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Friday, January 31, 2025

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Tile over existing tile

Ask the Experts Q&As are culled from member inquiries to NTCA’s Technical Team. To become a member and make use of personal, targeted answers from NTCA’s Technical Team to your installation questions, contact Jim Olson at [email protected].


QUESTION

We have a customer looking to save money and asking if we can install new tile over their existing tile. The existing tile is about 40 years old with no cracks in grout or tile, and installed with about 1″ thick mortar bed. It looks to be done right, but that still doesn’t make me feel comfortable tiling over it. What is the technical answer? 

ANSWER 

It is possible to install new tile over existing tile. Since the existing tile will become the substrate for the new tile installation, it is important to ensure the existing tile (and its substrate) are properly installed, in good condition and capable of supporting the new tile layer without failure. To do this, it might be necessary to core into the existing system in one or more places to get an actual examination of the existing installation from top to bottom.

It will also be important to ensure the structure of the building is able to support the added weight of the new tile layer being added on top of the existing installation.

To bond the new tile layer to the existing layer it will be necessary to ensure the existing installation is clean. It may be necessary to scarify the surface of the existing layer or apply a primer specifically designed for a tile over tile installation. Many setting material manufacturers make a primer for tile over tile and they will likely recommend a specific mortar to ensure correct bond to their primer. I can help connect you to a manufacturer of these products if needed. 

For more information please read the “Tile Over Other Surfaces” section on page 334 of your 2024/2025 NTCA Reference Manual. For additional information and guidance for Tiling Over Other Surfacing Materials, review methods TR711, TR712 and TR713 on pages 298 – 300 of the 2024 Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Handbook for Installation of Ceramic, Glass and Stone Tile (TCNA Handbook). 

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