DIYbanter - View Single Post

aemeijers

On 9/26/2010 7:23 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
On Sun, 26 Sep 2010 16:09:12 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

Hi - Opinions on installing tile over linoleum?
I have a newer house (4yrs old) When we had it built, we had linoleum
installed with the idea of doing tile later on down the road. Since
it's newer, I imagine that the removal is going to be a major pain.
I've done several DIY tile jobs in the past, but never any over
linoleum.
I am not planning on installing directly to the linoleum. I would
either buy concrete backerboard and screw it down (through the
linoleum and into the plywood subfloor) or apply some sort of metal
mesh (such as stucco netting) screw it down, and then apply the tile
over that. I've seen several discussions online and most all say do
not install tile to linoleum... but none of them include these extra
steps, they are all talking about laying tile directly over the
linoleum.

I'd tear up the floor. Thinset (as well as screws) is used to put down
backerboard. Linoleum or vinyl aren't going to make a very stable foundation
and may move. Ripping up vinyl and glue can be a PITA but it's necessary,
IMO.

The vinyl sheet is not directly over the plywood subfloor, in all odds.
There is another layer of SOMETHING under there. In the old days, it
would have been 5/8 particle board- might be 3/8 luan (sp?) plywood
nowadays. On a house that new, any way to call the builder and find the
flooring sub, and ask how they glue stuff down? You might get lucky and
it is only edge-glued, and can come up without too much problem.

I'd be hesitant, on a house that new, to make the floor an inch taller.
It makes the room doorway transitions a PITA. And in a kitchen, you run
into all the usual problems with the countertops suddenly being an inch
shorter, and the dishwasher getting trapped, etc. (Unless you do it the
purist way and pull out or shim up all the base cabinets, which might
not be that big a deal in a basically new house, unless you have a fancy
backsplash on the counters.)

So to sum up- IMHO, do it the right way and strip the old
floor/underlayment, or learn to love the vinyl that was 'good enough'
when you moved in. An overlaid layer of backer board (or mud bed) and
tile would stick out like a sore thumb to anyone that knows how a house
goes together.

--
aem sends...