Howdy! I'm new here to the DIY...thought I'd start slow down in the OT and work my way up as I felt more comfortable...

I want to put ceramic flooring in my bathroom...there is linoleum down now. Can I put the ceramic tile down on top of that? There is plywood that is not in the best shape under the lino. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I would suggest putting a new plywood base before putting in the ceramic tile. If the plywood is in bad shape, i.e. wet, moldy, rotten, you need to replace it cause it won't hold the extra weight of the tile. You definately should not put the ceramic tile right over the linoleum because the mortar won't have anything to bond to.

Hey Chick dig this. You need some Hardy Backer board. It comes

in like a 3 by 5 sheet. Its like concrete board about pretty

thin about 3/8?

You need a tile cutter. A trowel for tile mortar mix.

A tape measure. A big 5 gallon bucket.

Measure the floor to get a BASIC idea how many tiles you need.

You can do this. Go pick out some tiles.

Call a GUEST worker. They do good work!

What he said. I bought enough tile to do my whole downstairs at the lakehouse (about 900 sq ft) and after putting the tile down in the kitchen and part of the dining area, my knees just won't take it any more. If I could find someone in the Broaddus area to finish it at guest worker wages, I'd be passing the work off to them in a heart beat.

good idea guys! can I put the concrete board over the lino? I believe I have everything on that check list except the mortar and the concrete board. This is a project that has been neglected...re-did the texture and paint and that's where I stopped.
I can definitely do this myself...I'm handy around a house!

Thanks for your input!!!

Get some cheap knee pads...You are going to need them...

knee pads...check!

You can put the hardi board over the linoleum.You are going to be adding about an inch to your floor so there are other things to consider like your door swing and transitioning from floor to floor.Good luck Annie the work is not that hard.

Annie I am a professional tile setter you can lay your tile on top of the linoleum if you scuff it up with a palm sander first but if your wooden sub straight is kind of weak,I would put down the quarter inch hardie backer.

First make sure the linoleum/vinyl flooring isn't a perimeter floor,perimeter floor is where it is just glued down along the perimeter of the walls and that's it,take a utility knife and cut a small hole in the center and pull up on it if it's stuck,then you are good to go.

Get a palm sander and scuff up the floor,then go and get your quarter inch hardie backer,some hardie backer screws and thin-set mortar. Cut your hardie backer to fit then get a quarter inch notch trowel,mix your thinset a little soupy and apply it to the floor intall hardie backer over it while its still wet using the screws,be generous with them space them about 8 inches away from each other up and down.

Let it dry over night and then you are ready to lay tile,but as another guy said this is going to change the transition of your floor leading out of the bathroom,might have to trim the door down a bit.

If you have any more questions just give me a PM.

Thanks Jared! And you too BUTSKY!! I am not sure when I'll start...in the next couple of weekends and I will let you know how it goes!
David Lee get your mind out of the gutter!

Hey Jared, wouldn't it be easier (quicker) to use liquid nails to hold the hardi backer down instead of thin set? You're the pro, not me that's why I'm askin...

Annie, David's middle name IS gutter!!

So after I get the floor ready to lay tile...then what? Any tips on laying it?



HEY! That's my middle name...something's not right here.

Don't go cheap on the knee pads. For about $5 you can get the throw away foam pads, but for about $15 you can get a real set with a hard shell. Your knees will thank you for the extra $10 investment.

Pro's usually already have thinset and it is cheaper than liquid nails. It also fills more of the voids.

dry fit it first to find what type of pattern you want.

I had tile installed on the second floor of my house and they used quarter inch harder board. The problem with that, was the floor still gives a little and caused some of the tile and the mortar to crack. I would make sure the sub-floor is in great condition and use half inch hardie backer board with screws. Oh, before you put the hardie board down. Go around and check the sub-floor. More than likely they used nails to put it down. Use screws to secure the subfloor better....JMHO

You can either lay it straight,on diagonal, or broken joint pattern.

Depending on what size and style of tile you pick also will help you figure out how you want to lay it.If your laying a 12 or 13 inch tile I would use a quarter inch notch trowel,anything bigger than that I use a 3/8 inch trowel.

I usually try to figure my layout where it hits with a whole tile in the doorway,when you walk in it gives a good look to see a whole tile.

Don't mix your thinset to stiff or you will not get a good bond to your tile,about the consistency of thick cake batter is perfect,wait 24 hrs after you have laid the tile and you will be able to grout.I would recommend sealing the grout also in a bathroom.

This is the big problem with trying to lay tile over a wooden sub straight no matter what you do there's always that possibilty of flex in the floor. I usually try to talk my customers out of laying tile on top of wooden sub floors. Now on alot of the newer housed I work on the builders have gotten to where they use 1 5/8 inch plywood upstairs and we just lay slipsheet on top of that and have had no problems with tile and grout cracking out.

I had both of my upstairs bathrooms tiled last March and haven't had any problems with cracking so far...

Annie, Home Depot has a pretty good hard cover book about tile. They also sell a cheapo tile saw for about $100. I have one and so far , so good. It was worth it.

Bathroom on 1st floor or second? Slab foundation or pier and beam?

Definitely seal the grout after it sets up. Seal it twice.
Nothing worse than seeing nasty discolored grout...especially if it's a very light color.

Be careful in selecting the tile for a bathroom, too. Slick tile is not cool on a floor that will get wet. Read that Home depot tile book...it will tell you a lot.

1st floor/pier and beam

Thanks OF