Tile On Tile Adhesive Advice.

[Ricshaw]

Hi guys, would appreciate some help:

I'm going to be doing a complete bathroom, floor and walls in ceramic tiles, the walls in large format 300x600 and floor in wood effect 90cm "planks". The existing tiles are very solidly attached and the sills etc allow for tile on tile so I'm going that route though I know the advice is to remove the existing tiles first !

The existing wall tiles (20x20cm) have a semi shine so I will go over with a sander or grinder to key them first.

Can somebody please advise on tile primer brands/types for wall and floor and then what adhesive types I should use for walls and floor. I understand I should use powdered adhesive so the brand types would be useful so I get it right!

Just to make it more complex there will be a strip on the wall of stone effect tiles (also 300 x 600) in Gres/stoneware, does this need different adhesive ?

Any advice you can give would be great, thanks in advance.

 

[Alan.P]

You already know the advice............. 1 question before that, what are the walls made of ?

 

[White Room]

I'd be pulling the existing tiles off...no if's or buts.

 

[Wishiwasatoptiler]

Think if one of those tiles falls off. It's going to to hurt when it hits the person who's having a bath on the head. And then it's on your head!!!!!!

 

[On one]

As above........too much weight on an unknown substrate?
If you really,really,really have to do it.....sanding and then priming will probably make the priming part of it futile...........
http://www.mapei.com/public/CA/products/6324_ECO_Prim_Grip_EN_lr.pdf
I have used it,but not happy doing it though.
When it's cured it's there for good,so wipe up any splashs pronto

 

[Stef]

My advice would be yes you could tile on tile but only on the floor as they ain't going to fall anywhere.
You really need to work out weights here as your going to be well over your limit for the walls.
Never tile on tile on walls..

 

[Ricshaw]

Hi Guys, thanks for the comments, the walls are external, seem sound and made of stone covered with plaster which I hope will be ok to take the weight ?
If I decide to take the risk can you please advise the adhesive types I should use for the walls and floor, assuming I'm priming them with the Eco Prim Grip first.

 

[Ricshaw]

I would prefer to use Mapei products if you can advise which ones

 

[Tile Shop]

Plaster can only hold 20kg max. Baring in mind your original tiles will weigh approximately 12kg, plus 3kg for their adhesive.

New tiles are 15kg minimum and a further 3-4kg adhesive, you're looking at almost doubling the recommended limit. No other word for it other than dangerous.

It may seem sound at the moment, but will it be sound with all that weight putting the plaster under extra stress? probably not. They'll be up for a while until you sit on the toilet, do a rip-roaring belter of a fart, vibrate the bog and the walls (or maybe the whole room if you can force it hard enough), and the lot will come crashing down around (or on) you. Not what you want if all you were expecting was a few minutes "quiet time" with you're paper. You've seen Lethal Weapon with Danny Glover and the explosion in the bathroom? It wasn't a booby trap, he tiled on tile and felt the wrath!

Seriously though, its a risk I wouldn't put my family under, so do the sensible thing and listen to the advice above. Rip e'em off and start with a blank canvas. You know it makes sense

As for the Mapei products, prime ALL the plaster with Primer G, tank the wet areas with Mapegum WPS and tape, and tile with Keraflex. Grout wise, go with the Ultracolor Plus.

 

[Ricshaw]

thanks a lot for this, point well taken, I suppose I'll have to spend the extra time removing them and making good, it's really time that is the problem.
I'll still tile over the tiles on the floor, any specific adhesive for this or is Keraflex ok after I prime them ?

On another note is the standard 180mm diamond disc that comes with the Vitrex 750 Pro cutter suitable for gres/stoneware as well as ceramic tiles ?

 

[Flintstone]

I wouldn't tile on tile on walls unless I really had no option and the circumstances were right. I wouldn't tile on tile on a wood floor either.
I went to check a job out the other day prior to starting it and I was greeted with tiled walls which they wanted me to tile on, when I looked closer, they had been stuck onto floral wallpaper! Madness. I walked and some other tiler went ahead with it.

 

[Tile Shop]

thanks a lot for this, point well taken, I suppose I'll have to spend the extra time removing them and making good, it's really time that is the problem.
I'll still tile over the tiles on the floor, any specific adhesive for this or is Keraflex ok after I prime them ?

On another note is the standard 180mm diamond disc that comes with the Vitrex 750 Pro cutter suitable for gres/stoneware as well as ceramic tiles ?

The extra time will save you extra £'s in the longrun.

The eco prim grip will be ok to prime the floor. Keraflex also suitable for tiling. Keraquick if you want rapid setting.