Bathroom tiling - can I put new tiles over old ?

[mikeyw]

I've just started preparing my bathroom for a complete re-fit and found on the main wall next to the bath the old tiles have been glued straight onto plasterboard. Removing them is proving near impossible with huge holes appearing in the plasterboard as I slowing get part of the tile removed. At this rate it will take days to get them all off and leave me with a wall needing re-plasterboarding.

Is there any way I can just skim over the existing tiles then fix the new tiles on this surface ? In theory I presume this is possible - my only concern would be a build up of moisture between the old tiles and the new ?

What do people think ?

TIA, Mike.

[John Rumm]

If the existing tiles are well fixed and you can cope with the extra thickness, then there is no reason why you cna not tile over the existing ones.

Have a look at John Schmitt's Tiles and Tiling FAQ:

[Christian McArdle]

You can (but miss out the "skimming" step), but before you give up on removing the tiles, have you tried removing them with a flat chisel bit in an SDS drill set to hammer only?

When removing tiles, I've always found it very difficult and damaging to remove with cold chisel and hammer, whilst the SDS chisel sees them flinging themselves off the wall whole, with minimal damage to the surface. I think the high frequency hammering is the key.

Christian.

[Peter Johnson]

Did mine earlier this year, tiled over existing tiles except on the wall with the door. Removed those so that the door-frame trim (called what?) remained proud. Also removed existing skirting and tiled to the floor - you might like to consider that if relevant..

[Rob Morley]

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