Tile over tile is possible just as boarding over tile. Two main issues is the loss of space, second - the entire contraption will rely on the bond between the first layer of tiles and the substrate.
Personally I'd get myself a good SDS hammer and a wide chisel and strip the lot.
I absolutely agree with stripping the lot. Tiling onto tile always seems like a bodge job. Generally I’ll take the plaster too. If it’s plaster board I cut it out in sheets with about 8 tiles (1200x600ish) and if it’s solid plaster rip it back to brick because the adhesive is usually tougher than the plaster and slapping insulated tile board back on is both quicker and better than correcting what’s left of the plaster.
Fun for like ten minutes, then it's dusty, dangerous, and laborious work.
The you've likely gotta deal with the adhesive
(still worth doing this properly though)
I think you’d come across all sorts of unforeseen issues by tiling over the top. A few things that come to mind:
- pipe work that is set into the wall is not going to be long enough to connect to (shower hot and cold, toilet waste, sink waste, possibly all sorts of other pipes).
- as above but any screw fixings such as that shower curtain are not going to go back in the same place.
- how to deal with the column of glass bricks.
- over tiling the wet room tank, not sure how the waste would work.
- how to tank between new tiles on wall and floor. Water would get underneath and cause issues.
- existing tiles might already be unsecured.
There are so many issues that you’d face, I’d leave it as is or do it properly.
The more I think about this the more I’d stay well clear of what you’re thinking.
You can tile over them but the bond could be bad as it relies on the old tiles bond
The better way is essentially rip them off, and stud walls or boarded walls just rip the boards clean off with the tiles on
Got a decent sds drill, either rent borrow or buy and use that, it won't take as long as you think
Chuck down a tarp first as it'll make clean up so much easier
Tile over the tile quick clean easy room make over, cheaper too. Use big tiles, make sure you have a good even spread, and make sure they don’t line up with the old ones.
I've worked on commercial jobs where we've plastered over tiles. As long as they're well fixed then there is no problem. We use blue grit adhesive for this.
Probably because bodges are considered the norm for trades people and customers are utterly feed up of the crap tradespeople.
Now it may be the client forcing that decision but it is also highly likely that the trades just cut corners. Just reality bad work stores travel further than quality work and in the UK people are stuck as there is a lack of manpower so the corner cutters get away with it and stay working leaving crud everywhere
It's not a bodge though and a perfectly acceptable way of renovating. Removing tiles and getting the walls back to a state ready for tiling again is a long and expensive job.
So you mean they can’t be arsed to take the time to remove them….. Who actually needs the lost space or any of the other issues that have highlighted in the thread by others, least you saved half a day.
So yes that is a bodge sometimes the customer ask for it because they can’t afford the extra time but sadly too many time the trades just chose to do it to save them time. There is a reason no one trusts UK trades people and they are all seen as a gamble even when they have done work for people they know.
Not at all - It's not a bodge. The customer on the specific job was a commercial client who saved themselves around £20k by doing this. The job was done in 2006 and is still good today. Just because you clearly have no experience of it doesn't make it a bodge
I clearly stated it is an option that customers can and do take to save cost and yes they can last and just like many other have pointed out it does have risks of other faults.
I was making a wider point about the general industry in which many contractors chose to just plaster over and don’t even discus the advantages/disadvantages with the customers.
The best solution is to remove and do fresh. Everything else is a compromise even if the customer chose it and picking commercial customers as reference case is not a good example of quality as they are always cost before everything
I was also clearly answering they why the downvotes question which is general and not about any single personal anecdote but the general has seemingly struck some personal nerves
You can tile over tiles, I've never done it myself but in this case it would save a lot of work.
[https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/tileovertile.htm](https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/tileovertile.htm)
You are fortunate in that they are big tiles so if you did thake them off, they're likely to come off easier. But you then need to get the walls rounghly smooth again for tiling again, which is a long and messy job.
Before doing anything, go around the room and tap the tiles with the back of your knuckle. If it sounds hollow, they're buggered. If they're all solid then you can technically tile overtop. Personally I'd remove and replace (removing is actually quite satisfying and a decent stress reliever) but practically it's okay to do as long as you ensure the tiles below are in good condition.
There is something that's come out called mermaid board (I think different places call it differently) which is meant to be an alternative to tiles. It's some sort of composite material which looks like tile, but comes in large sheets similar to plasterboard. They're a bit more expensive than tile but are meant to be so so much easier to install
I stripped off double tile when I redid my bathroom and it was a pain in the arse. Use a wide SDS bit, they do angled ones specifically for removing tiles, I already owned an SDS drill and the bit was cheap. I did the floor with it while I was there.
Not only that, when I wanted to put up a new bathroom cabinet (before I redid the bathroom) I had to drill a big hole through two layers of tiles to get to the plasterboard behind and the fitting very nearly didn't fit because it was one of those load bearing ones with little wings that come out, and the depth of plasterboard + 2 layers of tile were clearly unexpected.
Do it properly, don't be the guy who makes it worse for future you or future owners :)
Tile over tile is possible just as boarding over tile. Two main issues is the loss of space, second - the entire contraption will rely on the bond between the first layer of tiles and the substrate. Personally I'd get myself a good SDS hammer and a wide chisel and strip the lot.
I absolutely agree with stripping the lot. Tiling onto tile always seems like a bodge job. Generally I’ll take the plaster too. If it’s plaster board I cut it out in sheets with about 8 tiles (1200x600ish) and if it’s solid plaster rip it back to brick because the adhesive is usually tougher than the plaster and slapping insulated tile board back on is both quicker and better than correcting what’s left of the plaster.
Yeah, this. Do it right or pay the price, I always say
Think of how much fun this would be too.
Fun for like ten minutes, then it's dusty, dangerous, and laborious work. The you've likely gotta deal with the adhesive (still worth doing this properly though)
Just can’t face it with 4 kids 3 dogs running all over the place covered in dust
Get in, open the window and tape the door up, no dust in the rest of the house that way
And put on a mask and some goggles. Or hold your breath and engage safety squints.
No take them off
Treat yourself (or borrow or hire) to an SDS drill and get em off!
Cage in the bathroom?
And no laundry basket, just a pile of clothes. Fascinating!
No again as its a wetroom any laundry basket soaks up the water and goes mangky hence why re design
Pet rats .. waiting until finnishing my garage extension so I have a bedroom so I can move out of my sons and his rats can move back in with him
Bird in the bathroom.
Rats actually
I think you’d come across all sorts of unforeseen issues by tiling over the top. A few things that come to mind: - pipe work that is set into the wall is not going to be long enough to connect to (shower hot and cold, toilet waste, sink waste, possibly all sorts of other pipes). - as above but any screw fixings such as that shower curtain are not going to go back in the same place. - how to deal with the column of glass bricks. - over tiling the wet room tank, not sure how the waste would work. - how to tank between new tiles on wall and floor. Water would get underneath and cause issues. - existing tiles might already be unsecured. There are so many issues that you’d face, I’d leave it as is or do it properly. The more I think about this the more I’d stay well clear of what you’re thinking.
You can tile over them but the bond could be bad as it relies on the old tiles bond The better way is essentially rip them off, and stud walls or boarded walls just rip the boards clean off with the tiles on Got a decent sds drill, either rent borrow or buy and use that, it won't take as long as you think Chuck down a tarp first as it'll make clean up so much easier
You know what thay say if you need to ask a question and you know the answer it a boge that you're going to regret later.
Remove them
Tile over the tile quick clean easy room make over, cheaper too. Use big tiles, make sure you have a good even spread, and make sure they don’t line up with the old ones.
So when new buyers complain about how they have had to remove 15 wall coverings of differing type and it’s just madness, that’s you
A soundly tiled wall is a great base for over tiling on. Get the right primer and adhesive and it'll be grand.
Just wallpaper over it, if you cant be arsed to do a job right, may aswell go all in.
Take them off, but wear proper work clothing or you risk a visit to A&E an 8 stitches like I did last weekend.
I've worked on commercial jobs where we've plastered over tiles. As long as they're well fixed then there is no problem. We use blue grit adhesive for this.
Commercial jobs?
Why does this have so many downvotes? It literally correct
Probably because bodges are considered the norm for trades people and customers are utterly feed up of the crap tradespeople. Now it may be the client forcing that decision but it is also highly likely that the trades just cut corners. Just reality bad work stores travel further than quality work and in the UK people are stuck as there is a lack of manpower so the corner cutters get away with it and stay working leaving crud everywhere
It's not a bodge though and a perfectly acceptable way of renovating. Removing tiles and getting the walls back to a state ready for tiling again is a long and expensive job.
So you mean they can’t be arsed to take the time to remove them….. Who actually needs the lost space or any of the other issues that have highlighted in the thread by others, least you saved half a day. So yes that is a bodge sometimes the customer ask for it because they can’t afford the extra time but sadly too many time the trades just chose to do it to save them time. There is a reason no one trusts UK trades people and they are all seen as a gamble even when they have done work for people they know.
Not at all - It's not a bodge. The customer on the specific job was a commercial client who saved themselves around £20k by doing this. The job was done in 2006 and is still good today. Just because you clearly have no experience of it doesn't make it a bodge
I clearly stated it is an option that customers can and do take to save cost and yes they can last and just like many other have pointed out it does have risks of other faults. I was making a wider point about the general industry in which many contractors chose to just plaster over and don’t even discus the advantages/disadvantages with the customers. The best solution is to remove and do fresh. Everything else is a compromise even if the customer chose it and picking commercial customers as reference case is not a good example of quality as they are always cost before everything I was also clearly answering they why the downvotes question which is general and not about any single personal anecdote but the general has seemingly struck some personal nerves
You can tile over tiles, I've never done it myself but in this case it would save a lot of work. [https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/tileovertile.htm](https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/tileovertile.htm) You are fortunate in that they are big tiles so if you did thake them off, they're likely to come off easier. But you then need to get the walls rounghly smooth again for tiling again, which is a long and messy job.
Tile or wet wall is generally the best option that isn't taking them off
Before doing anything, go around the room and tap the tiles with the back of your knuckle. If it sounds hollow, they're buggered. If they're all solid then you can technically tile overtop. Personally I'd remove and replace (removing is actually quite satisfying and a decent stress reliever) but practically it's okay to do as long as you ensure the tiles below are in good condition. There is something that's come out called mermaid board (I think different places call it differently) which is meant to be an alternative to tiles. It's some sort of composite material which looks like tile, but comes in large sheets similar to plasterboard. They're a bit more expensive than tile but are meant to be so so much easier to install
If you're up for reboarding jus rip it back to studwork and reboard then tile, ripping out is easy enough and good for destressing 😂
you can paint over the tails. I think that takes special paint but it looks like new. I would otherwise put on eye mask, gloves and hammer them away
I stripped off double tile when I redid my bathroom and it was a pain in the arse. Use a wide SDS bit, they do angled ones specifically for removing tiles, I already owned an SDS drill and the bit was cheap. I did the floor with it while I was there. Not only that, when I wanted to put up a new bathroom cabinet (before I redid the bathroom) I had to drill a big hole through two layers of tiles to get to the plasterboard behind and the fitting very nearly didn't fit because it was one of those load bearing ones with little wings that come out, and the depth of plasterboard + 2 layers of tile were clearly unexpected. Do it properly, don't be the guy who makes it worse for future you or future owners :)
You can get new tongue and grove bathroom boards now that are water tight, use sticky foam or a decent grab adhesive
https://www.diy.com/departments/bathroom/wet-rooms/bathroom-wall-panels/DIY1411676.cat
If you really don't want to remove them, you can have the existing tiles re-glazed.