Posted: 9/6/2007 6:08:59 AM EDT
| I am going to replace a floor in a room that is 400 square feet. The room will be used for a small business with light to moderate foot traffic. Currently the floor has what looks to be VCT tile. The tile was put down in the 1970's, so I am pretty sure that it is asbestos. I have a couple of questions. Can I tile over the existing tile without putting down a layer of subfloor, or will I have to have the old tile removed. I am not wanting to invest alot of money into this project, because I don't own the building. What I would like to do, is put down the 18"x18" 2mm thick, peel and stick tile. I know that this stuff does not have a good reputation with some people, but it looks like a good option to me. I was told by the guy at Lowes, who I realize may or may not know what he is talking about, to put down a floor primer over the old tile, then use tile glue along with the glue that already comes on the tile. He told me that he thought that if I did this, the floor would last. Please give me some advise if you can. Keep in mind that I have limited experience with floors, but I will have some somewhat knowledgeable help putting the tile down. If any of you have any other advise for me, please let me hear it. I don't want to invest alot of money into this project. Thanks in advance. |
| The floor is in pretty bad shape. There are some small pieces missing from some of the tiles, and some of the tiles will come loose if I pull from an exposed corner. I am hoping to just float out the holes in the tiles. The tile that is in place is 12" square tile. The tile that I want to put down is 18" square tile, so I am hoping that since the new tiles will spread out over several of the existing tiles, it will hold. I am probably kidding myself. I just don't want to invest alot of money in a building that is leased to me yearly. Hopefully, if I clean, float, prime the floor, use extra glue, and roll the floor once I am done, it will hold. I am still hoping to hear more opinions. Thanks again. |
If the tile is in decent shape, consider loose lay vinyl sheet. Loose lay is fantastic stuff and is easy to install. Don't go with the cheapest loose lay though. Look for different types and pick one that has a hard wear surface. What are the dimentions of the room? |
The dimensions of the room are 20' x 20'. |
| Put on a dust mask and glove-up, a simple scraper will knock the floor loose. Glue down new tiles, simple. Not even that much work, expicially only 20x20. A four man crew would take two 8 hour days to completely strip a decent sized grocery store, so that room should go really quick. |
My only concern is that when I pull the tiles up, since the subfloor is from the 70's, and there is a damp basement bellow the building, which was built in 1890, could I damage the subfloor? Thanks for bearing with me here guys. |
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If the tiles are 10" square, they probably are asbestos. If you plan removal, you do not want dust to accumulate anywhere, including ducts, ledges, curtains, etc. You can do this yourself, but you need to know how to do it correctly. Asbestosis and cancer are the price for not doing it right. My suggestion would be to use a light floor leveling compound to level out any missing tiles or holes and then lay a sheet of vinyl underlayment over the asbestos, if present. Underlayment can simply be very cheap vinyl installed upside down. You can then place your tiles on top. If you do this incorrectly and use sticky back tile, the next day they will start to peel up. This happened to me once..........  Glue down commercial tiles (double thickness of standard) are extremely easy to install. Spread glue and wait until it dries clear and start slapping them down! |
I agree. Every time I've seen somebody fudge on a tile floor like this, they pay twice. It will peel. It will also show every imperfection. Some intermediate underlayment will save you the expense/danger of removing the asbestos tile and will guarantee you a nice job. Doing it right--even cheap right--once-- is cheaper than doing it twice. I think you'll still need to fill the holes with adhesive or some other filler though. Those holes will still show up through the two thin layers on top if you don't. Then, at the little "dip" where the old hole was, your new floor will be weak and that's where it will crack and start to peel.  Kitties. |