Hello,
We have 12″ square ceramic tile floors in our dining room and kitchen. There are 3/8″ grout seams around them. These were layed on top of 5/8″ plywood, which is attached to the original hardwood floors of the house. (The hardwood floors were probably beautiful, before the previous owner cut big holes in it during a kitchen remodel).
I would like to get rid of the ceramic tiles. If I want to put vinyl tiles/sheet down, do I need to remove the tiles, or will the grout lines show through? Would the tiles “pop off” easily and vinyl tiles could be attached to the plywood underneath or does the mastic need to be sanded off?
Another option is putting a new hardwood floor down. The original hardwood would have to stay, since this is attached directly to the joists without a subfloor (house built in 1930, if that makes a difference) and goes under interior walls. For a new hardwood floor, would a contractor remove the tile and plywood and attach directly to the original hardwood?
I will need to hire a contractor to do this, but I would appreciate your input so I have some idea what I need to ask a contractor (or what he will be telling me) so I don’t walk into this blindly. We were really happy with the company that refinished our LR floors, but do “hardwood floor companies” typically do the demolition this job may need?
Thanks for any advice,
Jason
Replies
Jason-
The grout lines would definitely show through. The tile may come off easy, or it may not- depends on whether it was set in thinset or mastic, and how good the application was. Laying 5/8 ply down as the underlayment was the first mistake- taking the tile off and leaving the underlayment may be the second. "If" you can get the tile off and get the remaining thinset/mastic smooth enough, you'll want to lay 1/4" luan down prior to the vinyl- the surface of the existing plywood is probably rough enough that it too would telegraph through the vinyl.
Bob
basically the move you tear out and replace, the better the job will be
linoleum? remove tile and ply wood, that would be easier than smoothing the tile substrate good enough for 1/4 luan ply
new hard wood? same
is refinishing the old hardwood an option? maybe not, i'll have a ton of holes in it but worth checking out
caulking is not a piece of trim