A few years ago, I had a new bathroom fitted. A friend fitted some mosaic tiles over waterproof plasterboard but didnt do a good job. I now want to re tile using larger (1ft sq) tiles. I dont want to remove the old tiles as this would probably damage the plasterboard and would be a massive job as I may have to re plaster board the walls. Is it feasable to tile over old bathroom tiles or should I remove the old ones first?
you can tile over tile as long as the originals are well stuck, if you are going to do this then an ordinary acrylic (bucket) adhesive will be ok, for what is a fairly run of the mill job,you don’t even need to score the tiles seeing as there is a joint every 20mm. However it is always preferable to remove the old tiles otherwise your nice shiny tiles are effectively held on the walls by the bond of the mosaics that your ‘bodger’ friend fixed, (do you really trust his skills?) You may find that removing them isn’t as hard as you thought since glass mosaics (assuming they are glass!) don’t really stick too well and anyone who knows their stuff will tell you that the grout is what holds them to the wall (or floor) more than the adhesive, this is because not too many adhesives stick well to glass and assuming your friends a novice I doubt that he picked one that would .Anyway even if the worst happens and you destroy the plasterboard it’s really easy to replace,just pull it all from the wall, buy some new stuff , measure it, cut it , and screw it to the wall. Don’t be scared if you were to see the idiots that do this for a living you would realise it doesn’t require a lot of brains (plasterboarding that is!!!!!)
If your refixing with porcelain tiles then be sure to use a flexible adhesive or one with an admix
March 12th, 2010 at 9:33 am
You should be able to tile over old, no problemo.
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March 12th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Tiling over existing tiles works very well as long as they are sound and perfectly flat, if they are not, you will be wasting your money on new tiles, especially large ones as they will never be even.
If you are careful enough, the damage to the plasterboard could be kept to a minimum and could be skimmed ready for the new tiles.
Please don’t try to skimp on this job, you will regret it for as long as you live in the house.
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Tiler.
March 12th, 2010 at 10:26 am
Make sure you score the old tiles with a diamond or wheel cutter to give the new tiles a key, you could also treat the area with PVA bonding to make sure. Read the dilution instructions too.
Good luck.
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March 12th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Is advisable to remove the old tiles and patch up the wall including waterprofing it. But if the old tiles aren’t to rough tiled(mostly flat on the wall), Then with an good liant and preparation of the old tiles, (scatch them with an grinder), the job could be OK
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March 12th, 2010 at 10:49 am
I would not recommend tiling over other tiles. The thickness will be different than the wall allowing water and moisture to seep behind the tiles. If you were to cap off the top and bottom of the tiles with another decorative trim tile this could rectify that problem. I suggest to use a tool to score and remove the old grout. Pull off the old tiles and sand down the area underneath as smoooth as possible. Re-apply your adhesive and set your new tiles. Doing the job properly will last longer not to mention that it will be a job that you will be happier with.
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Professional interior decorator for 20 years
March 12th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Yes If the tiles that are down are well attached to floor and are smaller than the new tiles.You’ll want to use a mud glue mixture.Don’t use the glue type.If they are loose I would carefully pry them up(recomended)and srape floor board so it is as smooth as possible.Once again use the mud mixture it makes for a better hold and will allow inperfections in the board.
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me 29 year all around carpenter
March 12th, 2010 at 11:37 am
It wouldn’t hold up, I would feel free to say ..within 2 weeks merely bumping against it will knock 1 or 2 lose….Yiou have to take the old tile off and either replace the drywall…or be careful and sand the old glue off..then patch up the fractured places with joint compound..Tile will not stick to more tile..
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March 12th, 2010 at 11:54 am
you can tile over tile as long as the originals are well stuck, if you are going to do this then an ordinary acrylic (bucket) adhesive will be ok, for what is a fairly run of the mill job,you don’t even need to score the tiles seeing as there is a joint every 20mm. However it is always preferable to remove the old tiles otherwise your nice shiny tiles are effectively held on the walls by the bond of the mosaics that your ‘bodger’ friend fixed, (do you really trust his skills?) You may find that removing them isn’t as hard as you thought since glass mosaics (assuming they are glass!) don’t really stick too well and anyone who knows their stuff will tell you that the grout is what holds them to the wall (or floor) more than the adhesive, this is because not too many adhesives stick well to glass and assuming your friends a novice I doubt that he picked one that would .Anyway even if the worst happens and you destroy the plasterboard it’s really easy to replace,just pull it all from the wall, buy some new stuff , measure it, cut it , and screw it to the wall. Don’t be scared if you were to see the idiots that do this for a living you would realise it doesn’t require a lot of brains (plasterboarding that is!!!!!)
If your refixing with porcelain tiles then be sure to use a flexible adhesive or one with an admix
References :
25 years professional tiler
March 12th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
If you are using large 1ft square tiles, and your friend did a bad job on the the mosaic tiles I wouldn’t suggest doing it.
The weight of the tiles may loosen the the smaller tiles causing the larger tiles to fall. This could be dangerous in a shower or bathtub area. The tiles may shatter leaving sharp little shards of tile everywhere, including in the flesh of anyone nearby.
I was going to put 16 x 16 tiles in my shower area, and a contractor said I better be sure the wall above the shower is secure because if one came loose and hit me in the head it would not be good. I went with little 1 x 1 tiles on the ceiling with larger tiles on the wall. Whatever you put up is only going to be as secure as what’s behind it.
Just my opinion, but for safeties sake, I would remove the old tile and start over.
Remember, there is never enough time or money to do it right the first time, but there is ALWAYS enough time and money to do it over!!!
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