Tiling over existing 'plasticky' tiles!

joey123 · 18 Nov 2013

Hi

Have been reading up on tiling over floor tiles. I know it's not ideal to do so, but for several reasons have decided its necessary (not least because the tiles are incredibly well stuck down, as is the adhesive below!).

The thing is, I'm a bit confused about how to go about it/ what to use as not sure what the existing tiles are. Inside the tiles they are a reddish colour, the top is plasticky feeling and patterned. They were laid in the 70s. Does anyone know what this kind of tile this may be? And whether it is likely to contain asbestos? I'm not sure whether to sand the tops, presumably not if any chance of them containing asbestos?

I've also read a lot of conflicting posts about the best way to go about tiling over floor tiles- any advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks you

tpt · 18 Nov 2013

sounds like vinyl tiles - a photo might well help. If i'm right they will be 2-3mm thick, and stuck down with a horrible brown tacky stuff at about 1mm thick.

If they are vinyl, sugar soap them to clean off old gunge and let them dry well, then use a slurry coat before tiling with a 1 part flexi adhesive.

Slurry coat is a common method for tiling low porosity surfaces such as when tiling over tiles or vinyl. Basically mixing priming agent (acrylic or SBR) with a somehandfuls of your chosen dry adhesive to form a runny gritty mix and paint it liberally over the floor, then let it dry.

Granfix suggest that just wire brush\sand and then priming once with neat acrylic bonding agent is fine. followed with a single part flexible adhesive but this may not be the best idea if your worried about asbestos content.

joey123 · 18 Nov 2013

Thank you very much for your incredibly helpful reply! I have read lots of posts where the poster describes tiles from this era being stuck with a sticky brown/ tar type substance, and expected to find this when we chipped one up, but, in actual fact, underneath is a white substance, which is very tough and incredibly hard to remove. As for the tiles themselves, I will try and upload a photo- I need to look into how to do this- as would be very interested to know what they are!

joey123 · 18 Nov 2013

Tile image... Hoping this works!

joey123 · 18 Nov 2013

joey123 · 18 Nov 2013

Clicking on the image should take you to a better size of image I think. If anyone knows what kind of tile they are I would love to know. The coating on the top feels a bit plasticky to touch to me. We thought it was a vinyl covering when we first moved in!

Thanks

tpt · 18 Nov 2013

Good thing i asked for a photo. Those are ceramics.

As long as they are solid and you can stand the increase in floor height then you can tile over them. use a 1 part flexible tile adhesive such as granfix fastset flexible. no need for a slurry coat and no worries about asbestos

joey123 · 18 Nov 2013

Oh wow- ok- thank you! Height difference is part of the reason we wish to
tile over- it's an open plan space which will be half carpet, and as these were laid when house was built, the chipboard butts up to the tiles- so once we carpet/ underlay over this side, the carpeted section will be much higher than the tiles (we have had the dividing walls out). They seem pretty well stuck down (chiseling one up was not fun!).

Do I need to sand/ wire wool the surface, or simply clean well?

Many thanks again!

joey123 · 19 Nov 2013

Should add- the top of the tiles definitely feels like plastic coating of some sort? Does not feel cold to the touch like for example the ceramics in our bathroom. Was there some sort of plastic type coating used on tiles of this era? Does this make any difference to how to go about tiling over them?

Thanks

tictic · 21 Nov 2013

ceramic or clay based tiles...my eyes are tired...

just give them a good clean/prime with sbr follow inst on bottle for mfr mix ratio..tile away

diynot

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.

Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

Tiling over existing 'plasticky' tiles!

Similar threads