Re tiling Bathroom

[Neeranam]

I'm wanting a bathroom retiled. Is it OK to not remove the old tiles and put the new ones on top?

[johng]

If the old tiles are very well stuck in place then its ok to tile over..but best to remove the old ones

then you can have them inspect pipes for leaks, make sure the area is water tight, has  proper slopes towards the drain etc.

[innosiem]

how old is the bathroom/building ?
What @johng said is correct
if the place is old it may be best to change pipes or at very least inspect them
they also have better pipes here now with better fittings that will last longer
so you have the option to upgrade pipes while doing the tiles

[Pilotman]

OP, is that for floor or wall tiles? I'm in the same position.  I don't want to have to remove the old wall tiles, just put new ones on top.  My house is 5 years old. Anyone done this? Any advice on the type of tile to 'over-tile' with, obviously, the lighter the better I would have thought? 

Edited July 20, 2020 by Pilotman

[Neeranam]

My house is  7 years old. I thought that they might just be wanting an easier job, although I do kinda trust the guy as he's a neighbour. They did remove one small area as the people who put the original tiles in had just stuck a bit of cement under each tile, so there was a hollow sound when tapping on them. 

 

I did think the price was a bit high -  6,000 baht for fitting the tiles and also tiling the floor. What do you think? Cost me nearly 10,000 for the tiles and cement too. 

[Pilotman]

11 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

My house is  7 years old. I thought that they might just be wanting an easier job, although I do kinda trust the guy as he's a neighbour. They did remove one small area as the people who put the original tiles in had just stuck a bit of cement under each tile, so there was a hollow sound when tapping on them. 

 

I did think the price was a bit high -  6,000 baht for fitting the tiles and also tiling the floor. What do you think? Cost me nearly 10,000 for the tiles and cement too. 

sounds a bit high to me. I would expect to pay  around 500 Baht per day, per person labour. How long did they take?   

[Neeranam]

Just now, Pilotman said:

sounds a bit high to me. I would expect to pay  around 500 Baht per day, per person labour. How long did they take?   

Just starting, they put cement on the tiles and are coming back tomorrow. They said a 2 day job, there are two of them.

[Pilotman]

5 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Just starting, they put cement on the tiles and are coming back tomorrow. They said a 2 day job, there are two of them.

so 2,000 for labour, add 1,000 for their 'expertise', maybe 3,500 Baht would be nearer the mark, but I'm just guessing here. It is what it is.  So long as they do a good job for you. 

[petermik]

7 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Just starting, they put cement on the tiles and are coming back tomorrow. They said a 2 day job, there are two of them.

6,000 baht....sorry you are being ripped off

[Neeranam]

6 minutes ago, petermik said:

6,000 baht....sorry you are being ripped off

Oh well, I'll know when I get the other bathroom done ???? A couple of thousand doesn't really matter to me. 

[Henryford]

I did this to the shower area in my bathroom, just stuck tiles over the top. Just make sure you have the right type of cement. Worked OK but i guess next time i will have to take them all off.

[Pilotman]

5 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Oh well, I'll know when I get the other bathroom done ???? A couple of thousand doesn't really matter to me. 

You can look at it that you are paying for an excellent job, so as long as they give you that, and perhaps some kind of repair guarantee for a year when the job is finished, well its worth it. 

[Pilotman]

1 minute ago, Henryford said:

I did this to the shower area in my bathroom, just stuck tiles over the top. Just make sure you have the right type of cement. Worked OK but i guess next time i will have to take them all off.

at 72, there may not be a 'next time' for me.  It's a problem for Mrs P then. ????

[innosiem]

9 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Oh well, I'll know when I get the other bathroom done ???? A couple of thousand doesn't really matter to me. 

as it is your neighbour, who i assume you are friendly with
it is not so bad being hit up in the air during these insane times
as many are struggling
and you are also paying for after sales service
as he cannot really just ignore you later

just (in a friendly way of course) make sure you let him know you know????

Edited July 20, 2020 by innosiem

[johng]

The price will obviously vary according to how many square meters you want tiling.

For wall tiles I'd much rather have the old ones removed especially if they sound "hollow"   its a favourite trick just to put a few blobs of  adhesive on the tile and slap it on the wall,with the extra weight of another tile its quite possible they will come crashing down on your foot some time while showering (sods law)

[DaLa]

As long as the original tiles are bonded firmly then it's absolutely fine to tile on tiles. In fact it saves on time and provides  a flatter surface to work with.

 

Just had a 6000 square foot shop and 6 bedroomed house built in Nonthaburi at 600 baht per day per construction worker.  I felt sorry for them working in the heat all day and living in 'huts' constructed from twigs and corrugated sheet, but they appeared to be happy with their work.

 

They did a great job and half of them were women.  Maybe something women in the west can learn from when they want to work in construction but expect to walk into management / supervisory roles.

[Neeranam]

1 minute ago, Pilotman said:

You can look at it that you are paying for an excellent job, so as long as they give you that, and perhaps some kind of repair guarantee for a year when the job is finished, well its worth it. 

That's the way I look at it. He is the best around, seemingly. It's actually a three day job if you count today sticking cement on the tiles. Another guy quoted 5k. 

[papa al]

10 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Oh well, I'll know when I get the other bathroom done ???? A couple of thousand doesn't really matter to me. 

Yes sir.

Prolly means a lot to the workers

& their families.

[Neeranam]

6 minutes ago, innosiem said:

as it is your neighbour, who i assume you are friendly with
it is not so bad being hit up in the air during these insane times
as many are struggling
and you are also paying for after sales service
as he cannot really just ignore you later

just (in a friendly way of course) make sure you let him know you know????

Exactly! I like to give a little to poorer in the community. When we went to the beach recently for a week, paying 5k a night, I made a fuss over paying a local guy 250 baht a day to feed the dogs and water the garden - then I realized that's about 1/5 of my HOURLY rate and the guy was doing us a favour.

[Neeranam]

7 minutes ago, papa al said:

Yes sir.

Prolly means a lot to the workers

& their families.

It is probably enough for them to school their 2 kids for a year, so yes, I'm not going to complain or be sour-faced when talking to them, however, I will mention that they have a good daily rate compared to others, in a pleasant way.

[Pilotman]

2 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Exactly! I like to give a little to poorer in the community. When we went to the beach recently for a week, paying 5k a night, I made a fuss over paying a local guy 250 baht a day to feed the dogs and water the garden - then I realized that's about 1/5 of my HOURLY rate and the guy was doing us a favour.

Exactly. There was a post recently where a TVF Member was making all kinds of trouble over an extra  50 Baht bill that he had been charged.  Some people just don't get it.  

[bankruatsteve]

Unless the old tiles are firmly attached and a bitch to remove, I would definitely remove.  Good tilers are in the 1000 baht per day range although they usually quote per square meter.

[fredob43]

25 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

Unless the old tiles are firmly attached and a bitch to remove, I would definitely remove.  Good tilers are in the 1000 baht per day range although they usually quote per square meter.

Having had my own tiling company in the UK for many years. We would NEVER TILE OVER OLD ONES. Two main reasons you don't know how good the old ones were fixed, and second tiles are finished in a glass coating. And no matter what adhesive you use it'll never adhere well to glass. We would take off old tiles and re plaster if the walls were bad.

 

They tend to use Cement over here but water proof tile adhesive is available. By using that you can use a thinner coat. Not even going to talk about the thickness once finished you will more than likely find that the new tiles will overlap the door jams + windows. Thus making it look like a bodge job.

 

As far as the price goes sounds as cheap as chips. In the UK you would pay 5 times that. I don't know what the going rate is now, but several years ago you would have to pay around 150+UK a day per person.   

[scubascuba3]

3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Just starting, they put cement on the tiles and are coming back tomorrow. They said a 2 day job, there are two of them.

How does it feel knowing they are ripping you off? warm and fuzzy feeling? you have to check all the prices before anyone starts work

[Neeranam]

7 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

How does it feel knowing they are ripping you off? warm and fuzzy feeling? you have to check all the prices before anyone starts work

No, not warm and fuzzy but kinda nice, knowing that I am making amends for all the people I have ripped off in the past -  my karma is sorting itself out ????