Save to use again gentle demo/removal 50’s era bathroom and tile

Not to too concerned with removing the vanity/sink and toilet, however I've never actually removed a bathtub and surrounding tile, especially from the mid century era. The price is right-all free however likely a crap ton of labor to remove it all. I have yet to find out for sure but these tiles appear to be made from some sort of early plastic type material as opposed to ceramic. Any idea if the adhesive that was commonly used from this era, is condusive to removing these tiles 50-60 years later without breaking to many of them so long as gentle persuasion is utilized? What sort of wall backing could I expect to find once the tiles are removed? Any other advice or tips?

You could reuse the tub, but I believe you'll have to smash that tile to get it out. Even if you get it out, cleaning the quick set off will Suuuck.

Of course, if it is stickers, like you say, that changes everything. Best of luck.

The most likely way of saving that tile is to set off a small C4 packet in the room, and then pick the unbroken ones out of the shrapnel.  

Seriously, the only way to know is to start prying.  If none have fallen off yet, they are either stuck permanently, or are all ready to fall off.  I'm guessing some sort of thinset mortar on a concrete backer board, hence my explosives suggestion.  Let us know.

I have attempted this once or twice in my life. The ones that had lost adhesion popped right off. The ones that didn't came off in pieces. Of course this was a much younger and less patient lobster than I am now. You may have better luck. Those are sweet tiles though and it would be cool if you salvaged enough to reuse!

What's the tile edge "bullnose" look like?
 

If the front face of the tiles is about 1" proud of the wall, very good chance these wall tiles are mortared to a thick mud bed set in lath... and only coming out with a sledge hammer or by cutting the lath nails from the back side. Gonna be tough to salvage if that's the case. Good luck. 

If you don't want to yank that avocado tub, you can paint it.  Big box stores have a 2-part epoxy spray that I used before with good success.... as long as you cover EVERYTHING you don't want to be that color.

It comes in two cans; paint and hardener.  You store the paint in the freezer and gently warm the hardener.  Then you invert the hardener can on the paint can and "charge" it.  Then I think you have about 12 hours to do two coats with it.  I was pleased, but thank goodness my bathroom was stripped bare.  The entire room was a foggy haze of epoxy.  My hair, my clothes, the window, the subfloor.  It was like I painted with an HVLP gun in there.

For the tile, I would focus on getting it off.  Don't be dainty.  I doubt it will be a high-demand item.  At any given moment, I'm not sure there are hundreds of people looking for a vintage plastic tile, but I could be wrong.  The ones that do come off in one piece, save them for someone who needs three for a resto, or someone who wants 20 to dress up their funky coffee table project.

As far as what's behind the tile, I doubt you'll find anything special.  Whatever the wall material du jour was when your house was built.  Plaster, drywall, but I doubt that any kind of cement board was used.  If you're lucky, it's drywall.  It might save you a heap of work to just cut the drywall with a knife between the tiles and pull it down.  If it's drywall or plaster, there is a very good chance that you'll pull chunks of it off getting the tile off anyway.  How I would honestly approach it.  Sacrifice a few tiles.  Pry them off and see what happens.  If you pull chunks of wall with it, just take the wallboard down.  That will likely save you time rather than patching and mudding.

The toilet might actually be a good thing for a ReStore.  Some folks actually get a stiffy for vintage stuff.

The fixtures (faucet, shower valve, etc) could also be something for the ReStore if the finish is in good shape.

You'll be lucky to get 10% usable after demolition.  Those are most likely placed over a mortar bed about 3/4" thick reinforced with wire lath.

The first house I bought, in 1991, was a cheap 50's rancher on a slab that had plastic tile in the bathroom.  By the time I got there, the tiles were falling off on their own.  Maybe yours will be similar.  However, I'd be surprised to learn that anybody wants that stuff. 

I had a home with the black & white 50's tile job. The tiles were plastic & set with some type of adhesive over what appeared to be 1/4" Lauan plywood because the walls back in the day were plaster over slats and weren't anywhere near as flat as sheetrock. The plastic tile was so brittle from age there was no question about trying to save it. YMMV

I may have just read something in to your question that isn't there, but if you are hoping to reuse whatever substrate is under those tiles, you are probably going to be very disappointed.  Unless it's concrete, nothing survives a bathtub.

Budget for knocking it down to the studs.

In reply to drainoil :

That bathroom is beautiful!

Thanks for all the replies. I should have clarified, this is not my bathroom rather it's someone else who wants it all gone, and I am interested in removing as much of this for my own use at a later time. The pic may be deceiving due to the lighting but the color of everything in the pic is a soft baby blue like hue. 
 

Also I asked about the wall back not for purposes of me re-using it, rather to see what possibilities are of my not hacking it up too badly for the home owner. They are planning a remodel with a "modern" look. I did recommend they keep most of what they have and add some tasteful modern updates on the vanity and sink (not pictured), and maybe a new white toilet. I don't think I could convey my resto-mod type of thinking to them, they want everything new (so it looks like everyone else's bathrooms).
 

After taking everything you all shared into consideration and thinking further on this I'm probably going to stand down from doing the tear out. If I wind up hacking the wall backing too much I may open myself up to a big ol clusterberk. I'm just me, not a licensed contractor. Initially I was thinking I could get some neat (to me) mid century goodness for a future bathroom project (I do already have a bunch of early 60s vintage mint green ceramic tiles and matching sink that I picked up that had already been removed by someone else). Guess I'll keep my eyes open only for vintage tiles that have already been removed by someone else.
 

If you get a very sharp 5 in 1 tool and a hammer you should be able to get 80% of the plastic tile off without breaking.  The glue is 99% going to stay stuck to the wall.  

drainoil said:

The pic may be deceiving due to the lighting but the color of everything in the pic is a soft baby blue like hue. 

Wow-avocado tub and variations of greens/yellows for the rest on my screen.

MrJoshua said:

drainoil said:

The pic may be deceiving due to the lighting but the color of everything in the pic is a soft baby blue like hue. 

Wow-avocado tub and variations of greens/yellows for the rest on my screen.

Same here. I'm a fan of the baby blue too though - when we remodeled our place in IL I did the bath around a baby blue late-MCM pedestal sink I got cheap, and toilet I got free after a friend saw the sink. I then found a matching shower stall at Menards for stupid-cheap, because obviously I was the only person in the county who was interested in it. 

The plastic tile from that era is thin and not very strong, so removing it safely is going to be difficult if not impossible.  As mentioned above, it will either pop off easily or it will only come off in pieces.

I looked at a 1959 rambler house for sale last fall that had similar tile in the bathroom; a few pieces had come off over the years and were lost, but the remainder were still firmly glued down with mastic and were not going anywhere.

I have that exact same tub and toilet in the bathroom. The tiles are pink and hideous.

The tile will either come off or it won't. You will figure it out. If you are changing the tuband it is cast iron the best way to get it out is to score it in places with a grinder and then hit it with a sledgehammer. This will crack it in to pieces that are much easier to remove. 
 

As for a new tub insulate it from underneath. Either fiberglass or low expanding foam before you install. Gets rid of that freezing cold tub every time someone takes a bath. Also take the opertinity to insulate the wall of the tub is against an outside wall. 

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

MrJoshua said:

drainoil said:

The pic may be deceiving due to the lighting but the color of everything in the pic is a soft baby blue like hue. 

Wow-avocado tub and variations of greens/yellows for the rest on my screen.

Same here. I'm a fan of the baby blue too though - when we remodeled our place in IL I did the bath around a baby blue late-MCM pedestal sink I got cheap, and toilet I got free after a friend saw the sink. I then found a matching shower stall at Menards for stupid-cheap, because obviously I was the only person in the county who was interested in it. 

That's how I feel when I see this neat mid century design and decor.

My home decorating tastes are often opposite from the majority out there lol.

dean1484 said:

The tile will either come off or it won't. You will figure it out. If you are changing the tub and it is cast iron the best way to get it out is to score it in places with a grinder and then hit it with a sledgehammer. This will crack it in to pieces that are much easier to remove. 

He's trying to remove it in one piece for re-use.

In reply to drainoil :

One of my most prized possessions is this collection of MCM decorating & remodeling books/magazines I got from my old neighbor back in IL. 

 

Our current house was MCM, but about the only thing that remains is our living room & front door. 

Looks avocado green in the pics here but I could see the color being wrong if it's under really yellow light

Those plastic tiles come off with a putty knife and a hammer to tap the knife in behind them.  Some will crack.  Usually held on with adhesive.  Never saw them before this year, but oddly enough I keep running into them.  Just remodeled a three family and every bath had them.  Saw them in three other baths before that.  Best way to remove that avocado tub is with a sledge hammer and some safety glasses.  Just replace the whole thing with a multi piece tub and shower unit.  Put mortar under the tub before you set it and squish/shimmy it in place, and make sure its level.  I bet I average one tub replacement a month.  After removing tub and valve trim, next tool out is the sledge.

So that's the way to remove metal/cast iron tubs? Break them apart? 

Yea, I'm on some large home improvement/design forums and you'd be surprised how many people love those 60/70's colorful bathrooms.