Can I tile over a textured walls?

Question

My current fireplace is sheetrocked and has a textured finish. (More textured than the walls, which are an orange-peel finish.) I want to renovate the fireplace with a slate tile finish and new mantel.

Can I tile over the textured wall? If so, what thinset would I use on a painted wall? Or do I have to remove the sheetrock and replace it or skim coat the wall first to get rid of the texture?

Answer 1

No you can tile straight over a textured wall. Use a strong bond tile adhesive paste.

Answer 2

OK, your on the right track. First off all no reason to remove drywall. Best way is to remove any high spots in the texture with a hand sander and 80 grit paper or screen, completely sand just all to remove the bad high spots if there are any, this will make your running your skin coat a lot smother. Vacuum surface with wet vac after sanding or use painters tack cloth. Take your mud which should be free of any hard  material and garbage and mix with  a little water. A good drill a paint mixing paddle , disk (4$) will make the material easier to work with. just mix the mud  down about 3 inches, just so the mud when you put it on the tr owl so  its not so runny it runs off, if this happens bring more mud up from below 3 inches and remix to make thicker, you want it to be like peanut butter. One coat just to fill in some voids , does not have to completely fill all little holes, no big lines though. As for adhesive tell your salesperson the surface you have and he will recommend the right one for your surface and this type tile. God I know this is a long explanation but some times its best to cover all bases. you may e mail me if you run into a problem. Jerry 30 years contractor.

Answer 3

You can tile over the textured and painted drywall.  However, you may have some difficulty getting the tiles to stick if the wall is oily, dirty or too glossy.  Clean the paint first with something like TSP (tri-sodium-phosphate) you can get it at a paint store or in the paint department at walmart or your paint store.

If the wall is unevenly textured, you may have a tough time getting the tile even.  Try scraping the wall smooth, but be careful not to damage the drywall.  You could also just skim coat the existing drywall, then sand it smooth.

Use the premixed thinset.  That should stick pretty well.