Need a question answered for a friend of mine.
Her current floors are tile on a concrete pad (desert southwest). She needs opinions with regards to whether to tile over the existing floors or remove the current tile and retile.
She has multiple quotes on doing the job both ways, with each contractor espousing his method as being prefereable to the others.
Removing the existing tile is messy, time consuming, and noisy, but one installer says its the only way to do the job right. Another guy says laying the new tile over the existing floor poses no problems, and of course there’s minimal prep work and fuss.
She’s confused. Opinions?
Art
Replies
Maybe you could go look at some of the jobs that have tile over tile and see how it turned out with respect to transitions, door heights and cabinets. Ask about tile or grout cracking.
Few questions?
What condition is the old tile in? What type of tile is there now and what will it be covered with? How large is the area, not really pertinent just curious, also, is the old tile now below, flush with, or already above the floors that it is adjacent with?
My personal opinion, take up the old tile and start fresh.
The old tile is ceramic 8" x 8" squares. They are in good contion with a few chips and cracks here and there. The grout is in good condition. There is approximately 1000 sq. feet of tile currently. We want to lay 18" X 18" or 20" X 20" squares. Some of the floor (hallways wil need to be built up) and then there is the issue of the bedroom, which will remain carpet.
I think I agree with you about starting fresh but want to check out all my options.
Thanks
Gail
Done right...no problems aside from the increased height with a tile over.
Done right means......existing tile and sub structure in good shape.
And..a big factor is the thinset used. A set up in thinset performance goes a long way.
http://www.mapei.com Go take a look around. There are new thinset's with additives made for situations like this. I have a bid in on a tile over as we speak. And have one for a complete tear out. It all depends...but done right...it's the right method for some jobs.
The one I'm tiling over......budget and time are a factor. The higher cost of the upgraded thinset is very reasonable compared to added dumpster charges and my time to tear it out.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
TCA method TR712-01 recommends that the surface of existing tile be roughed up by mechanical abrasion with a Carborundum disc, and then washed with water to remove the dust. There are also acids that will chemically etch the tile but I would avoid this because of the potential incompatibility with the thinset, and the general hassle of playing with acids. Either way make sure the existing tile is rinsed and dry before installing new.
Also, what types of cracks are there? Cracks in the grout, either through settling or failure to provide adequate movement joints in the initial substrate, will likely telegraph right through to the new tile. You should try to keep the grout joints in the new tile from resting right over the grout joints in the existing tile.
If height isn't an issue and the existing tile is flat and free of cracks, tiling over existing tile works fine. It may not always result in much less work than tearing out the old, depending on how much prep is required.
If the existing tile is in good shape with no cracking due to the concrete under just clean it good, rinse it and use a good adhesive (Mapei is my choice as well). As stated, the only drawback is the increased height of buildup. This has worked well for us on many occasions.
Jim B
I was in the tile shop the other day and they were selling a new product which is a mat laid down with thinset in place of traditional underlayments.
When I read your post I immediately thought of this stuff as a possible way of reducing the possibility of cracking without too much height buildup, and perhaps levelling out some of the discrepancies.
Can't recall the name of the product but I think it was a Euro-based outfit that does other tile products.
Good luck, have fun
Don
A plastic mesh kinda mat?
Mapei has that out new.
Or..do ya mean a crack isolation mat? That'd add up quick over a roof of any real size...
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite