when tiling an old kitchen/bathroom

[spenny]

when tiling an old kitchen/bathroom that has existing tiles on the wall or floor what do you normally reccomend to the customer?
I normally suggest tiling over the existing tiles as it is less time consuming to have to remove the tiles and prepare the wall/floor,which obviously makes the job cheaper for them, but also because it is so much easier to tile on top of the old ones.

What's you guys thoughts?

spenny

[a1tiler]

really depends whats beneath the existing tiles, and will it take the extra weight ? personally i would remove old tiles , make good the substrate and then fix new tiles, at least you know what you are working with that way. only my opinion though !

[wetdec]

Am with A1 on this.

If its old and a kitchen chances are the old tiles are over paint and won't take the new load m8, the good news tho is they will probably fly off with a scraper.


tiler

[Dave]

Take them off.......How can you guarentee your work if its onto somebody else's....you don't know how they are fixed or how well they are fixed....

[Fekin]

Take them off.......How can you gaurentee your work if its onto somebody else's....you don't know how they are fixed or how well they are fixed....

[andy-p]

[Daveyboy]

I always take old tiles off...as Dave says, you can't guarrantee your own work otherwise. Also, the extra thickness can cause problems around skirting, architrave and windows (if half tiled). If the client insists on leaving them on, I make it clear I cannot guarrantee my work

[mickbull]

when tiling an old kitchen/bathroom that has existing tiles on the wall or floor what do you normally reccomend to the customer?
I normally suggest tiling over the existing tiles as it is less time consuming to have to remove the tiles and prepare the wall/floor,which obviously makes the job cheaper for them, but also because it is so much easier to tile on top of the old ones.

What's you guys thoughts?

spenny

You really need to take them off! Without knowing how there fixed, especially the walls, with the extra weight you could end up with a disaster on your hands!!

[Rad2474]

I've just been to see a customer and she wanted this i told her no,they must come off i'm not tiling onto tiles.I garantee my work not someone elses.

[spenny]

i see the general opinion is to get them off. What is the best way of doing this?
What do you then say to the customer about the condition of the wall beneath. I am not the most confident when it comes to trying anything other than tiling, so do you get someone else in (ie plasterer) to sort the wall or do you just whack up ply wood? Surely this adds time and money onto the job and could put customers off?

[medlar]

strip them off mate,patchwork plastering is easy,if ya not up to it,get someone in to do that for you.Yes it add time and money on and CAN put customers off,but i would be quite happy to lose a job,rather than fix on top of someone else work as you could not truthfully garauntee the work

[bigandy]

If you can tile you can patch plaster. Just mix your plaster, moisten area apply with trowel use a straight edge to square off with rest of wall.

Just use a straight edge it makes your job so much easier,practise at home take a lump hammer to the wall(the misses will forgive you eventually)and try patching it up! Am sure someone will be able to describe it more elequently than me but there you go

[spenny]

cheers guys

[cornish_crofter]

If you can tile you can patch plaster. Just mix your plaster, moisten area apply with trowel use a straight edge to square off with rest of wall.

Just use a straight edge it makes your job so much easier,practise at home take a lump hammer to the wall(the misses will forgive you eventually)and try patching it up! Am sure someone will be able to describe it more elequently than me but there you go

The plastering doesn't have to be that good if you're going to tile onto it.

I was advised by Dave here to use rapid setting plaster from wickes, or similar. Unfortunately I live and am working out in the sticks. No one stocks rapid setting plaster!

Mind you this is Cornwall. Maybe I should be looking for Drekley setting plaster