Can You Lay Ceramic Tile Over Vinyl Flooring

The trouble is that thinset generally requires a textured surface to bond at.

Can you lay ceramic tile over vinyl flooring.

When installing new stone ceramic or porcelain tiles over a vinyl tile subfloor thinset is definitely the way to go. The method you use for preparing the floor will be determined by the type of sub floor you have in your home. Ron and armen tavy demonstrate one such surface in this project as they install ceramic tile over vinyl flooring. Check for any tears lifted corners or warping in the flooring if you spot any of these damages your current flooring won t be able to be tiled over.

Yes you can tile over existing vinyl flooring that was laid on concrete as long as it is firmly attached to the subfloor. Next if the tile s joints are deep you ll want regrout them to bring them flush with the tile so that the lines won t telegraph show through the vinyl floor. Once you ve removed lose or broken pieces patch the empty sections with a liquid cement or mortar letting it settle level with the tile floor. Once the tile is leveled off your next step is to remove the toilet so that the floor can be laid under it not cut.

Installing ceramic tile over vinyl or linoleum surfaces can be more complicated than expected and probably should be avoided whenever possible. Before you start see if any tile is broken or damaged. While standard sheet vinyl that is well bonded usually makes an acceptable base for ceramic tile that s not true of all forms of resilient flooring. The short answer is yes with the right preparation you can.

With vinyl tile the possibility of shifting is also present. Loose lay perimeter bond sheet vinyl can shift beneath the tile installation making it unsuitable as a base for ceramic tile. If there is vinyl laminate then you need a backer board. I was recently asked if you can install ceramic tile over an old vinyl floor without tearing it up.

There are people that say that you can place tiling on top of existing vinyl if it s securely adhered and if the floor underneath is solid but i don t agree. However if you can t remove the old surface or otherwise decide to install over it lay a backer board with thin set over the old surface to serve as your new subfloor material.