" These bathroom tiles are cracked and broken. The damaged tiles need to be replaced. There's also signs of mold in the grout surrounding the tiles. The broken tiles and the mold surrounding the fixtures suggest that there may be some structural problem behind the tile. We have a sneaking suspicion that the project will require a little more work than just replacing the tiles. But don't worry; in these 4 segments, we'll turn this cracked and moldy back wall into a bright and clean tub surround in just 2 day's time. Here's how. 1st, tape plastic ground cloths to the adjacent tiles to protect the tiles and the surrounding walls. Cover the tub and the floor with canvas drop cloths. Plastic sheet drop cloths can slide over the tub surface and create a falling hazard. Wear safety glasses during the deconstruction to protect your eyes. Next, using a utility knife, start at the outside of the damaged area and scrape away as much of the grout between the damaged tiles as you can. This will make it easier to remove the tiles and keep you from damaging the adjacent tiles in the process. Hold the utility knife firmly with both hands, guiding the blade with great care. The grout at the edges of the damage will be harder to remove than the wet grout. In the areas closest to the most visible damage, the tiles may literally fall off in your hands. Here, we found water-soaked, black backing that crumbled as the tiles fell off. So to replace the tiles, we're going to have to repair the backing that supports the tile as well as to discover how the water was getting behind the walls. To remove the tiles near the faucets, you'll need to remove the faucet handles. Using a screwdriver, pry the plastic or metal cap from the end of the handle and then remove the screw holding the handle to the stem. Often, the stem will have a decorative sleeve. Unscrew the sleeve by turning the sleeve counter-clockwise. In the same manner, the spout is removed by turning it counter-clockwise. Normally, the spout would unscrew from the half-inch copper pipe. But in this case, the threaded copper pipe came out with a spout. The tile started falling off by themselves. The water appears to have gotten behind the walls somewhere in this area. To assess the damage, the 1st step is to carefully remove the tiles, and try to determine how the water got behind the tiles. In older houses, you may find some surprises. These tiles were glued with mastic to a plaster wallboard so that when water soaked into the wallboard, the wallboard acted like a sponge, absorbing the water and destroying the wall. Today, there are better backing materials than wallboard and green board for shower and tub surrounds. As you move away from the wettest spots, use a small pry bar with a thin blade to pop the tiles off the wall. Our goal here is to repair the wall, not to replace it, so we're only removing the tiles that are over the wet and damaged section of the wall. Underneath the tile, we discovered not only rotten plasterboard, but also a plaster scratch coat that was laid over some of the wall to level the surface. This was definitely an amateur job done many years ago so our next step is to use a utility knife and pry bar to carefully remove all of the damaged underlayment. The goal is to cut back the wall behind the tile until you reach the surrounding dry, solid, undamaged wall and tiles. Even if the tiles look undamaged, reach up behind the wall and feel the surface inside the wall. If it's even slightly damp, the wall in the tile should be cut back until completely drywall is reached. Using a utility knife, carefully cut the grout between the tile. We're being careful to cut away the old grout so that when we pry up the old tiles, we don't damage the surrounding decorative tile trim. This is equally important in the corners where we don't want to damage the tiles on the back wall. Once the grout is cut back, use a small thin-bladed pry bar to carefully pop the tiles from the wall. With the tiles removed, use the utility knife to cut through the wallboard along the surrounding perimeter. Make a series of light straight cuts, slowly cutting all the way through. In this case, the wall beneath the tiles is wallboard covered with a scratch coat. You may find wallboard, green board, or backer board underneath. If the area to be removed is large, cut the backing into smaller sections for easier removal. Grabbing the wallboard firmly, pull the backing away from the studs. Work very gently and slowly so that you do as little damage as possible to the surrounding area. Clean up the opened area by prying up any screws from the studs with a pry bar. And cutting away any remaining scraps of backing, note that the new backing and tile will tuck into the corner behind the existing tile running down the adjacent wall. Make sure the corners are clean. Brush and vacuum the opening and clean up the surrounding area. We have cut back a rectangular area until we reached backing that was completely dry inside and there's no further evidence of water or tile damage in the surrounding area. The worst part of the job is over, and now it's time to rebuild the wall. In the next segment, we will replace the mixture of plaster board and scratch coat with 1/2-inch cement board, a rigid mold resistant and waterproof base for retelling the tub surround. This will provide an excellent base for retiling and grouting."