 Questions about Tiling over Linoleum | |
Hello, I reside in USA in Maryland northeast of Baltimore and am new to the site. Back in high school and college, I dated a fella who owned a tile business and was occasionally his assistant. I purchased ~252 sq. ft. of 12 x 12 ceramic tile for my kitchen and have some questions about installation. My house is 14 years old and I assume there is some sort of subfloor already in place (there are some squeaky spots that I'll screw down into the joists), I will confirm the existence of the subfloor under the dishwasher. Currently, the flooring is peel-and-stick 12 x 12 linoleum tiles. I have enquired several DIY shops (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.) as to how best to prepare the floor. I honestly would rather not have to remove 200 square feet of peel-and-stick linoleum unless absolutely necessary, however, I demand only the highest quality of workmanship from myself. Most places suggest roughing up the surface with sandpaper, but I'm curious if this is sufficient (also, I do believe that I need to lift part of the subfloor to ensure I avoid damaging plumbing when trying to screw into the joists to eliminate the squeaking). A fellow firefighter at work suggested an orange substrate and the way he described it sounded fantastic! None of the DIY places carry it and most hadn't heard of it. I found Schluter Systems online and will try to locate a local dealer.
If I am successful in finding it, my long, drawn-out questions are: 1. Is it easy to use for your basic homeowner? 2. Can I use it over the vinyl squares? 3. Has anyone had success/problems using it or is there a better substrate out there? 4. If I must remove the existing flooring, any suggestions on the most efficient method?
I tend to analyze the hell out of projects (mostly prep work) simply because I'm a perfectionist. Furthermore, my husband is not very handy around the house (more of an electronics nut), so I generally try to do projects start-to-finish over a few days while he's away on business, etc.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
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