Installing Porcelain Tile Over Vinyl Floor

When bonding vinyl tiles in place or when bonding new tile to old vinyl tile there are some considerations you must make before determining whether you can use thinset in the application.

Installing porcelain tile over vinyl floor.

This isn t possible with every flooring material but it s often possible to install ceramic porcelain or stone tile over resilient flooring including standard sheet vinyl vinyl tile or linoleum. Mix a cementitious floor leveling compound such as henry 555 level pro or levelquik self leveling underlayment with water in a bucket until the mixture is pourable. Not every form of resilient flooring is suitable for receiving tile directly. Before you start see if any tile is broken or damaged.

Laying tile over vinyl flooring on a plywood subfloor. Apply thin set adhesive to any joints in the backer board. However if you can t remove the old surface or otherwise decide to install over it lay a backer board with thin set over the old surface to serve as your new subfloor material. Consider this sample procedure for leveling a ceramic tile floor prior to installing glue down or floating vinyl.

Ron and armen tavy demonstrate one such surface in this project as they install ceramic tile over vinyl flooring. The best candidate is fully adhered glued down sheet vinyl flooring. Chip out any loose grout and then vacuum the floor. Once you ve removed lose or broken pieces patch the empty sections with a liquid cement or mortar letting it settle level with the tile floor.

Screw or nail 1 2 cement backer board on top of the vinyl while the adhesive is still wet. Installing ceramic tile over vinyl or linoleum surfaces can be more complicated than expected and probably should be avoided whenever possible.