Bathrooms

Should You Remove Old Tiles or Just Cover Them? Your Main Questions Answered

There’s no doubt that tile floors are one of the best types of flooring you can have, and tiles are the easiest to clean among other kinds of floor surfaces. Tiles can also last for a long time without showing too many traces of wear and tear. But what if you are involved in a renovation project, and you’re thinking of having new tiles to replace your existing ones? New tiling may be a great option, and it can transform the look of your space and make it look great. But then comes a big decision: should you remove old tiles or just cover them? Here are the answers to your main questions.

The benefits of tile flooring

Everyone knows that tile flooring comes in different colours and patterns, and tile floors are a given in rooms such as the bathroom, kitchen, and pantry. Tiles are fantastic and have no problem to maintain and clean, unlike other kinds of flooring such as laminate or wood, as they have a natural resistance to moisture. Tile is also usually less expensive to install. Some professionals say that if you want to replace your old tiles, you can just cover them up and place new tiles on top of the old ones – but is this feasible, budget- and time-wise?

What to consider when removing existing tiling

If you are thinking about removing existing tiling, you would have to pry up the tiles piece by piece from one end of the space to the other, and it’s a time-consuming process. If you would like to repurpose some of the tiles, you have to be pretty careful, so they don’t get damaged. Even if you don’t want to reuse some of the tiles, you can’t just strike them with a hammer – you also have to be mindful of the sub-flooring. It can take up to a day (or more) if you try to do it yourself, depending on the room’s size.

But removing old tiles brings some benefits because you can see your subfloor’s condition and can make the necessary repair if needed. For example, if the panels are rotten or loose, you can easily replace the panels. Moreover, if you’re tiling a bathroom, you can see if there is water damage, which can lead to mould. Of course, removing old tiles takes work, but it allows you to check everything beneath and make repairs if necessary. And you can also easily rely on a contractor and floor tile removal expert to do it for you, which is what many property owners choose to do.

What to consider when covering it up

If you are leaving it in place and covering it up with new tiles, this can save you time, especially if you did the original tiling yourself. Keep in mind, though, that it will raise the level of your floor, and you need to prepare the older tiles for retiling. You need to tap every single tile. If it sounds hollow, the tile may be loose. You would then have to remove it and then attach it again with a thin-set. You will also need other tools, such as a four-foot level, a masonry wheel, and a grinder to level some areas and sand the surface to make the tiles rough enough so the new tiles can effectively stick.

Image attributed to Pixabay.com

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