tiling over tiles

[jefoss]

(sorry but i couldnt put this in the tiling forum, no poll options in there)


The debate has been going on for ages so yes or no, its simple would you tile over tiles or would you prefer to do the job properly.


i personally hate it, its just a quick way to do the job, if you are going to do it, do it right, my personal preference.

 

[mrgtv]

Daft question.

I'm sure everyone would like to do the job right, just isn't always practical.

 

[Richardp]

Tiles are great for tiling on, as long as the old ones are well stuck.

 

[jefoss]

Daft question.

I'm sure everyone would like to do the job right, just isn't always practical.

not a daft question at all, in the tiling forum you get a mixture of answers i would ideally have liked to put this there but as i said not able to.

and i still stand by what i said before, and richardp, how many times would you tile on tile? 2 3 or maybe even 4 times? when do you decide to do the job correctly?

 

[Nige F]

Yeah ,``````````````I`m all for ripping off Victorian tiles bedded on 1+1 sand and cement ...right back to the brickwork then render+set and slap a few B+Q`s over the lot

 

[billyo]

if it looks good do it who will know

 

[jefoss]

if it looks good do it who will know

dear oh dear billyo you should be ashamed of that comment

 

[roughcaster]

Yep, rip 'em all off.It could be someone elses costly problem in the future.

Roughcaster.

 

[mrgtv]

Daft question.

I'm sure everyone would like to do the job right, just isn't always practical.

not a daft question at all, in the tiling forum you get a mixture of answers

Read your own question again:
"would you tile over tiles or would you prefer to do the job properly."

People may well say they wouldn't tile over tiles but who is going to say they wouldn't prefer to do the job properly?

 

[jefoss]

Daft question.

I'm sure everyone would like to do the job right, just isn't always practical.

not a daft question at all, in the tiling forum you get a mixture of answers

Read your own question again:
"would you tile over tiles or would you prefer to do the job properly."

People may well say they wouldn't tile over tiles but who is going to say they wouldn't prefer to do the job properly?

i put the question that way for a reason!


thanks mod 8 for moving it

 

[tiler jase]

Tile on tile

Floors- if sound and dependant on tile / porisity a flexible adhesive with flexible additive for good measure / extra bond.

Walls- Pick up a box of tiles generally one m2 per box which is reasonably heavy. Combine that weight with the existing tiles on the wall held on by 2-3mm of skim coat = you are heading for serious trouble.

 

[gcol]

As I've done it before, I've gotta vote yes. It makes not a sh*t of difference of floors. If over-tiling a sound wall with sound tiles, it'll be fine so long as your existing tiles and the new ones are a regular thickness. If you've got thick stuff fitted and you're wanting to go over them with more thick stuff, then you risk failure. I much prefer tiling onto properly prepard walls, but generally speaking, in my opinion, tiling on tiles is fine.

 

[tiler jase]

gcol

Sorry mate but thats bad advice. With todays current trends especially with large format tiles etc you are begging for trouble with a tile on tile philosphy. With your experience you should realise that you are taking a calculated gamble by "knocking" the tiles, as do i, to check the solidity, and determimine if they are sound or not. (i think we are agreed with floor tiles though). But the British Standards weight per square metre should be adhered to. Ive seen and remedied too many tile failures for this exact same problem due to poor fixing / bad advice. Too many people think that tiling is a DIY project and in the case of small projects that may be so, but if you are profesionally trained in your particular field as i am, it irks you when someone goes againast the grain.

 

[gcol]

With todays current trends especially with large format tiles etc you are begging for trouble with a tile on tile philosphy.

I agree that you are into the realms of possible failure when over-tiling with large tiles (and therefore, thick tiles), which is why I wote this:

If over-tiling a sound wall with sound tiles, it'll be fine so long as your existing tiles and the new ones are a regular thickness.

By regular thickness, I refer to the 5 or 6mm thick 150 x 150 tiles that you are commonly asked to over-tile, and not the "regular" "large format" tiles that are fitted today.

With your experience you should realise that you are taking a calculated gamble by "knocking" the tiles, as do i, to check the solidity, and determimine if they are sound or not.

It wouldn't be me taking the gamble. Of course, I'd always recommend to the customer that they should remove the existing tiles, but that if they don't want to go to that expense, then you can't force them. You can however, tell them that you can only gaurantee the bond of the tiles to the existing tiles, and not the bond to the wall. The onus is on them.

 

[Artisan Bathrooms]

Hi Guys,

Thought I'd chip in on this one as I'll shortly be doing a 40 metre floor going over existing tiles. They are well stuck and I don't have even a bit of concern that there might be a problem...

Walls are a different story though - I'm never really happy doing it. You can never be sure of the condition of the walls - knocking tiles can obviously tell you if the walls/tiles are definitely blown but can't tell you for certain if they are ok.

Of course, I'd always recommend to the customer that they should remove the existing tiles, but that if they don't want to go to that expense, then you can't force them.

This is pretty much what I do too. If you tell your customers the truth about the situation and give them genuine advice based on experience they can make an informed decision. Having said that you will get some people that insist you just go straight over tiles that are quite literally falling off the wall (or onto plaster that is so badly shot it moves when you touch it). You've got to just walk away from that kind of work - you'll only end up getting the blame when it all falls into the bath...

Basically, If you have the slightest doubt then rip it all off and do it properly - If you take pride in your work then you'll feel much better about a job well done despite the extra hassle.