Hammer and/or Mallet

• You may need a hammer or rubber mallet to use with a chisel or pry bar to separate the tiles from the floor. A rubber mallet usually works better--the head is heavier; you won't have to use as much of your own energy to wedge the chisel or pry bar beneath the tile.
  
  

Grout Removers

• If you are removing ceramic or porcelain tile, you'll have to remove some of the grout before removing the first tile.Grout remover hand tools have a triangle-shaped blade at one end to aid in removing grout. Electric-powered grout removers also are available.
  
  

Chisel or Pry Bar

• A chisel or pry bar may be needed to lift the tile from the flooring. After you've wedged the flat edge beneath one section of the tile, just use leverage to pry the tile up. If you are lucky, the tile will pop right up--though it's often a more difficult process.
  
  

Scraper

• Long-handled scrapers are good for removing leftover mastic/adhesive (you can use a mastic softener first) on floors. For walls, you can find similar, short-handled scrapers made for this job.
  
  If you are comfortable with power tools, you can also purchase (or sometimes rent) electrical floor scrapers--these will significantly speed up the adhesive removal process, however, with these you may need to be extra careful not to damage the flooring beneath the adhesive.
  
  

Safety Gear

• You will need safety goggles or glasses and leather work gloves. If you work with a chemical adhesive remover, you may also need a painter's respirator (it depends on the chemicals in the remover, however--some are more high-fume than others). If you aren't using chemicals, you should at least have a few dust masks on hand.
  
  Consider also wearing knee pads and old clothes you don't care about.
  
  

Considerations

• A broom or a shop vacuum cleaner should be on hand for cleaning up broken pieces of grout, tile and dust.
  
  Instead of a short-handled scraper, you can use a sharp putty knife. Instead of a long-handled scraper, you can use a flat-headed shovel, a long-handled spade or similar garden tool.