This text is intended as a tip for those who are going to demolish a wall or something similar made of glass blocks. If you don't have that need, I suggest you find another thread to read - this isn't that exciting 
When I was faced with demolishing a staircase railing made of glass blocks, I tried to find information online on how to proceed. It didn't go well - the only thing Google found were articles pointing out that a downside of glass blocks is that it is difficult to demolish... :S
I asked an importer of glass blocks. Their tip was to use piano wire. Glass blocks are "built" with a special adhesive, and then it is grouted with tile grout. After obtaining piano wire from a hobby shop, I found that it indeed worked to "saw" between the adhesive and the glass blocks - but the piano wire couldn't get through the tile grout material q(;^p. Since I found it too troublesome to first remove all the grout (not simple, in some places you could remove it with a screwdriver but in other places, a chisel was required), I tried to find another way.
Chipping a bit in the grout with a chisel and then prying off the adhesive with a crowbar worked - but during the prying, the glass blocks would crack at the edges, and glass splinters would fly around the room q(;^p. Possibly okay if you have an enclosed space, but not okay if, as in my case, you have the demolition project in the middle of a furnished room.
Eventually, I realized that the solution was to get a reciprocating saw (can also be rented). I bought a special blade for cutting bricks for the reciprocating saw. With that blade, I could saw straight through the entire grout, both the tile grout material and the adhesive d^_^b. I chose to saw off blocks of 2x4 glass tiles - there's no reason to cut each tile separately, but you want pieces that aren't too heavy to carry out. If you're in a furnished room, it might be good to have a helper on the other side of the wall you're demolishing, to make sure you keep the saw reasonably straight - the joints are narrow, and it's easy to end up on the edge of the glass, causing flying splinters.
Finally - can you reuse the glass blocks? That wasn't relevant in my case, but I've seen the question asked. I think it's possible, but you have to expect to have generous joints in the new wall to make room for the new adhesive and to hide the old grout (removing all the old adhesive and grout is too troublesome). Furthermore, you shouldn't expect to be able to reuse all the glass blocks - there will be some waste during demolition, for example, when you happen to cut a bit crookedly.
Well, that's about it. I hope the description can be useful to someone.
When I was faced with demolishing a staircase railing made of glass blocks, I tried to find information online on how to proceed. It didn't go well - the only thing Google found were articles pointing out that a downside of glass blocks is that it is difficult to demolish... :S
I asked an importer of glass blocks. Their tip was to use piano wire. Glass blocks are "built" with a special adhesive, and then it is grouted with tile grout. After obtaining piano wire from a hobby shop, I found that it indeed worked to "saw" between the adhesive and the glass blocks - but the piano wire couldn't get through the tile grout material q(;^
p. Since I found it too troublesome to first remove all the grout (not simple, in some places you could remove it with a screwdriver but in other places, a chisel was required), I tried to find another way.Chipping a bit in the grout with a chisel and then prying off the adhesive with a crowbar worked - but during the prying, the glass blocks would crack at the edges, and glass splinters would fly around the room q(;^
p. Possibly okay if you have an enclosed space, but not okay if, as in my case, you have the demolition project in the middle of a furnished room.Eventually, I realized that the solution was to get a reciprocating saw (can also be rented). I bought a special blade for cutting bricks for the reciprocating saw. With that blade, I could saw straight through the entire grout, both the tile grout material and the adhesive d^_^b. I chose to saw off blocks of 2x4 glass tiles - there's no reason to cut each tile separately, but you want pieces that aren't too heavy to carry out. If you're in a furnished room, it might be good to have a helper on the other side of the wall you're demolishing, to make sure you keep the saw reasonably straight - the joints are narrow, and it's easy to end up on the edge of the glass, causing flying splinters.
Finally - can you reuse the glass blocks? That wasn't relevant in my case, but I've seen the question asked. I think it's possible, but you have to expect to have generous joints in the new wall to make room for the new adhesive and to hide the old grout (removing all the old adhesive and grout is too troublesome). Furthermore, you shouldn't expect to be able to reuse all the glass blocks - there will be some waste during demolition, for example, when you happen to cut a bit crookedly.
Well, that's about it. I hope the description can be useful to someone.
Member
· Västra Götalands Län
· 529 posts
Thank you for a brilliant post and great tips!
If someone unexpectedly finds their way here, I can also recommend that a tile saw works reasonably well! http://www.biltema.se/sv/Bygg/Kakel...kelredskap-och-tillbehor/Kakelsag-2000017327/ I took down glass blocks in the bathroom and didn't want to scatter glass, and a reciprocating saw seemed a bit too brutal...
Hi Gorra, glad you askedG Gorra_g said:
Yes, the glass block was on tiles. Just like Anders, there was a metal strip at the bottom. In my case, it was attached with both silicone and screws into the tile joints. But I managed to remove everything, and the floor looks nice. If you look very closely, you can see where the screws were - the grout is a little "expanded" right there, even though I, of course, filled in the holes. And in one spot a thin chip came off the tile surface despite being careful when scraping away the silicone grout. But you can't see it unless you look very closely.