Hi all I'm planning to do a full bathroom renovation.
Still undecided about whether to tile on top of the current floor tiles or jack hammer the old floor tiles and start fresh. I am on a concrete block. Single level house. Planning to do main bathroom and ensuite.
Would love to hear any experience from anyone who has done any of the two above.
Thank you.
The floor outside the bathroom is also tiles at the same level . I know tiling on top of existing tiles will make the floor in the bathroom slightly higher .
We live in an old house and when we decided to redo the bathroom, the tiler recommended that we lay new floor tiles over existing ones. That was 9 years ago. The tiles are still good and none of them have come loose, if that's what you are asking. Yes, we had to adjust the height of the bathroom door, but that was easy.
Thats good to hear . Yes i know the door will have to be adjusted if we tile on top of existing tiles
Remove the old ones.
Do the next person (and yourself) a favour. Get rid of the old tiles.
How would one go around the toilet base if you're doing tile over tile? Wouldn't it look a bit funny? Or would you remove the toilet first?
We will be getting a new toilet . New everything . New Toilet , bath , shower , vanity
I was asking because I was about to do the tile over tile thing too, but wasn't sure how I'd go around the toilet without making it look tacky. (I've left it as-is so far.)
Sorry I'm not sure about that . Im a newbie when it comes to renovating bathrooms
Hows the waterproofing old days they used fiberglass that was renowned for cracking and leaking.
Re-tile waterproofing in in a membrane you know it's good for life. Tile over the top and something goes wrong you'll be plugging silicone over all the corners till you finally rip it up again.
Get a tiler and follow their recommendation. I personally would never tile over older tiles, since you don't really know if there is any issues underneath the existing ones.
If you find issues after the fact, like your waterproofing is no longer sound or there is leaking, it will be a very costly mistake to have to redo it again.
I have just renovated two bathrooms and can advise the following, If you are spending the money to put down new tiles / full bathroom renovation…do the job properly and remove the old tiles. The quality of the finish and end result is always dependant on the preparation…..!
With my two bathroom renovations I also replaced all wall sheeting and ceilings as well. I also had all the walls checked and straightened where required.
^ this.
Spend 50% more now and do the job properly. Including fixing up the walls and thorough waterproofing. Also, get a plumber to check all the pipework when the walls are off and invest a few bucks in pipe insulation. Get the pipes firmly secured to prevent water hammering noises.
My vote is to replace the old tiles for the reasons outlined below.
My first lease after moving out of my parent's house was an art deco apartment that had a raised 'step' at the bathroom entrance. The bathroom was quite large and recently renovated as all the fixtures/fittings were new. The reno was beautifully done in keeping with the art deco theme so I guess they may have wanted to save some money by not removing the old tiles. Unsure of any other reason for tiling over old tiles?
I got used to the 'step' however it became quite the trip hazard for visitors with a few stubbed toe injuries being the worst of it until I gave notice …
The older property manager that attended to carry out the final inspection tripped over the bathroom 'step' and hit his forehead on the edge of the vanity as he fell forward. For a second, I thought he was seriously injured as there was blood everywhere. It was so shocking to witness and I had to get a towel from a neighbour (the place was empty as I had already moved out all my belongings) to stem the bleeding until the ambulance got there.
Out of interest, have you received quotes for tiling over the old tiles vs. removing them first?
Yes i got a quote for removing the old tiles and putting new ones . But someone has recommended tiling over the old tiles to save money and time
I haven't got a quote yet for tiling over the old tiles so not sure how much i would save yet
Remove old tile and get all new waterproofing and new tiles.
My Pop taught me one thing in life….
if you're going to do it then do it properly
(but you must say it in a thick Scottish accent like he had)
"Eff yer goon ta doo et, thun doo et proppalee"
Thanks for the memories. That's exactly how he sounded.
Need to remove and replace the waterproof membrane.
Removing old tiles is such a satisfying experience. Out with the horrible old tiles and a bit of smash and bash to boot. Give yourself the chance to experience the joy of tile smashup.
I did a bathroom renovation 6 years ago and the new tiles failed through being dangerously slippery when wet. Tiller recommended new tiles over the top after scouring the surface of the old tiles. I think there is a particular glue to use.
Anyway outcome was excellent
go tap on every tile, if you have even 1 that is drummy remove and replace all. they will all go drummy
We bought a house where they have tiled over the old tiles. They successfully tiled over the centre floor drain as well (we knew this before we bought). Hasn’t been an issue yet, but once our kid is old enough to run his own baths I could see it being an issue. There’s also a small step ~1.5cm to enter the bathroom and guests have been known to trip on it, despite us warning everyone. We’ll pull everything out and start from scratch eventually - hopefully there won’t be asbestos underneath but if there is we will have someone deal with it. I would recommend ripping the old tiles up.
Re asbestos, 1st check your build year. Then get a sample test on eve linings. If your eve linings are asbestos, then you might find that wet areas such as laundry & bathroom walls & floors are too. Worth finding out.
Thanks! Will definitely look at that when the time comes.
A slight step up into a bathroom is quite common and so I wouldn't worry about that. Tiling over old tiles is ok if you are going for a cheap job and planning to sell. But it sounds like you are doing the full bathroom, and planning to live there. If tiling over old tiles, then you should rough up the old tiles with an angle grinder and clean up well, to give something to bite onto. Either way, you can't avoid a big mess.
Don't be so slack… so you have to step up into the bathroom.
You simply chip them off, and use its base as the new base
Definitely remove, keep your floor level the same. People pay good money when building for zero threshold.
Also removing tile from concrete really isn't too hard. A bit time consuming but I bet the bathroom isn't that big.
Remove the old tiles and add the new.
If cost is an issue, remove the old times yourself, its pretty easy and only a few hours of work. Plus, since you are changing everything (toilet etc), you dont have to be overly careful
Depends on the level to the floor outside the bathroom