TILING OVER TILE??
we are changing the tile on our bathroom floor–it’s in good shape, but we hate the color. my tiler wants to lay the new tile over the existing tile, rather than tear up what is already there. does this make any sense? are there any dangers? thank you.
we are changing the tile on our bathroom floor–it’s in good shape, but we hate the color.
my tiler wants to lay the new tile over the existing tile, rather than tear up what is already there. does this make any sense? are there any dangers? thank you.
I’m tiling over the old stuff… and here’s why:
I pulled off the 20 year old tile and found the original hexagonal 1″ (or smaller) tiles that were laid originally – the type that always accompany ‘subway tiles’ on the wall. The original tilers poured a bed of mortar about 4″ thick between and rising above the top of the floor joists about 1 1/2″. This thick bed of mortar only concerns me in terms of weight but it has lasted for 94 years and the floor joists still seem fine. I’m going to go the extra distance and sister some lamibeam to each of them underneath in the basement level – just because it will make me feel better.
If it were as easy as ‘popping up’ some old tiles – I might consider it. But these are so firmly locked into this thick bed of mortar that to remove them would require removing the entire bed. I’ll trust the ‘old world’ artisans that evidently put this together, use their tile as my bed and reinforce for weight /longevity reasons.
THANK YOU vanburenproud…..
I just finished renovating my condo…the bathroom’s original tile floor…in a mud bed…was tiled over..THAT tile I removed because it was improperly laid and coming up….cracking….etc…
When I got down to the original tile….it LOOKED terrible…but MAN it was SOLID..so my tilesetter…another skilled tradesman..tiled right over it…using, I believe, the kerdi membrane as well as thin-set…NOT tile adhesive…and it’s been a year….my tumbled marble floor is ROCK solid…and GORGEOUS..
AND I am not even MISSING that 1/2″ in ceiling height that I lost!!…HAHAHA…some of these brownstoners are…
MORONS!!!!
OMG, this is nothing like wearing a sportcoat over another sportcoat.
It’s way too easy to pretend you know what you are talking about on this forum.
It makes a lot more sense to rip out the old tile and know what you got underneath. Common sense is always a good starting point. Why look for trouble? Would you wear a sport coat over another sport coat? Maybe it is not a great
analogy, but the concept of tiling over tile is not a great concept either.
I don’t see why this thread has gotten so irrational.
Melissa sounds reasonable to me. I am not a tile setter, but I am a skilled tradesperson and appreciate fine, honest work. And while I saw a lot of hack work in my own ‘stone, I don’t begrudge the layers of flooring. I would tile over tile if I was sure that the job was strictly cosmetic and could accommodate the new height.
It seems strange to rip out tile that’s not presenting a problem only because you are thinking about the next job, which ideally is going to be in like twenty years. I don’t plan much else that I do in terms of its eventual destruction. I didn’t use easy-to-pry nails on my subfloor because I know how hard a subfloor can be to remove. I don’t make my kitchen cabinets easy to remove for obvious reasons. Why the special “don’t stick it to the next guy” rule with tile?
I’m a fan of The What. At least he’s entertaining.
Thanks for the compliment!!!!
Melissa809 sounds like the female version of The What
First off….my family and I are FINE craftsmen..FYI…who know a hell of a lot more about construction than some liberal yuppie DIY’ers….now sit back in your overpriced brownstone in a “soon to be good” neighborhood….don’t go out too late at night….and don’t forget to give that illegal Mexican you hired off the street an extra 10 bucks….morons
BTW…..worked with many an engineer who had NO clue…bet many “brownstoners” on here could attest to that
MORONS!!!