Ceramic Tiles

[tatom]

I come from a cold climate where tiles are rarely used, so I know little about them.

Our kitchen had a very rough and uneven concrete floor, so I tiled it. Did it myself, took 10 times longer than a professioal, but I enjoyed it and it came out very nice. The problem is, that I used a tile that was very porous and not too smooth, figuring it would not be slippery if it got wet. (turnes out it never gets wet!) Well, it has stained terribly. I cleaned it best I could and put 3 coats of sealer on, but the sealer soaked right into it and it still stains. We keep it clean but it just looks bad.

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions how to make it look better?

[chownah]

Remove and replace....since you enjoy doing it.....and it will probably be lots faster since now you know what you are doing!!!!

[zorro1]

Remove and replace....since you enjoy doing it.....and it will probably be lots faster since now you know what you are doing!!!!

I hate tiling and have zero advice except I want it in my condo BKK so your welcome to give me a quote. could be a new biz venture for you

[tatom]

I enjoy putting them in, I dont think I would have much fun taking them out.

And zorro, Id be glad to work for you. At the pace I work, the price would be around20,000 baht per sq. meter. When can I start?

[zorro1]

I enjoy putting them in, I dont think I would have much fun taking them out.

And zorro, Id be glad to work for you. At the pace I work, the price would be around20,000 baht per sq. meter. When can I start?

[jaiyenyen]

Unless there is a problem with the floor height, why not tile straight over the top of them. I used to install bathrooms in the UK and we sometimes did this, with no problems.

[tatom]

I have considered tiling over them, its just a shame after paying for the first ones. I was wondering if a concrete stain would give the tiles a uniform color?

[j_mack]

I come from a cold climate where tiles are rarely used, so I know little about them.

Our kitchen had a very rough and uneven concrete floor, so I tiled it. Did it myself, took 10 times longer than a professioal, but I enjoyed it and it came out very nice. The problem is, that I used a tile that was very porous and not too smooth, figuring it would not be slippery if it got wet. (turnes out it never gets wet!) Well, it has stained terribly. I cleaned it best I could and put 3 coats of sealer on, but the sealer soaked right into it and it still stains. We keep it clean but it just looks bad.

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions how to make it look better?

In Oz I had a floor re tiled over old tiles as I did some plumbing to add a shower, the Greek tiler used a rubber based glue! which I havent seen here! Job looks great! but also remerber he water proofed the shower area before starting.

The tap water here has a lot of bactearia which turns every thing ''BLACK''!

Purchased my tiles from Homepro. good quality and made it Thailand , the smaller tiles hand made in Lampung [ where the wife comes from] we will be using cement [Red Crocadile]and water! no sand and will waterproof the Grout after to stop it staining.................

[Chris Lawrence]

Sounds like a similar type of tile I used a long time ago for the bathrooms in Oz. Not much you can do with the tile.

Just a thought but what about vynle tile over your tiles. There are glues that will stick the tiles onto the tiles you have in place.

[wpcoe]

Timely that I should come across this thread, as I've been having conversations the past few days with some guys about a friend who is renovating an older shophouse. "Traditional practice" (meaning what we old farts used to do in the past <g>) was that one never, ever, ever tiled over an existing ceramic tile floor. My contemporary friends (and a few posters above) assure me that in current practice it is viable and advisable. Is that because of the invention of some new adhesive, or some new technique, or were we simply all wrong in the past?

Presumably you must lay the tile so that existing grout lines would not line up with new grout lines, i.e. the new tiles must not line up with the ones underneath?

One of my friends said the existing tile must be clean, solid (i.e. not loose) and not broken. What if you have a couple chipped and/or cracked tiles? Would the new tile adhere properly over them, or is it advisable to replace them first? Does it matter if the existing tile is glazed, with a highly shiny/smooth surface?

Could granite slabs/tiles be laid over an existing ceramic tile floor in the same manner?

Is there a specific name (or brand) of cement/glue that is better than others?

[Chris Lawrence]

Daveco “F1’s versatility means it can be used for applications over existing ceramic tiles, vinyl tiles and metal surfaces.

[jaiyenyen]

When we tiled over existing tiles we always made sure the old tiles were not loose, cracks and chips were not a problem because the new tile adhesive would fill them.

We used a 50/50 pva glue- water mix and painted that onto the old tiles before re-tiling.

New tiles always seem to be a different size to old tiles so grout lines were not a problem, also the pva mix would seal the old grout.

We never had any callbacks.

Regards

Jaiyenyen