Hello…we are looking at a 35 to 40 year old daylight basement with concret slab floor and vinyl type tile stuck directly to the slab. It all seems remarkably sound with no cracks or moisture evident and no loose old tiles. We don’t want to try grinding these tiles off as they probably contain asbestos and it looks like a nasty job. The owners want new ceramic 12 by 12 tile pavers put on this floor ( about 800 sq ft). I would like some advice on what the best option might be. One tile setter told me he would recomment “Ditra” as an underlayment but I am not sure this is necessary as the floor looks so solid. What about epoxy thin-set or some other product to give us a good bond. Thanks for the help!
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Replies
Greetings Alan,
In the event you fail to receive the information you requested you may be able to find it in the archive listing of old threads on Breaktime.
If you scroll up in the upper left corner of your screen there is an advanced search function
that upon clicking will take you to a page of instructions directing you to previous threads dealing with whatever you type in the search bar which is found on that page.
If you type in 'tiling over' , something akin to 'ceramic over vinyl' or other keywords of the subject matter you'll get a supply of data from those old threads.
And a visit to a popular tile flooring forum :
http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/index.php
may help you get an anwser.
Cheers
there are dedicated thinsets made for going over vinyl, has more etching power built in use a good product line like Mapei or Tec ur right about not ripping up suspected asbestos if it's sound just cover it but test on an area to make sure there's not a heavy wax buildup if there is, it can be removed with vinegar or other cleaners
"I'm not responsible for my actions."
Alan - You need to get the TCNA Handbook (available on line) and verify the recommended procedure for tiling over VAT.
http://www.tileusa.com/publication_main.htm
Jeff