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I am doing a bathroom remodel in which I will be replacing a tile floor. The original tile floor was laid in a traditional mortar bed approximately 1.25″ thick. My original intention was to tear everything up and start fresh with a cement backerboard. However, it occurred to me that it would be less work and perhaps be a better product, if I just removed the tile and left the mortar bed. The existing tile shows no signs of cracking. Are there any potential pitfalls to this method? Am I better off starting fresh. Thanks in advance.
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Okay, first of all you are talking about changing the finished floor elevation. It's your call, but how are you going to deal with this? Small details associated with floor height pop up all over the place.
Second, it is admirable to want to preserve or build upon an existing sound substrate, but what will it be by the time you get done removing the existing tile? You are going to start out by planning to remove only the tiles and leave the mud bed in place. However, by the time you finish the job you will be thinking you should have intended to remove the mud bed all along. The means by which you remove the tiles will seriously lessen the integrity of the mud bed. The tile and the mud bed are parts of one system. When you remove the tile, you will not have that flat surface you are wishing for.
IMO, you have two options. One, start out fresh and (a)use the backerboard which means you must deal with the FF elevation change, (b)install a new mud bed to the existing FF elevation. Two, leave the existing tile in place and (a) tile over tile with modified thinset, (b)tile over self-leveling mortar. Option One allows you to determine all the details which affect the remodel. Option Two results in a small increase in FF elevation. The self-leveling solution will work only if you have a level--or very close too--floor. Also, tile over tile will be more demanding of the mechanic's skill and consequently take more time during installation.
*Kyle,I'm with Rich on this one, 2 options. Tear it out and start from scratch or tile over tile. You would lessen the integrity of the mud bed if you tried removing the tiles from it. If you choose option #2, make sure you have no loose tiles, and if you do, fix them. You could very well regret it later if you don't start with a tight base.Red dog