Is it even possible to lay new tiles over old ones?
Is it possible to lay tiles on tiles? This question cannot be answered unequivocally. Because in rare cases you can be sure that the existing ceramics will hold tightly, have no voids and will not begin to fall off under the weight of the new tile.
Weigh the pros and cons and study the surface
In practice, you can put new tiles on top of old ones. But before installation, you should still weigh the pros and cons, and if, for some reason, you decide not to dismantle the previous coating, you need to carefully check whether it has a sufficiently reliable adhesion to the surface of the wall or floor. To do this, tap the tiles with a hammer and inspect them. If it rattles when tapped or has cracks and swellings, then there is no way to put a new layer on it. It will have to be dismantled. If the elements hold tightly, then you can proceed.
Simple and reliable installation technology
The methods that craftsmen use when laying new ceramic tiles on old ones vary. Many people advise making notches, cutting off the glaze with a grinder, etc. But if you use a special primer, then all these measures will be unnecessary. Concrete contact is exactly what is needed for surfaces with low water absorption.
Before applying primer to old tiles, it is thoroughly cleaned of dirt and grease. Concrete contact is applied with a roller or brush. The material is thoroughly mixed before use and during operation. Do not allow the primer to get into your eyes, but if the mixture gets into your eyes, wash it off with plenty of water.
You need to wear rubber gloves when working with concrete contact. The average primer consumption is 300 g per m².
They produce acrylic-based concrete contact. In addition to special fillers that increase the adhesion of the mixture, the soil contains sand and cement. Any hard-to-absorbent surfaces can be treated with concrete contact. After applying primer to the surface, it becomes rough. When the previous coating is processed, it is given three hours to dry.
After the primer has dried, the surface is suitable for laying new material on the adhesive solution. About how to do this.
Video: work technology
Do not forget that if you do not, but lay a new one on it, this will reduce the area of your room. Bathrooms in apartments tend to have a small area, so it’s worth considering whether you need to reduce it even more.
(No ratings yet)
Of course, the option is not the best to lay new tiles on old ones. It is better to dismantle the old tiles; it is possible that the plaster will have to be removed. In short, bring the ideal surface to an amazing appearance, so that later the tiles do not fall off when laying new tiles. Everyone chooses for themselves how it is most profitable for them to make repairs so that there is no loss.
By clicking the “Add comment” button, I agree with the site.
In the process of carrying out repair work with your own hands, you have to deal with many difficult questions, the correct answers to which will determine the quality and service life of the new finish. One such question is, can you lay tile on tile? Let's consider whether it is possible to use the old tile as a basis for a new coating or whether it is better to dismantle it to avoid possible problems.
Features of preparation of various types of surfaces. How to rub seams. Criteria for choosing tile coverings and laying patterns for the floor.
How to remove old grout from tile joints
Quite often you have to deal with a situation where the condition of the old tile is quite satisfactory, but in order to use it as the basis for a new coating, it is necessary to replace the grout for the joints. It is quite possible to carry out this procedure, however, it requires attention and time. Let's look at how to remove grout from tile joints correctly.
In order to remove old grout, there is a special tool called a “grout remover.” It can be used to remove grout mechanically. By itself, it is a blade with a comfortable handle, but as an alternative, you can use a regular knife.
The blade of a knife or embroiderer must be passed on both sides at an angle and straight. When doing this, you need to be careful not to chip the edges of the tiles. It is worth noting that this cannot be done quickly “by hand”, so you can use a drill with a thin drill bit or an electric chisel.
Important! If, in the process of removing the old grout, the tiles also begin to crumble, it is better to abandon the idea of laying another layer on top, even if there is new grout.
How to remove old grout from tile joints if it is silicone
Silicone grout also requires dismantling and replacement, especially if the room has not been provided with high-quality ventilation. Very often you have to deal with the fact that the seams are affected by mold, which is almost impossible to remove. Therefore, before laying new tiles over old tiles, you need to take care of the hygiene of the joints.
Removal of silicone sealant is carried out using a sharp knife or a special scraper. After this, additional cleaning is carried out using a vacuum cleaner.
Helpful advice! There are special products that allow you to remove silicone faster and with less effort. Such compositions are applied using a mounting gun, after which it is necessary to wait at least 24 hours. Then the seams are wiped with a rag or paper.
Is it possible to lay tiles on tiles on the floor: features of the work
Floor coverings, unlike wall coverings, are not subject to gravity. Therefore, in a sense, installation is easier. But in this case, another difficulty arises - the new coating will regularly be subject to serious loads.
Before gluing tiles to the floor, you need to carry out an equally thorough check of each element of the lower layer. To do this, you can use the same hammer for tapping, but you can try another approach: an object with a flat base (a box works well), you need to smoothly drag it across the surface, carefully observing that not a single tile falls even a few millimeters. It can be difficult to do this in a small bathroom or toilet, but for larger rooms this is a very effective way.
In general, all the recommendations provided in the previous section are also relevant when working with floors. It is only advisable to give preference to mineral compositions. Thus, the surface will be provided with greater elasticity, which will allow it to withstand heavy loads and temperature changes.
Helpful advice! Before laying floor tiles over an old ceramic coating, you don't have to do as much prep work as you would with a wall surface. But it’s still worth moistening the base before you start applying glue, as this will have a positive effect on adhesion.
Is it possible to make a self-leveling floor on old tiles?
As a basis for a new coating, you can also use a self-leveling floor, which is installed directly on the surface of the old tile. As in all previous cases, a mandatory procedure is a thorough check of the quality of fastening of the lower layer. All loosely fitting elements must be dismantled.
It is also worth paying attention to the fact that in cases where we are talking about working with a glossy surface, the top layer of coating is removed to ensure the necessary level of adhesion between the solution and the tile. Filling and further work are carried out according to the standard algorithm.
Helpful advice! Laying a new layer of tile does not require a thick layer of self-leveling floor. Its thickness should not exceed 5 mm. The main thing is to evenly distribute the composition over the entire surface.
Taking into account the opinion of experts, we can say that installing a self-leveling floor on top of tiles is possible only in extreme cases. In this case, the area of the room should be small, and the requirements for the operational characteristics of the surface should be minimal.
Is it possible to lay tiles on tiles outdoors?
A very interesting question that may arise is whether it is possible to lay a new layer of paving slabs on top of the old one. Of course, such a procedure is often unjustified, but still, in some cases, this technology is resorted to in the process of arranging garden paths, terraces and summer areas.
As in the case of tiles laid on old flooring inside the house, the main criterion is the quality of fastening of the lower layer. You can check it using a pry bar or a strong knife. Using such tools, you should try to remove one of the elements.
Important! If the tile was able to be moved with a knife, but this required serious physical effort, then such a coating can be used as a base. If the tile comes off easily, this may later cause deformation of the top layer.
A new cushion is poured on top of the old layer of tiles, which should consist of three layers - loose soil, gravel, sand. In this case, compaction of each layer must be carried out separately. On top, according to standard technology, a new layer of paving slabs is laid.
Thus, the answer to the question of whether it is possible to lay tiles on tiles on the floor in the bathroom or even on the walls is rather in the affirmative. Of course, during the work process you will have to follow many rules and recommendations, and the end result can almost always be unpredictable, but in principle, this is quite possible.
When it comes to installing tiles, one of the main requirements is careful preparation of the base on which the tiles are planned to be laid. According to building regulations, the base must be cleaned of the old coating, checked for horizontalness, leveled with a cement screed and treated with a primer that improves the adhesion of tile adhesive.
If for new housing this option is undeniable, then for already exploited housing it represents a great difficulty and even a “headache”.
Problems with removing old tiles
Nowadays, it is rare to find a bathroom or toilet where the walls and floors are not tiled. And the need to remove it disheartens every owner of such housing.
After all, this process is associated with a lot of inconveniences:
- The work involves the use of impact instruments, which means it will be very noisy, which cannot but cause complaints from residents of neighboring apartments.
- During work, a large amount of dust is generated, requiring isolation of all rooms adjacent to the repair site.
- Removing old tiles can lead to damage to the screed underneath, which will have to be partially or completely repaired.
- It will be necessary to remove fragments of tiles and the removed layer of adhesive.
- Repairing or restoring an old floor base will require new materials, effort and time, which leads to additional material and time costs.
Therefore, both apartment owners and renovation workers could not help but be tempted to use old tiles as a base for installing new ones. An annoying obstacle to the implementation of this idea is the low porosity of the tile surface, which does not allow reliable bonding of the fresh adhesive layer to the old tile.
The ability of a solid material to absorb water is directly proportional to the number of pores in it. For tiles intended for finishing surfaces inside a building, it varies from 0.5 to 3%. The upper surface of the tile, including the floor tile, is most often covered with a layer of glaze, which ensures the waterproofness of the tile layer, which is necessary for wet rooms.
In order for the glue to properly attract the new topcoat to the old base, it must penetrate through the pores into the body of the base. Therefore, it is necessary that its pores are open. Surface roughness is also important, improving adhesion.
How to achieve these goals in the case of old tiles?
To do this, you can use the following methods:
- Remove the glaze layer from the surface of the old tile using a sander.
- It is also advisable to form notches on the surface of the old tiles.
- Treat the old surface with Betonokontakt primer, enriched with sand particles, or even better, needle quartz. After this treatment, the surface acquires the necessary roughness, after which it becomes suitable for adhesion to tile adhesive.
The latter method allows you to save a lot of time and effort and reduce the time required for repair work. But if all three methods are used in a comprehensive manner, then you won’t have to worry about the result of the work. However, these are not all the conditions under which you can use an old tile as a basis for gluing a new one.
All of the above methods for preparing the base can only be used if there are no certain defects.
- The floor is uneven, that is, the differences in its surface are more than 4 mm per 2 m of the slats applied to the surface. If less, then the primer and glue will be able to level out the differences.
- Old tiles are covered with cracks in which many years of dirt, grease, and possibly mold have accumulated.
- Tapping the surface reveals voids under the layer of previous tiles. If there are many such places, the floor will have to be completely dismantled. In the case of individual places, the tiles are removed here and the surface is leveled with a screed.
- When installing old tiles, poor-quality glue was used and the tiles were “loose.”
- During the previous renovation, communications were laid under the floor, but inspection hatches were not provided. The floor must be completely dismantled.
- When new tiles are installed, the floor level rises so much that it becomes above the threshold. This will not allow you to freely use the doors. In addition, the floor level in the bathroom and toilet is usually lower than in neighboring rooms. This is done to prevent spilled water from immediately and unimpededly flowing into adjacent rooms.
A very important condition in this case is that the seams of the previous tile covering do not match the seams of the newly laid one. Therefore, during the period of preparing the tiles for work (cutting them to size), you need to draw a floor plan with all its inherent features. Then the new tiles are laid out on a dry surface in order to place the cut pieces in inconspicuous places, taking into account the overlap of the seams of the old floor.
Then the work is carried out as follows:
- The crumbled seams of old tiles must be cleaned out with a chisel and filled with tile adhesive or cement mortar.
- Old tiles must be thoroughly washed from dust, first with just water and then with soapy water. Grease stains can be cleaned with baking soda. After this, the entire surface is washed again with clean water.
- The cleaned surface of the base must be treated with a primer with additives for roughness. To do this, you can use a brush or roller. Material consumption is approximately 300 g/sq.m. m. Based on the area of the new floor, it is easy to calculate the required amount of primer.
- Tile adhesive is applied to a small area of the floor. Please note that it dries quickly, so the area of the area should not be more than 1 square meter. m.
- Next, forcefully place the first tile in place. While the glue is fresh, its position can be adjusted if necessary. Next, glue the following elements, which should be located next to it.
- Don't forget to leave expansion joints between the tiles. If necessary, use special crosses.
- A day after installing the new tiles, you can start filling the joints with jointing mortar or a polymer composition.
Thus, if a number of conditions are met, a new coating can be laid on a layer of old tiles.
But its quality and durability depend entirely on how thoroughly the old coating is examined and how carefully it is prepared.
If there is even the slightest reason to believe that the old tile is poorly laid or does not hold firmly, it is better to completely dismantle it and lay a new floor using conventional technology.
When renovating an apartment, a situation often arises when you need to install new tiles instead of old ones. The work of dismantling old tiles is hard work associated with the need not only to remove the tiles themselves, but also to remove large volumes of construction waste and level the floor or walls. Therefore, the question “is it possible to lay tiles on tiles” arises very often in such cases. Is it possible? Yes, subject to certain conditions.
Inspection of old tiles
To find out whether it is possible to lay a new tile on the old one, it is necessary to examine the strength of its attachment to the base. To do this, the tiles are first inspected to detect cracks, chips, and falling fragments. If the tile appears to be holding tightly, it is tapped with a wooden hammer, and if there is chatter or cracks, the poorly secured tile is chipped off. If most of the tiles are not holding up well and there are voids underneath, you will have to dismantle them, level the floor or walls, and only then lay new tiles.
It is also necessary to find out whether the floor level will become higher than the threshold level of the room. Too thick coating on the walls also does not look aesthetically pleasing, and in this case it is also better to remove the tiles.
Laying tiles on tiles
If the condition of the old coating is satisfactory and the decision is made to lay tiles on tiles, it is necessary to roughen the old tiles, otherwise it will be impossible to achieve good adhesion of the new tiles. You can do this in several ways:
- Remove the glossy top layer from the tile;
- Make notches on the tile;
- Treat its surface with a special primer.
The first two methods are labor-intensive and involve a lot of dust. The third method requires additional material costs for the purchase of a primer.
Removing the top layer, as well as making notches, is done using a grinder. This is done in order to create contact between the tile adhesive and the lower moisture-absorbing layer of the old tile. The top layer of the tile can not be completely removed, but the contact area of the adhesive with the tile should not be less than 60%. The notches are applied at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other.
A more modern way to roughen smooth waterproof surfaces is to treat them with a concrete-contact primer. This primer has excellent adhesion to the glazed top layer of tiles and creates a rough coating on top of which tile adhesive adheres well.
Technology of laying tiles on tiles:
Tiles laid over old ones can serve faithfully for many years, but there are situations when this is not recommended. Laying tiles on tiles is not advisable if:
- When tapped, the tile does not collapse, but the sound is inhomogeneous. This indicates the presence of air voids, and tiles laid on top of such a coating will create too much stress on the old mortar, causing the tiles to fall off along with the old one.
- The room, for example a bathroom, has a very small area and poorly aligned walls. In this case, laying tiles on top of old tiles and a thick layer of plaster greatly reduces the useful dimensions of the room, and it is better to remove the old coating and do the cladding according to all the rules.
- The tiles are very old and prone to the formation of small cracks, chips, and destruction of the top layer. Tiles laid on such a base will not last long, and everything will have to be redone.
- Old communications were laid under the old tiles without installation of inspection hatches and access to the pipes. If it is necessary to replace pipes, you will have to carry out large-scale dismantling work and remove both layers of tiles at once. It is more rational to spend a little more time and money on dismantling and laying new pipes and tiles.
- The tiled floor is uneven or has a fairly large slope that needs to be leveled. In this case, it is better to remove not only the tiles, but sometimes also the old screed, and repair the floor according to all the rules.
It would seem, why put new tiles on old ones. However, there are cases when this simply cannot be avoided: sometimes the conditions of the construction site require it. It also happens that this approach turns out to be more budget-friendly.
Old tiles can still serve
Before deciding whether to dismantle the old one, think about whether it is advisable to remove the previous layer. Maybe the old cladding will save on preparatory work.
Justification of economic feasibility
If you cannot answer this question yourself, we offer you several significant “pros” of using old tiles:
- reduction of terms;
- savings on materials;
- labor costs are reduced;
- the amount of waste is reduced.
Contraindications for work
On the other hand, there are situations when it is impossible to do without dismantling the old coating. Let's name the main cases:
- the surface on which work is to be done has a slope;
- it is necessary to dismantle communications;
- voids under the old layer;
- the tiles are too thin and contain multiple cracks and chips;
Important! If the percentage of damaged coating is more than 10 - 15%, dismantling must be carried out without fail.
Is it possible to put tiles on tiles on the wall: technological nuances
Before you begin any preparatory work, examine the condition of the tiles on which you plan to lay a new layer of tiles.
The procedure for assessing the condition of the old coating
Make sure there are no visible defects or chips. Examine the coating for voids and dips. Indeed, in the absence of strong adhesion to the base, the bottom layer may simply crumble.
Advice! The presence of voids can be checked by simply tapping with a fist or a rubber mallet.
Pay attention to the quality, cracks may indicate a poor-quality building mixture, in addition, it is important to check for a slope, in this case it will not be possible to lay it evenly.
How to put new tiles on old wall tiles if the surface condition is considered satisfactory
And now from theory to practice. Let's look at the process step by step.
Roughening the old coating to ensure the desired level of adhesion
Before you start tiling, you should properly prepare the base:
| Illustration | Description of action |
 | The first stage is degreasing the surface. You can simply take soap and water and give the tile floor a good scrub. If you accidentally stain the surface with glue or mortar, you can clean the surface with a brush. In our case, we use a brush attachment on a drill. We pay special attention to the seams. Important! While working, do not forget to wear a mask and respirator! |
 | Using this, we level out those surface elements that had to be removed. Let's use the rule. We apply concrete contact to the washed and pre-dried surface with old tiles to improve adhesion. |
Installation using standard technology
Installation work should be performed in the following sequence:
| Illustration | Action Descriptions |
 | After our concrete contact has dried, we can begin laying a new one. Check the level in advance to see if there are any slopes. The floor must be perfectly level. Apply medium-thick glue with a comb, trying to avoid gaps. |
 | Place the tile and press gently. If necessary, adjust the position. We remove the excess glue and place it in the place where the next tile will be laid. The arrow indicates the angle along which we remove excess glue. |
 | We continue to work, checking ourselves on the level. We control the joints of the plates with limiters - crosses. |
Is it possible to lay floor tiles on tiles: a professional answer to a pressing question
Professionals do not exclude the need for such finishing work. As we noted above, this is significant, making it less expensive and dusty.
Assessment of the condition of the old coating
In addition to the above points that we talked about earlier, it is not advisable to lay it on old tiles in the following cases:
- if your home does not have high ceilings, in this case an extra layer can visually reduce the space;
- sometimes there is a need to replace the old one.
Important! If the surface of the tile is smooth, its adhesive characteristics should be increased. You can clean the glossy surface with a special brush.
We suggest watching the video to understand in detail how to lay tiles on tiles:
Is it possible to lay tiles on old tiles on the street: let's figure it out together
Higher demands are placed on the performance characteristics of roofs laid outdoors. Only when the old foundation is strong enough can such work be carried out.
Checking the strength of the old coating
The first stage is to check the strong adhesion of the street tiles to the base; if it was not possible to move the tiles with a stick or pry bar, then they can serve as the basis for a new coating.
How to lay paving slabs on the street if the strength of the old coating is not satisfactory
How to properly lay tiles on tiles outdoors? This process has its own characteristics.
Construction of a new cushion of soil, gravel and sand
It is important to ensure a tight compaction of the layer. The thickness of the “pillow” should not exceed that which was laid in the old layer. The composition of the mixture in the base may vary depending on the thickness of the tile and the load that will affect the surface.