Tile on Tile? why we don't

[faithhealer]

Doing the perfect example at the mo of why we dont advise people of fixing tiles on existing tiles. Customer obviously wants the cheapest job but fortunately for him I talked him into stripping the tiles. Regardless of the weight issue, we always say, don't we, that we dont know how well the tiles are fixed. Well, tubbed addy for starters, all came off fairly easy, some fell off of their own accord but the scary bit was all the plasterboard was loose, just nailed here and there. wouldn't have been the tiles that came away, would have been the wall!

[user123]

Good call then, John! Good to do the right thing, well done, hope the customer was suitably relieved!

[Dave]

We taught you well John..

[hillhead]

Bit of i told you so there John, well done.

[Dan]

What did the customer say when you showed them?

Well done for not tiling over 'em mate!

[faithhealer]

What did the customer say when you showed them?

Well done for not tiling over 'em mate!

I think I was more pleased because it proved what I was talking about.
some other work had been in the same house by a 'Plumber' and his side kick who popped in for a 'nose', today. Interesting conversation lol, their walls are, tile on tile, tubbed addy and dot and dab, 'The Un-Holy Trinity'

[Saltire69]

I think I was more pleased because it proved what I was talking about.
some other work had been in the same house by a 'Plumber' and his side kick who popped in for a 'nose', today. Interesting conversation lol, their walls are, tile on tile, tubbed addy and dot and dab, 'The Un-Holy Trinity'

You'll be fixing that 1 soon enough then

[aph257]

good one John.

[gizzy2007]

you can tile on tile its all depends on the tiles you are going to tile onto if there solid enough or coming loose every job is differant

[Alberta Stone]

I have done it a few times although the tiles below were solid and so was the subfloor (small areas only), but for added precaution I made the client sign a paper stating that they specified I do so and said that I could only warranty so much of the job (level, straight, proper materials, etc, basically a cosmetic warranty as in, "it's going to look good, but I cannot warranty the integrity).
It is better to build on your own ground, but if you can't, then get a caveat in writing to protect you from any thing that you think may go wrong.

[faithhealer]

. Interesting conversation lol, their walls are, tile on tile, tubbed addy and dot and dab, 'The Un-Holy Trinity'

Forgot to mention their method of fixing onto damaged plasterboard. Make the hole big enough to put addy in the hole and attach to farside plasterboard??!! Coming to a video by Colour republic soon lol

[deanotile]

any pics m8

[faithhealer]

any pics m8

of the plumbers lol

[stu-180]

Funny, my dad has move into a new care home and complained to them about the tiling, they said it was totally fine, 3 weeks later he was sitting in the living room and a mighty crash and bang and he went into the kitchen and there was tiles all over the place (double layered) , so they do fail ! , this was only a half a meter high strip (thankfully not a whole wall in a bathroom etc..)

I know people who have insisted that the tiler tiles over tiles for some reason (normally laziness to strip the walls).

[diamondtiling]

you can tile on tile its all depends on the tiles you are going to tile onto if there solid enough or coming loose every job is differant

Do you have xray vision? No? Enough said.

[jay]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm sounds familiar

[gizzy2007]

in the 8 year i have been tiling i havent seen a wall coming down due to being double tiled lol

[GirlRacerRed]

in the 8 year i have been tiling i havent seen a wall coming down due to being double tiled lol

it's very possible the installation hasn't failed, just in the same way it's very possible that the customers never rang you back to say the tiles had failed. in some circumstances, tile on tile can realistically be the only available option. but every professional tiler on here will never advocate the tile on tile installation method, regardless of success or failure in the past.

bathrooms and shower walls that have been tiled on to tile run the risk of tiles failing and falling on to people and children. when this is explained to customers, most understand this safety approach and realise the recommendation of stripping off the old tiles and ensuring the correct preparation work before the new tiles are fixed.

professional tilers will not want it on their conscience or insurance that a tile on tile job failed and injured somebody or wrecked a customer's bathroom etc.

[diamondtiling]

in the 8 year i have been tiling i havent seen a wall coming down due to being double tiled lol

In the 20 plus years that I have been tiling I have lost count of the so called pro fixers that seem to condone this bad practice. Funnily enough they are also the ones that always seem to be complaining about lack of work or bad customers.
Standards are there to be met and surpassed.

[mikethetile]

oh dear
why do pro tilers insist this is an acceptable practice, we have it everytime t on t is mentioned and we have to defend our position on this

well done John for proving that there is only one way to tile

the right way

[trevortine]

I have been renovating two bathrooms from top to bottom in some exclusive flats recently. On leaving last night the guy next door called me in to quote for his two bathrooms, yup you guessed it, he wants tile on tile. Has already had three separate quotes, i told him the only way i would do it would be to strip out and renew existing plasterboard. He was never informed of the dangers of tile on tile and is considering my quote. But for three "reputable" guys to quote on this i find shocking.

[TF Ed]

i fully understand that customers want to save money, especially is this climate but it is a real gamble to 'tile on tile'
as dom said, you havent got x-ray vision and even if they sound secure, that doesnt really determine anything because its the extra weight that you put on the walls that will cause the possibility of failure, not the current condition.

[dhsanta65]

As siad before you do not know what is underneath the tiles, I had two jobs last year where customer wanted me to tile on tile.
Talked them round to striping them off, both jobs tiles seemed sound but when striped off one had been tile on top of wall paper and the other had three layers of tiles, weight issue with one and only wall paper paste to hold up tiles in the other case.
Better safe than sorry unless you have xray eyes.

[365drills]

When I tackled the mother-in-laws place this was my challenge



But the tiles were on so bloody tight that I gave up and kango-ed right back to the brickwork.


Going.....



GONE!



The plus was more room and a solid base to work from

[jay]

Tiles on tiles is really a no brainer question
tile adh make adh witch state you can tile on to tile and they guarantee it just like the adh that can tile directly to floorboards
the answer is with the person fixing the tiles and like all tiling work they have to determine if the wall or floor area to be tiled is suitable as with every job you do
it comes down to experience and knowledge
walls should be avoided for tile on tile application but there are some exceptions
floors can be done but also have limitations

it all comes down to experience and being able to asses the substrate and its suitability

[cornish_crofter]

As has been said you have no idea how firm the original tiles are.

A bathroom I stripped out a couple of years ago had been tiled ove PVA.

PVA is a popular but incorrect 'priming agent' If some numpty has used PVA then one of us comes along and tiles over that..........................

Also, removing the tiles already there gives you up to an extra inch on the room. It may not sound a lot but in a small bathroom it can make all the difference.

[Rob Z]

In nearly 21 years of setting tile, I think I've only gone over existing tile about 6-8 times. Each one of those was a floor, old styles-wet set in mud. As jay said above, with proper prep and experience, in rare occasions it will work.

[Rob Z]

This was one that I decided to tile over the existing floor. This bathroom was a total gut except for the floor, which was "wet set" in the early 1950's. Knowing how the house was built, how the joists ran, the thickness of the mud bed (over 4"), and a few other factors, led me to the decision to leave it in place. We cleaned the tile, skimmed it with thinset, covered it with a membrane and set the mosaics.

It's always a judgement call.

sutton design llc timeless kitchens and baths

[365drills]

It's always a judgement call.

Agree with that !

[gizzy2007]

am telling you long as the walls are stable, solid and you check it wont come out by the door frame tile on tile will be ok tilers dont want to tile on tile as it slips more and they cant handle it and use the oldest trick in the book health and safety
peace out