I want to tile my bathroom walls. Can I tile directly over the painted sheetrock?

Question

Or must I use Duraroc board or a similar item.
Also can I use a ceramic wall tile on the floor ? I know they are of different thicknesses but would the wall tile hold up on a floor? Thanks for all the help.

Answer 1

You can tile over sheetrock, but if it is painted with a paint with gloss, you need to sand the wall to remove the gloss first. If the tile is above the tub where it will be wet on a regular basis, you should replace the sheetrock with Durarock or hardibacker. Wall tile can be used on the floor, but should be installed over durarock or hardibacker. In addition the sub-floor and underlayment should be at least 1 1/4" thick if the floor joists are on 16" centers, thicker if the span is wider. The biggest concern with wall tile is that it is usually glossy and slick, which means it will be extremely slick to the point of being hazardous, especially wet.

Answer 2

You say it's for the 40's is the tile plastic?, if so get a wide 3-4'' metal scraper and pop all the tile off the first one may need a little elbow grease but once you get the first one the rest goes easily. The glue will still be on the wall so invest in a good heat gun and heat and scrape all the glue off the walls. These walls should be plaster so you shouldn't have a problem. What ever is left on the walls can be lightly sanded til smooth, wash walls, prime and paint. It will take some time but the end result is worth it. I did this in a 50's kitchen and bathroom, the tile in the tub was even on the ceiling. Good luck! If the tile is ceramic its a whole other story and project. Painting than would be advisable because you would ruin most of the walls removing ceramic tiles.

Answer 3

Painted Bathroom Tile

Answer 4

Since you didn't specifically state in a shower/tub area, the simple answer to a "Can I?" question is, "Certainly" My usual answer is, "But you may be dissatisfied."

With no offense to others; TILE is a very acceptable, industry standard. Obviously in a FORUM sense, exercising our Ammendment rights, we all have opinions.

In a new construction or a re-hab I'd use concrete backer board (brand names aside) in a shower/tub area, and GREEN BOARD elsewhere. Sadly that isn't always the case in "Tract" housing.

Floor Tile: Variances in thickness isn't an uncommon issue, given the process and material, but you can expect usual floor tile to be 1/4 to 3/8 thick. 3/8 being the heavy end of the variation. The issue is a bit more than the thickness however.

Floor tile; decent or not is "graded" not in thickness, but in durabilty ratings, most dependant on "Firing" the tile in the first place. IE: #1 being the least durable...#4 or 5, being the most durable. Anyone who knows and sells tile should be able to advise that about a selection you make, and perhaps the vendor will even openly advertise it.

Finally...Will the wall tile "Hold up" on the floor.

In my bathroom it will, because I created a "Grotto" using Floor tiles in my shower area. Certainly even the highest rated "Ceramic", glazed over tile, can chip if you dropped a Hair dryer on it, and depending on the surface color/finish, OVER the base clay color, you might find that a beautiful gray marbleized surface shows RED clay under?

Porcelain tiles, often are finished through the entire thickness of the tile, but all of this suggestion largely depends on your research in attaining satisfaction.

Steven Wolf
thousands of sq. ft. of tile

Answer 5

yes you can tile over the sheet rock, first put a coat of bonding agent on the wall, then use mastic to hold the tile on, as for the wall tile on the floor, it's probably going to crack after a short time.

Answer 6

You can apply tile directly over sheetrock. But if the painted sheetrock is part of a tub or shower surround, you should replace the sheetrock with something that is more water resistant. Personally, I've had it with tile; water seeps through the grout and makes a mess of things. I like Marlite or fiberglass-melamine paneling, although tile would be okay in dry locations.

Answer 7

you can use wall tile outside of the shower on the wall over sheet rock. If the piant is high gloss just run some sandpaper over it first. Floor and wall tile are different, don't use wall tile on the floor.

Answer 8

I have put tile up over sheet rock up to 36 inches from the floor in my bathroom and it has held up for over 10 years.