Are you starting a refurbishment project? Part of that may involve laying new tiles. It can be painstaking to take off the old tiles before starting to lay the new ones. Thankfully, it is possible in most cases to tile on top of the existing tiles. There are a few things you need to keep in mind before you start laying the new tiles. Not taking the necessary precautions can be disastrous. Read on to find out more.
1. Inspect the old tiles for adherence
It is very important that you check the existing tiles to make sure that they are well adhered to the substrate. Well adhered tiles must not sound hollow when you tap them. You can check for ‘drumminess’ by tapping each tile with the back of a screwdriver and if you hear a hollow sound, there is some separation. The place you are looking to tile over must be 95% free of hollow sounds. If not, it is better if you take out the old tiles before you put new ones.
2. Make sure that the floor is even
It is important that you check if the floor that you are planning to lay tiles on is even. This requires careful measurements. If you find any spots that are uneven, these must be ground down so that they are level with the rest of the floor. You must check to see if the old floor was sealed or if it has a shiny glaze. These need to be roughened with sandpaper so that the adhesive can stick well to the old floor.
3. Pick the right tiles
Finally, you need to consider if the surface under the existing tiles will be able to withstand the addition of new tiles on top of the existing ones. Plasterboard can hold around 32kg/m². skimmed plasterboard can only take around 20kg/m². bearing this in mind, you need to note the thickness of the current tiles and what material they are made of. If both the old tiles and the new tiles are heavy, you must consider taking off the old tiles before you put a new set of tiles.
If you have not chosen the new tiles yet, focus on getting lightweight tiles. Even if the old set of tiles is not thick or heavy, the new set needs to be thin. If you are not sure which tiles would be best suited for this, worry not.