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My wife and I bought a 70’s era fixer-upper. We want to put ceramic tile on the kitchen floor. Upon investigation, I find there are currently two layers of vinyl on a 1/4″ plywood underlayment. The first layer of vinyl comes up really easily. The second layer is well bonded to the plywood and will be very difficult to remove. Are there materials out there that will allow me to install cermaic tile over the vinyl. The second layer of vinyl has dried adhesive all over it. Will I have to rough it up? Any other advise, comments? I have not been able to find any websites on the topic but if anyone knows of something good, let me know. Any and all advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike
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Mike:
Read this < Obsolete Link > dumb question and < Obsolete Link > this link too. Now read this one called < Obsolete Link > Ceramic over vinyl.
Here's another called < Obsolete Link > Ceramic Tile Installation Over Existing Vinyl (Asbestos?) Tile
I'm sure there are others if you try the search bottom at the top of the Breaktime screen.
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Now let me ask you a question: If the only dumb question is one that isn't asked, how would you classify your question?
*Hey Matt, Lighten up. No one twisted your arm and forced you to read the guys question or to respond to it. Whats more, it's not a dumb question either.In response to ceramic on top of vinyl it's not the best idea. Its not so much a question of adhesion but more a matter of how soft vinyl tile is. The old asbestos tiles are brittle and thus a suitable surface if the floor or substrate is solid. Vinyl however, is soft and the microscopic amount of deflection when stepped on is enough to cause the grout lines, or even the the tile, to crack. But there's another issue here that warrents a big NO.The 1/4" underlayment is not a suitable substrate for ceramic tile. It is most likely just nailed down with underlayment nails and not glued down. Ceramic tile "must" be installed on a sound surface, such as 3/4" plywood screwed to the subfloor about every 6" and its a good idea to screw to the joists as well if possible.You "must " get rid of the 14" underlayment.
*Tedd:I gave the man "free" pointers to 10 or 20 posts pertaining to his question - but it came at a small price. Once you've been around here for a year or two, you too will get really tired of seeing the same stuff over and over again. I'm just trying to improve the quality of content at BT by reducing the amount of redundancy. Re the information you provided, good point about the vinyl having give which leads me to say that you are on the right track in saying that Mike does not have a "suitable underlayment" for ceramic tile, although actually, some type of cement board is the generally accepted suitable underlayment.
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My wife and I bought a 70's era fixer-upper. We want to put ceramic tile on the kitchen floor. Upon investigation, I find there are currently two layers of vinyl on a 1/4" plywood underlayment. The first layer of vinyl comes up really easily. The second layer is well bonded to the plywood and will be very difficult to remove. Are there materials out there that will allow me to install cermaic tile over the vinyl. The second layer of vinyl has dried adhesive all over it. Will I have to rough it up? Any other advise, comments? I have not been able to find any websites on the topic but if anyone knows of something good, let me know. Any and all advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike