tiling question plz help?

Question

i have a large space and need to re tile floor and walls as they are dated, not a big budget.
the surfaces are flat and good.
can i tile over them, or will they break or fall off?
is there a special thing i should do, like apply a glue?
plz help.

Answer 1

take no notice of the other replies that say you cant i am a builder have been for over 30 yrs what you do id use sand paper or wire brush to score the tiles then apply uni bond or a pvc glue then you can tile over them

Answer 2

You have a range of answers. Yes, you can tile over tile, and it won't fail. There is an latex mixture that add in the thinset mortar instead of water. And it will bond tile to tile. And to be honest, I don't recommend it. Not to the professional, and certainly not to the novice. It is messy and difficult to work with. And if you get the mortar on the face of the tile, it doesn't come off easily. It will bond to skin and anything else it comes in contact with. I've used it twice, when employed by someone. Now that I'm the contractor, won't be using it again. I'd rather tear the tile out. The other reason is although the surface may seem flat, it probably isn't.

Answer 3

Hello,

(ANS) In my opinion your MUCH much better off NOT tiling over existing tiled surfaces.

**In my honest opinion you must take up the old or existing tiles first, otherwise your asking for trouble later on down the line. The old existing tiled surfaces may look flat but I bet you they are NOT 100% smooth & flat.

**YES! you will get a FAR far better end result even on a low budget if you remove the old tiles first before laying on new tiles.

**You should calculate the number of tiles your going to need by measuring the walls & floors in square meters, the tile shop can probably help you work out how many tiles from this & the cost too.

**Your going to need special tiling grouting which you spread onto the surface to be tiled, it should spread a smooth & flat as possible then lay the tiles onto or over this ASAP! as the grouting dries quickly if you leave it too long. Then your tiles wont stick, it should be done whilst wet.

**You will need a bag of white + shaped spaces these are made from plastic and will help you to get neat horizontal & vertical rows & columns to your tiling.

Hope that helps?

Regards Ivan

Answer 4

To answer your question yes you can tile over existing tiles. But lets look at it this way. Your new floor will be only as good as your old one. If there are unforeseen problems with your existing floor then you will lose both floors and you will be starting all over again and this time you will need to remove all the floors. Now with your tiles on the wall. moister will seep in between the grout and it will attack the existing wall board rendering it unstable. I would recommend removing all of the areas and install it as recommended by the manufactures of the products.

Answer 5

If you are asking if you can tile over the existing tile, no way. You have to take the tile off of the wall and floors. Once you have removed the tile you can determine what will be involved with repairing the walls to get a flat surface. You should be able to skim the walls with mud. Them apply the grout to them for the new tile. If you rip the paper off of teh sheetrock, you will probably have to replace the sheetrock, to have a good surface to lay your tile onto.

Answer 6

If the tiles are not broken or loose it is possible to tile over the top of them.I did this on an area underneath my kitchen cupboards once,bear in mind if you have any electrical fittings etc.You can get quite cheap plain tiles in larger stores.
B&Q,Wicks,any large DIY store.You will need to count the amount of tiles you need first,plus a few extras to account for breakages when cutting.Recommend getting the whole lot at once as you may get colour variation if bought at different times.Always a number on the boxes.You will also have to buy tile grouting to put them on,either to mix yourself or ready mixed.As to your floor,you dont say what type of floor it is,wood or concrete base,I would ask at the store about this & they can advise you better.Hope this is of use to you.

Answer 7

Listen to answers #2 and #3 and ignore #1 & #4. No way you want to tile over the existing tiles!

Answer 8

You can do it, but I wouldn't recommend it, if it is a kitchen for example, none of the sockets are likely to fit back, if the bathroom, you may find it hard to turn taps on, (no room for fingers), and cistern lid may not fit back on. You are also likely to get moisture somewhere in between the two surfaces, this will loosen things, and will smell.

Answer 9

i have to agree with steve, there is no way you can tile over tile, in time it will fall off, if you are going to do the job correct save up some more money, you will thank your self later

Answer 10

Just make sure that the old tiles are clean and scratch them all with a screwdriver there should be no problems.