Tiling Over Tiles

[carlufc]

As a newbie tiler, whats the general opinion on tiling over ceramic tiles. Im in the process of estimating my first job and the customer wants the old tiles to be tiled over in a 19m2 bathroom(4 walls, floor to ceiling), which I,m not so keen on doing . Any advice appreciated.

 

[MICK the Tiler]

It can be done but I too are not keen on the idea. You will not be able to give the client any gaurantees on the tiling work, and this must be put in writing and must be signed and dated by yourself and the client, doing this will cover yourself against any comeback should the job fail in the future. Usually presenting a document for the client to sign dismissing any liability on your part will encourage them to get the work done in a proper manner instead of trying to cut corners.

Cutting corners is fine as long as the client shares in some of the risk hence forfeiting all guarantees on the work preformed by yourself.

 

[TheWrightTiler]

hi mate

as a general rule of thumb its always best to remove the tiles before tiling commences

however

customer may not want the added expense of ripping tiles off and repairing substrate etc

if the tiles are solidly fixed, do tap test for hollows etc, clean with sugar soap and dry thoroughly then use either bagged or tubbed adhesive (dependant on size of tile) to do the work

bal white star or sontex black lid are superb for this, take into account cleaning and drying whilst quoting as takes time

some people prefer to score the face of the original tiles to acheive a better bond.

i have done loads of tile on tile lately and not had any problems,

you will have to watch the weight ratio of the added tiles to your walls etc and advise customer accordingly, if they still want work doing then i always advise that i will put the tiles up but if the wall comes down then its your problem and not mines lol

andy

 

[pjtiler]

Andy's spot on
depending what thickness of tile there using just bare in mind they don't sit proud of the architrave,bath taps or shower controls
just something to think about when your pricing

 

[pjtiler]

This is absolute nonsence. Cutting corners will always lead to problems at a later date and a disclaimer will only cover you in the sence that the customer will not be able to take you to court if it does all go wrong.

It wont cover you against not getting any recommendations as the customer is never going to admit to family and friends that they ignored advice against it they will blame it all on you.

And as for tiles sounding solid how can you possibly tell if the job was done right in the foirst place ie what primers were used , what adhiesive was used what condition was the walls in before the original tiles went up ?

The point is you cant and if the customer does not want to have the job done right then be professional and explain that you dont do work that you cant guarentee.

No one likes to lose out on money or work but it is better to lose a little bit today and maintain a good company name than to have loads of money today that will have to last you when the phone stops ringing because nobody wants to use you.

Hope this helps

with all of 7 years in the trade i bow to your Superior knowledge