how to remove vinyl floor tiles

[jobsagudun]

I want to re tile a solid kitchen floor with ceramic tiles.
The existing vinyl floor tiles are well stuck down,underneath them is a polystyrene layer, also well stuck down.

Any ideas on removing both please.
Cheers

 

[Richard C]

A straight blade spade is usually as good as anything. What’s the polystyrene layer, some sort of insulation? How thick is it? What sort of adhesive has been used on the screed floor?

 

[jobsagudun]

A straight blade spade is usually as good as anything. What’s the polystyrene layer, some sort of insulation? How thick is it? What sort of adhesive has been used on the screed floor?

Hi Richard
the polystyrene was probably used for insulation and is about 3mm thick. Don't know about what adhesive was used as this is a new house we have just moved into.
regards john

 

[Richard C]

OK; just that, although not ideal IMO, you can tile over well fixed vinyl tiles using the correct adhesive but I wouldn’t risk it in this case. The polystyrene is not thick enough to provide any meaningfull insulation, it sounds like something similar to the underlay used under timber/laminate flaoting flooring but quiet why it was used under vinyl tiles & stuck down I’m not sure; but I’m no vinyl tile expert.

One way or another you need to get it all up before you attempt laying any sort of ceramic/porcelain tile. You also need to know what type of adhesive was used, if it leaves a black sticky residue it’s probably bitumen based; this is important because it will dictate the preparation needed before you start tiling. Come back when you’ve got it all up & ready to proceed & we’ll take it from there. Don’t start buying tiles, materials or doing any preparation work until you’ve read the tiling forum sticky, looked through the archive posts & asked questions if you need to; it could prevent you from making potentially expensive mistakes.