Paphos Life

Hi all thinking of retileing our floors with 600x600 tiles do we take up existing tiles or
tile over and whats the best shiny or a mat finish what would be the best for normall wear and tear

thanks
Vic

If you were to just put new tiles over the old, that would raise the floor level inside. It would be best to check first that any doors affected could still be opened and shut, otherwise you might find that you had to cut some thing off all your affected doors which could be tedious and time consuming. Also you would probably need a special kind of adhesive.
If you are tiling a large area in a high traffic area, I would choose non slip tiles which are much safer. Smooth finish tiles can be very slippery especially when wet.Non slip tiles feel very slightly roughened but are still easy to walk on.
Dee

Save yourself money and labour and put them down over the existing tiles, that's what we did, shine or mat is your own, taste but today's tiles take alot of wear and tear before showing any signs of wear, as for raising the floor level, it won't be a major problem, w

We have had tiles fitted over old tiles and PVA was used first on the old tiles to ensure that the adhesive gripped the old tiles. Worth checking to see if this is applicable.

Terry

I guess not many here have had the problems we had, many of our floor tiles raised up and needed replacing, my advice is do not lay tiles over your old floors, it could end up costing you the price of doing it all again.

Can't say I've ever seen that, when we refurbished old buildings the tiles on the walls and floors were removed. The doors that open inwards would have to be shortened.

Jim

Did the full inside of the house in 2012 all 200 + sq mtrs with 450 x 450 tiles The original tile we're the old 300 x 300 25 mm thick type . Removed a large number of the old tiles and had to screed the floor to get it level throughout . Ground and scored the surface of the remaining old tiles to give a rough surface then laid the new ones. Had the odd tile raise up after several months or so due to moisture getting in under the grout but easily refitted and regrouted and no further problems since apart from the occasional grout cleaning.
Did have to trim the bottom of the doors.

As you never know the quality of the adhesive used by the original tiles, it is a gamble whether to keep it there or not. If there is a single old tile that is either badly laid or loose or seesaws, then I would say rip out the old ones and put in the new ones. If you plan on leaving the building within say five years or so, you can be more flexible with shortcuts.

Have you thought of alternatives? I don't like laminate but rug shed, or whatever its called, in town, are advertising laminate on top of old tiles. Might be what you want, especially if you are tarting up for selling . Our tiles are looking sad, with a few chips here and there, but there is someone who repairs them and will regrout. A cypriot, apparently very good, so that might be another route for you to consider. God luck.

Please also consider from a cleaning perspective. Some of the matt/rustic tiles are really awful to clean over large surfaces. Smooth tiles make happy moppers.

Jeanne

thanks all a few ideas to ponder over just need to get out there to
sort out
Vic