Can I lay new flooring over old tiles?
Usually yes, and it is often the better option — but only if the tiles are sound, the height increase works and the grout lines are dealt with.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 30 min
- Read
- 3 min
Short answer
Sound, well-stuck tiles make a good base for a floating floor. Check every tile for hollowness and movement, fill the grout lines if they are deep, and work out what the extra height does to doors, thresholds and appliance spaces. Loose or drummy tiles must come up first, because anything that moves under a new floor eventually shows through it.
Removing floor tiles is one of the least pleasant jobs in DIY, and people ask this question hoping to avoid it. Often they can. The decision comes down to three checks — are the tiles firmly attached, does the added height cause a problem, and is the surface flat enough — and those checks take half an hour.
Step by step
- Tap every tile and listen.Work across the floor tapping with a knuckle or the handle of a screwdriver. A sharp sound means the tile is bedded. A hollow, drummy sound means it has lost its bond. Mark the hollow ones.
- Decide what to do about the loose ones.A few isolated hollow tiles can be lifted and the recess filled. If a large proportion sound hollow, the whole floor is failing and laying over it is a bad idea — anything unstable underneath transfers movement into the new floor.
- Check for cracked tiles and cracks that continue across several.A crack running through several tiles in a line is telling you about movement in the floor beneath, not about the tiles. That needs understanding before covering it.
- Work out the height increase and what it hits.Add up the underlay and the new flooring, then look at where that height lands: the bottom of doors, the threshold to the next room, the plinth under the kitchen units, and the gap under a dishwasher or washing machine you may need to remove one day.
- Check flatness across the tiles.Tiles can be sound and still uneven, particularly if they were laid badly or lipping at the edges. Use a straightedge as for any subfloor.
- Fill deep or wide grout lines.Narrow grout joints are usually fine. Wide or deeply recessed ones let a floating floor flex into them, and over time that shows as a pattern in the surface. Fill them with a suitable smoothing compound.
- Clean the surface properly.Tiled floors carry polish, grease and cleaning-product residue. Anything being glued down needs a genuinely clean surface, and even a floating floor benefits.
- Consider a damp-proof membrane over a ground-floor slab.Tiles over concrete do not necessarily stop moisture reaching a timber-based floor above. Check what the flooring requires; many click floors want a membrane on any ground-bearing slab.
Alternatives
- Take the tiles up: Better where a large number are loose, where height is genuinely tight, or where the floor needs to be lowered rather than raised. Slow and dusty but sometimes the only honest answer.
- Overboard with plywood or hardboard: Provides a flat, uniform surface over an awkward tiled floor, at the cost of yet more height. Worth considering where the tiles are sound but uneven.
Questions people ask
Will the doors still open?
That is the question to answer before starting, not after. Measure the total build-up and check the clearance under every door in the room, including the ones that swing in from a hallway.
Can I glue LVT directly to tiles?
Sometimes, if the tiles are sound, clean and flat and the adhesive suits the substrate. The grout lines usually need filling first or they telegraph through.