How to Lay Tiles on Tiles?

Summary

Preparing the substrate before laying tile on the tile

Advice for a tile-on-tile installation

Laying tiles on other surfaces

Laying tile on tile: the finishing touches

Laying tile over existing tile is ideal if you want to change your décor without removing the existing tile.

Preparing the substrate before installing tile over tile

Laying tile over existing tile is possible on both walls and floors. 

In the case of a floor installation, removing existing tiles is a titanic task, as tiles are the most complicated floor covering to remove!

For example, in the case of a wall tiling, it avoids you damaging the wall and redo the plaster. This represents a considerable saving of time.

Nevertheless, it would help to take some essential precautions before you start:

The surface must be stable:

• Re-seal any tiles that move.
• Sound hollow or come loose.
• Please remove them and fill the spaces with mortar.

The surface must be clean: degrease the tiles perfectly to remove any trace of grease or dust with a detergent.

The surface must be flat, very flat, because minor existing irregularities will be accentuated by piling another layer of tiles on top: to do this, check the flatness with a 2 m rule. Differences in level should not exceed 7 mm.

Ideally, you should apply a leveling coat to avoid any flatness problems.

Laying tiles on top of existing tiles is ideal if you want to change the decor without removing the existing tiles.

Advice for laying tiles on tiles

Here are a few tips not to be overlooked for a successful installation of tiles on tiles:

Pay attention to the thickness of your new tiles! Make sure that the added thickness of the tile and glue will not prevent you from opening/closing your doors.

Use a mortar adhesive specific to the substrate. Manufacturers of adhesive mortars specify whether they are suitable for installation on old tiles. 

Do not make the joints of the new tiles coincide with those of the old tiles.

Laying tiles on other surfaces

Laying tiles on parquet

You can also consider laying tiles on an existing parquet floor:

Fix the boards: nail down those that move.

Proceed in the same way, taking care to sand the floor to remove any traces of varnish or wax to allow the adhesion of the primer.

Follow the exact instructions for preparing the floor for tile-on-tile installation: dusting, washing.

Laying tiles on chipboard

You can also consider laying tiles on chipboard panels:

The substrate must be specifically prepared; otherwise, the water could cause the wood to swell and crack the tiles.

Opt for a primer, followed by a fibered patching and a flexible glue unique for wood floor.

Laying tiles on tiles: finishing touches

Once the precautions for the preparation of the support have been taken, the installation of tiles on tiles is done as on traditional backing. 

Depending on the size of the tile and the manufacturer’s recommendations, glue the tiles either by single or double gluing.

The last step is grouting. 

Lacking tiles on an old tile does not change the installation technique. Only the products used must be different and adapted!

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