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Laying a Tile Floor over another tile floor

15 years ago

we have a ceramic tile floor (laid on a concrete slab)and are thinking about laying another ceramic tile on top of this. Know this sounds strange, but original tile was laid on a porch (so it is actually lower than floors in house, but now the porch will be part of the house, so laying another layer would not raise floor too much. Just wondering if anyone has ever done this & knows what the pros or cons are to doing. Will it hold up as well, will it adhere as well - these type issues. Thanks for any help on this.

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Comments (5)

bill_vincent
15 years ago
If the original tile is in perfect condition-- no cracks, no grout missing, no hollow spots, then yes, you can go right over it, so long as there are no elevation issues, either from adjoining floors or door clearances (where undercutting is not an option). You want to take a sander with a coarse carborundum grit and scuff up the face of the old tile to give the thinset a little more bite, and then use an unmodified thinset mixed with a liquid latex additive full strength. My favorites would be Laticrete's 333 liquid and 317 thinset, or Mapei's Kerabond thinset and Keralastic liquid.
harmon_2008
15 years ago
So long as there are no height issues and the original floor is in good shape (i.e.-- no hollow spots or cracks), all you need to do is get all foreign materials off the tile, including but not limited to wax, soap residue, skin oils, dirt, etc., and then scuff it up with a sander to give the new thinset something more to "bite" into. ALso, use an unmodified thinset mixed with a LIQUID latex additive, as opposed to usinga thinset that's already modified. Reason being that using the liquid latex will give you more of a latex content, and therefore, a stronger bond.

ciciliotandson
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yaya62
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank ya'll so much for the responses. I will look for these products. I think the floor is in good enough shape - the only reason I am changing is I now have 2 rooms where the wall has been taken out and I want the same flooring on both. Of course my husband says "there is nothing wrong with the floor you have now" but looks do count and he has been married to me long enough to know that once my mind is made up the discussion is over.
PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Johnny _holbert - This is a 11 year old thread. I see you are going through many old threads placing links within your comments. Is this a new HOUZZ version of SPAM?

Current technology provides products specifically designed to promote bonding for this exact scenario. A flooring professional would be aware of this. Structural integrity would be a concern.

The following links address this threads topic.

https://www.mapei.com/us/en-us/products-and-solutions/products/detail/eco-prim-grip

https://laticrete.com/en/tile-and-stone-installation/adhesives-and-mortars/multipurpose-bonding-primer/prime-n-bond
PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
3 years ago
It appears Johnny has left the building:)

I'll let the links remain for anyone researching this topic.

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