayment entirely, depending on which approach gives your installer a better substrate.
Yes. Vinyl floor tiles manufactured before 1980 and some tile mastics used before the 1980s may contain asbestos. If your San Diego home was built before 1980, we recommend asbestos testing before tile removal. Demo Diego can arrange certified testing, and if asbestos is found, we coordinate abatement before proceeding with demolition.
Dustless tile removal uses specialized equipment with built-in HEPA vacuum systems that capture dust at the point of removal. This is critical for occupied homes because tile demolition generates enormous amounts of fine silica dust. Demo Diego uses dust-free removal equipment on every tile job in San Diego, keeping your home clean and your family safe.
Yes. We remove wall tile from kitchens, bathrooms, showers, and backsplashes. Wall tile removal usually requires removing the cement board or drywall substrate behind it, since the thinset bonds the two permanently. We strip the tile and substrate together, leaving exposed studs ready for your tile installer to apply fresh cement board.
Absolutely. When tile is installed on a concrete slab, which is common in San Diego homes, we use ride-on scrapers and hand chisels to pop the tile off the slab surface. We then grind any remaining thinset smooth. The concrete slab itself is not damaged by this process and can accept new tile, luxury vinyl plank, epoxy, or any other flooring material.
In addition to ceramic and porcelain tile, Demo Diego removes hardwood flooring, engineered wood, laminate, luxury vinyl plank, sheet vinyl, linoleum, carpet and pad, and natural stone including travertine, marble, and slate. We handle multi-layer flooring common in older San Diego homes where new floors were installed over old ones for decades.
We provide tile & flooring demolition services throughout San Diego County and surrounding areas.
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