My wife wants to redo the kitchen ( what wife doesn't). We have ceramic floor tiles and there are significant grooves between the tiles. We would like to put linoleum over the tiles since removing the tiles would be rather expensive. One contractor says that there is no problem with that. The other contractor says that the uneven surface due to the grooves is a real problem and argues for tile removal. Opinions?
putting lino over floor tiles seems crazy to me. most installers i've met want to put 1/4" underlayment over even a good plywood subfloor, let alone over ceramic tile. unless you have very low standards, i would avoid contractor 1.
why is removal expensive? is this tile on a mud bed? if not, it could be removed and a new layer of underlayment put down.
How is contractor one going to handle the grout lines?
You would have to fill in the grooves with something that would stick to the grout and the tile. I would imagine that you have to etch the tile with something like muratic acid so the filler will stick. Which I can imagine it won't. Even if you were going over vinyl, you would have to get an embossing leveler to fill in the very slight texture on the old floor so it won't telegraph through.
What if you filled it in and then put on a layer 1/4" luan plywood. The problem is that the floor is going to get thick.
I understand SWMBO, but this is just silly. If the tile is in good shape, a regrout will fix the groove problem, and buy a couple of padded mats for the usual standing spots. If you do add another couple of layers, be aware of trapped dishwasher syndrome. I'd love to have tile in the kitchen, even with the dropped dish hazards.
aem sends...
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