Ceramic tiles on bathroom floor?

Question

my ceramic tiles on bathroom floor are damaged due to getting new bathroom suite fitted. its too much hassle to lift them, i was thinking of putting some good quality cushion floor on top but was told i would need to skim the tiles to make it even for vinyl to be put on top.is it possible to just fill in the joins between the tiles to even them out? or would i need to do whole floor? and what is the best product to use to fill in the gaps, im on a budget so would like to be able to do the job myself if possilble. or does anyone else have a simpler and easier solution the even out flooring which is cheap.

Answer 1

Hi .. please ignore bad advice of others DO NOT USE WOOD AT ALL.

my first thought would be to lift the old tiles as it sounds like they have not been put down properly (+ they are weak ceramic which can break if there are air pockets under them)

however if you are set on leaving them you would do best to get a bag of laytex self-levelling floor screeding powder.

you mix it sloppy then pour it over the floor & brush it all over, it then finds its own level (no trowelling needed) & sets hard & smooth.

i would also recommend lifting out the wc while you do this as it will be a lot easier & neater to refit the wc after this has been done & you have put your finished floor covering down

Answer 2

You need to have a smooth surface to put vinyl on to otherwise the pattern of the tiles or floorboards will show through in a few months.  In your circumstances, use hardboard stuck down to the tiles.  Use duck tape on all the joints and use sealant around the edge with the skirting board.  If water gets into the hardboard it will ruckle up and have to be replaced.

Answer 3

skimming sounds like your best solution if you use any ply or backer board it will raise the floor up creating a trip stub your toe point altho you could buy a transtion strip for entry  if you go with a underlayment use at least a semi water proof wood  

Answer 4

you would be daft to use hardboard in a wet room ..use ply and make sure its stuck down solid  

Answer 5

Gripfill some hard board up top of tiles !

A quick,easy way to do it.

Answer 6

Tiling grout, cheap and simple.

Best answer yet :-)

Answer 7

go to home depot or lowes and in the flooring dept you will find ARMSTRONG floor patch/skim coat it will cost less between $12 and $18 for a 25 lb bag that should be enough for one bathroom. Do not use fixall or vitex it cracks and releases over time.You will also need a float trowel it will have a handle and have 4 smooth edges $8 make sure the base is off in the bath room and the floor is clean. you can mix the patch on the floor or in a bucket, since this is your first time I would use the bucket. you mix the patch with water and it will have a cake batter texture to it pour a little on the floor and smooth it out over the entire floor, depending on the grout lines and how flush they are you might have to do more than one coat takes about 20 minutes between coats to dry only mix what can be used eached time once you have a smooth surface you can lay the vinyl right over the top.

Answer 8

Its a bathroom. It gets wet. Floor tiles are hard and have bumps, they will show through after a while. It will look really tacky.

Two easy solutions depending on your DIY skills.My choice would be #1, but that's because I tried it and it worked great. Both will work well.

1. Forget taking the tiles up. It is messy and takes ages. The floor will never be the same again. Rip the floor up entirely if its on beams upstairs, the tiles will crack off or come of with it. Then nail and glue tongue and groove marine chipboard floor panels over a layer of thick polyethylene sheet. Flooring panels like that are waterproof enough to make a yacht with. Use marine quality glue on the tongue and groove and it will give you a brand new tongue and groove floor with just a few panels. The panels aren't huge sheets, they're maybe 4 ft x 2 foot, easy to handle. The marines ones I found were green colored. The glue the use to make the chipboard stick together is epoxy. That's why you need a good quality saw, it kills a cheap one in 10 minutes.Oh, and its pretty cheap.I did a big bath shower room for US$40 in two days work with a few breaks for coffee and beers at the end. Rock solid, and smooth as a baby's bottom. A good quality hand saw or a circular saw will do the job. A small sledge hammer, a cheap crowbar, and a couple of hefty chisels with rubber grips (to spare-da-fingers) will lift any obstinate bits of floor.

Try and put a drain pipe off through a wall if you can, so the whole floor can be sloshed with water if necessary for spring cleaning.

2.If that seems like too much hassle, just go down the DIY store and buy some goop called "self-levelling floor screed" It is like a kind of grayish glue with a filler. Sets hard, but is liquid enough to use gravity to get itself level after you trowel it on and leave it. Apply with a trowel  or scraper, getting it to about the right thickness (1/4 inch, 6 mm or so). Finish at the door so you don't get trapped. Then leave it overnight, perhaps longer (check the instructions on the can). You might need to prepare for a day without the bathroom. Buckets and cling-film 8-(. Once dry, sand any bumps with coarse grit carborundum paper on a block of wood (with gardening gloves), wipe with a damp cloth and bucket of soapy water. Once dry do the cushion floor. I always glued mine with a slow contact adhesive. The only time I didn't, the shower overflowed and left the cushion, err, floating, like lilies on a pond. Oh, nail and glue a piece of wood, all along, if there is an edge under that bath. The wood should stick up 3 inches or so. Seal it. Then if there is an overflow, at least you have a chance before it drips though. Replacing ceilings is a pain. Still  a good idea to leave a 1 1/2 inch pipe through a wall to the outside if you can. Then anything short of a major gushing leak will just drain off through the pipe.

Have fun! We loved our new bathroom! One for anyone downstairs, one for the kids and us upstairs (nice and big, shower or bath aux choix) and a private smaller one for us after a sweaty night. Lugzurius!