Ceramic Tile Over Old Linoleum

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Ceramic tile over old linoleum.

How old is the linoleum. Most hard tiles such as stone ceramic and porcelain will need a new underlayment put down over the old linoleum. When you are looking at your kitchen or bathroom and thinking you d like to freshen it up or you just want a change the idea of tiling over the old linoleum may seem like a reasonable diy project to take on. Before you start laying tiles over an old linoleum floor there are a few things that you need to know.

The one requirement all they all share is that the existing linoleum must be securely attached to the subfloor. Sheet linoleum floors and tiles that were made before 1990 often contain asbestos which is a known cancer causing agent. Over the top ceramic and stone tile vinyl and laminate flooring tile and sheet linoleum hardwood planks and decorative concrete can all be installed over existing linoleum. If you tile over old tile you will be increasing the height of the current floor.

Learn a unique and time saving way to apply ceramic tile directly on top of vinyl flooring. In fact laying stone or ceramic tile over linoleum is not an ideal way to tile your floor but it can be done in a pinch. The most common complaint we read about tiling over linoleum was that the tiles wouldn t stay in place because of the slick surface. Many times this was because the tile adhesive was not given enough time to dry.

Well the short answer is yes you can tile over linoleum flooring. When you re ready to install tile over linoleum a thin layer of mortar should be spread over the floor s surface with a flat edged trowel. This isn t possible with every flooring material but it s often possible to install ceramic porcelain or stone tile over resilient flooring including standard sheet vinyl vinyl tile or linoleum. Installing ceramic tile over vinyl or linoleum surfaces can be more complicated than expected and probably should be avoided whenever possible.

So where feasible it makes sense to install the new flooring directly over the old without removing the old flooring. After the thin layer has dried which should take about 30 minutes use a notched trowel to add a second layer over the first layer taking care to create even ridges over the surface. Over the top ceramic and stone tile vinyl and laminate flooring tile and sheet linoleum hardwood planks and decorative concrete can all be installed over existing linoleum.