Ceramic tile prep

6/26/2018 at 3:45:16 AM

Hi,New tile Should not be laid directly on top of the vinyl tiles ,is well-adhered to a Cement Subfloor .Tile needs a firm hard inflexible substrate, if your vinyl or linoleum is installed over on old wood floor a new Substrate will need to be installed over the vinyl or linoleum .vinyl will require a smooth plywood underlayment while hard tiles will require a Cement backerboard underlayment .This new underlayment will need to be installed, first with mortar then with screws that must penetrated the old vinyl or linoleum .if your vinyl contains asbestos these screws must be installed be a Proffesional who can take steps to a prevent the asbestos from becoming airborne when the Tiles are penetrated.All the best with your Project.

6/26/2018 at 10:01:08 AM

Hi Brad,

You've said your tiles are already up and it's just the residue from the original vinyl tile adhesive and, most importantly, the floor is smooth. I'm assuming no additional glue was used to lay the tiles?

If this is the case, then you can simply lay the new tiles as normal.

- Tim

6/26/2018 at 4:20:37 PM

Thank you Tim for the Reply. Most importantly, thank you for actually reading the post and not responding with unrelated nonsense!

6/27/2018 at 5:48:18 PM

Hi Brad.

If all the vinyl tiles have been removed you really don't need to worry about the glue residue as long as it is fairly even and smooth. You should put an underlayment down on the subfloor first though, before laying the tiles. A ditra underlayment made by Schluter would be ideal. You could also use a cement board or wire screening. Just make sure underlayment is installed correctly.