Linoleum Tiles Over Real Tiles on Bathroom Floor

[averydarkplace]

I want something with zero maintenance and have my doubts about linoleum tiles.

My bathroom has old black and white 2" ceramic tiles from the 1940s. I'm thinking of covering them over with linoleum tiles and wondering if I'm going to end up with a big problem. The existing tiles that meet the walls are curved, so none of the tiles will press flush against the walls. It's a small bathroom and we don't generally mop up pools of water after getting out of the shower.

What kind of care do I need to take with these tiles once they're installed? Do I have to worry about water leaking behind the tiles and making mold. What about or scuffing? My wife and I aren't the most careful people. What about occasional replacement of one or two tiles? What's the lifespan of such a floor? I don't want to have to replace this stuff every five years along with all the careful measuring and cutting.

I'd rather leave it the way it is, but my wife wants the bathroom pretty. But we don't want to end up with a pile of ugly mangled plastic permanently glued to a perfectly usable floor.

[Abe M.]

Leave it the way it is, just re-grout where you need to. Unless you are missing a lot of tiles, I would not put a linoleum tile over ceramic, especially one that curves up to meet a wall. It will look ugly. Have you considered using a grout and tile cleaner, and then re- grouting and re-sealing?

[HeyBub]

You'll probably have to take up the old tiles and possibly do some other work to get the floor perfectly flat. Vinyl tiles, no matter how thick, will take on the irregularities of whatever's underneath.

[averydarkplace]

[Malcolm Hoar]

Well, not totally irreversible; you can still tear up the whole shooting match when it turns out to be a complete disaster -- which is my prediction.

I think you'll have a mess with no redeaming qualities whatsoever.

[Jason Howe]

Yeah, no matter what you do, putting vinyl tiles on top of the ceramic ones is going to look like hell.

You really have two choices:

1) Clean-up what's there and live with it. 2) Rip up the tiles, lay a plywood base, and lay the vinyl on top of that.

If the house is old enough, under the tile will just be hardwood...vinyl will look like hell if put on top of that as well.

Jason

[Dan Lanciani]

In article , [e-mail] (Malcolm Hoar) writes: | In article , averydarkplace wrote: | >I plan to use some floor leveling compound to smooth out the bumps in | >the existing tile, not sure what's really involved with that but I'm | >guessing it will make the job totally irreversible. | | Well, not totally irreversible; you can still tear up the | whole shooting match when it turns out to be a complete | disaster -- which is my prediction. | | I think you'll have a mess with no redeaming qualities | whatsoever.

The house I bought a few years ago had Armstrong self-stick vinyl tiles over real tile. It was horrible. Water wicked along the grout lines of the underlying tiles and made some of the new tiles lift in places. It took only a few hours to remove all the vinyl tiles (and remove/replace the toilet), but the residual stickiness was difficult to deal with.

Armstrong would not recommend a solvent for (I think) liability reasons. I ended up spending a day alternating between paint thinner and Pine-Sol with ultimately good results. The underlying tiles were in good condition and (at least to my view) far more attractive than the vinyl.

Dan Lanciani ddl@danlan.*com

[Norminn]

I have never seen linoleum tiles that looked good or adhered well. If there are no missing or broken tiles, you might be ahead by just removing some grout and putting in new grout. Fairly substantial job, but done right will make tile look a good deal better.

For a small room, either a grasscloth or indoor/outdoor carpet might be a better cover. Either could be laid up the curve to cover the tile - with care, adhesive might be applied to tile only so it holds well, doesn't shift or sag, and can be removed without damaging tile. I got tired of our little rug by the shower looking dirty, so I bought a grasscloth mat. Inexpensive enough to throw away if soiled, not damaged by standing on it wet, and goes with anything. Little scratchy to stand on, but I'm not delicate.

[Calab]

If you're good with a knife, you could always get a piece of vinyl flooring and cut to fit. Shouldn't need to glue it down... Maybe a bit of removable silicone along the bathtub edge and door to keep it from lifting.

[HeyBub]

I think his real problem is that black-and-white tiles look so, so... retro and his current squeeze has a highly delicate sense of style, panache, and flair.

I like your idea of a rug. I'd even go so far as to suggest colored lighting...

[Nate Nagel]

hmm... black and white tiles... retro... I'm failing to see the problem here.

nate

(sense of style firmly stuck in Art Deco...)

[Joe]

The top grade tiles are OK. Inlaid flooring is better.

Leave it the way it is. Send your wife to a few interior decorator classes to help her acquire some fashion sense. HTH

Joe

[readandpostrosie]

have your wife take a look at modern bathrooms, to see how many are showing the old black/white tiles. then get out some grout and some silicone and go to town sealing up everything. make sure that you are using a long enough shower liner, and USE a bathmat to collect water from your showers, and then hang it to dry.

just my opinion, rosie