Retiling over old tiles

[Simon Harris]

Hi All,

We are about to put our house on the market, and I am looking to retile the kitchen before hand, as the previous owners did a 'great job' of painting the tiles.

Ideally, I want to tile over the existing tiles. I have read this thread...

talks of primer etc - Fine, but what about the paint on the tiles? Should I leave it there, and tile over that too? Paint stripper?

Also...any other tips/advice for me before I get started on this? One question that springs to mind is diamond wheel cutter - B&Q do one for £30, dya think this would be a worth while buy?

What I know so far:

- Buy many more tiles than required

- Dont grout until adhesive dry

- Work with a metre of tiling at a time

Thanks, Simon.

[Grunff]

Really depends on how well stuck on the paint is. Take a screwdriver and try to scratch the paint off. Does it come off easily? Is really, really stuck on? If the latter, then just prime it and tile over it. If the former then strip it using the method of your choice.

Yes. I have the PlasPlugs one (~£30), and it's superb.

Not really - 10-15% is enough.

Yes.

As you get quicker you will probably be able to increase that to 2 metres.

[Jimbo]

I think I would strip the paint with a heat gun first.

[Scott Mills]

This is not a dig, but why do people decorate things for the next people and are happy to live a 'great job' of painted tiles. DIY for somebody else has got to be the most demotivating job there is! Chances are if they look ok, the buyers won't notice - did you?

[Simon Harris]

That is a very good point, one which I have pondered lately :)

I guess it's a case of doing the least work for the biggest effect (And of course, spending the least) In my case, the motivation is entirely financial - We want to get the most we can for the house.

I do know the feeling well though, at our last place (1 bed flat) I spent 1 week solid gutting and redoing the kitchen - Lovely job, neat tiling, all worked well together, really pleased...then our daughter decided she'd like to be born in approx 9 months time (Shes nearly 3 now) so we had to sell the place... :)

Back to the retiling...the window sill (cill?) is tiled, and along the corner edge where the tiles meet what I know as 'beading'.

Should I remove this before I retile (In which case I'll have to find some beading that matches the combined thickness of the two tiles, (following retiling)

Or...do I leave the existing 'beading' in place, and put a new one on top.

[Scott Mills]

fair enough. be careful not to spend more than you will add in value though!

As much as I am a fan of tiling over things. I would be tempted to remove the tiles and beading there and start afresh.