I am looking to tile on top of sound existing wall tiles in the bathroom is this ok to do or this there a special preperation of the tiles needed or special adhesive needed.

Hello Kevin,
What size tiles are you fixing on the existing tiles, and what are they ? ceramic, porcelain or stone ?......Gaz

Depending on what new tiles your using will depend on wether it can be done or not.

Isn't it so that providing the wall/floor is sound and you use a good addy, it should be fine?

Originally Posted by Mike Strutter

Isn't it so that providing the wall/floor is sound and you use a good addy, it should be fine?

Not, for instance if he has plaster walls and he wished to put granite or marble or such like over the top. Safe weight limit of substrate would be exceeded.

Ahh yes of course, sorry i was just thinking of lighter tiles, not much call for the large heavy tiles on walls for me yet

Assuming the substrate is stong enough to accommodate the over tiling, the existing tiles need to be cleaned with sugar soap to ensure grease free and then use something like Rapidset with Admix AD1 and also a flexy grout.

I will be using 8 x 10 ontop of 6 x 6 on plastered walls.existing tiles are solid.

in my experience, it is fine to go ahead and aply new tiles onto existing tiles. just make sure you give them a clean first and use some adhesive that is suitable, most ready mixed tubs of wall tile adhesive can be used, but, I tend to use one that is a level up from bog standard (some are self priming), Just make sure thouroughly read the small print on the side of the tub/packet they usally state the limmitations of the product. and give it plenty of time to dry out before grouting, at least 3 days and a lot more for big tiles.

i have assumed you are using ceramic.

bigneil

and make sure your new grout lines are staggered and not over the existing ones

Existing tiles should be thoroughly cleaned using Sugar soap, remembering to rinse off completely afterwards. Weight limits for walls are: 20kg/m² for plaster and 32kg/m² for plasterboard, stay within these limits and you should be fine. Bal Grip is fine for tile over tile but please remember that the adhesive is going to take a bit longer to set because of tiling onto a non-porous surface. Grout lines should be staggered, horizontally and vertically so that new grout lines do not mimic the old grout lines.

Hi Guys,

Just about to upgrade my shower area,and will be tiling over existing tiles on a plasterboard background, new tiles are 250 x 380. I am a bit confused as to the choice of adhesive.Some have recommend Bal rapidset, while others prefer Bal grip.Bal's fixing guide makes no mention of a cementitious based tile fix over existing tiles.I would be gratelful for any comments.
Regards,

Charlie.

Bal Grip/Whitestar Ardex D30/D20
If you stick to those and follow the rest of the instructions you shouldnt have a problem. Keying the surface and scraping the existing grout lines never hurt anyone either.
D

Originally Posted by Unregistered

in my experience, it is fine to go ahead and aply new tiles onto existing tiles. just make sure you give them a clean first and use some adhesive that is suitable, most ready mixed tubs of wall tile adhesive can be used, but, I tend to use one that is a level up from bog standard (some are self priming), Just make sure thouroughly read the small print on the side of the tub/packet they usally state the limmitations of the product. and give it plenty of time to dry out before grouting, at least 3 days and a lot more for big tiles.

i have assumed you are using ceramic.

bigneil

Any size above 30 x 30 mm it is advised to use powdered adhesive, especially porcelain will need to be polymer modified to stick to it.....Gaz

If you use Bal Rapidset then you will need to need to add Bal Admix AD1 to the mix to improve the adhesives properties - I would advise the use of Bal Grip.

Would these suggestions still stand if the tiles also had a coat of paint on them as well?

I know you can tile over tile but I won't....and here is a prime example of why not, a few weeks ago I got a call to tile a bathroom, went and had a look, they wanted me to tile over a large format tile, the walls were already done floor to ceiling, I refused and said that if they remove the tiles and I would happily do the job, went back this evening after getting a call to give them an estimate and there was the bathroom with half the tiles removed and guess what....there were tiles underneath the ones they wanted me to tile over, these were also a large format tile...could have been three layers of tiles on eggshell walls..

Originally Posted by IGTiling

If you use Bal Rapidset then you will need to need to add Bal Admix AD1 to the mix to improve the adhesives properties - I would advise the use of Bal Grip.

Bal Grip being water dispersal cant rely on the moisture dissipating into the tiled wall, therefore extended drying time is to be expected....Bal single part flexible is more suitable, because it chemically sets....Gaz