Tiling Over Tiles?

[Marijn]

Is it ok to tile over existing tiles? I've had a quote to have my bathroom re-tiled and the tiler has said it will be quicker and cheaper to tile over the tiles I have. My bathroom is fully tiled. The only loose tiles are just over the bath and three rows up. He says he will remove them and build up the wall there flush with the tiles before he starts putting on the new tiles. Are there any disadvantages to tiling over existing tiles? Would you recommend I get all the tiles off so he can start from scratch? Will getting the tiles off pull much plaster down? Thank you

[Everhelpful]

Tiled over tiles years ago,never been a problem,the originals actually give you a good base for new tiles.

[Old_Geezer]

The disadvantage is that your room gets smaller and after a few dozen goes you can not longer squeeze into it.

I'm sure he can smash off loose tiles without causing major repair work.

[Marijn]

Thank you Everhelpful and OG

[gness]

Marjin.....I'm having my kitchen tiled over the existing tiles. I did in my last house and part of the bathroom here and both were fine....as long as the existing tiles are sound you'll have a good base for the new ones as Eh says....x

[Xeronema]

The one issue with removing the old tiles is that they may not come away without taking most of the plaster with them. I re-tiled my bathroom and ended up having to dot and dab the entire back wall before I could tile it. The benefit to doing this meant I could use aquaboard instead of the plasterboard the cowboy builder used when he built the house.

[Marijn]

Thank you Gness and Xeronema, he said he will take off the three rows from the bath upwards, which are loose and are damp behind. He will then build up to the level of the remaining tiles, then tile over whole bathroom. Thanks for reassurance.

[Xeronema]

As long as he uses damp resistant plaster then he'll be ok. Obviously he can't build it up with tile adhesive (or at least he shouldn't).

[Marijn]

Thank you

[tamaris]

I had to do this in my bathroom and there are no problems at all

[Marijn]

Thank you Tamaris

[tamaris]

No problem x

[Clanad]

One problem you'll have is that if you have any electrical outlets or switches on the walls to be double tiled, the switches and outlets under the face plates will have to be reset and extended to the new double-tiled surface. This can be quite an expense, at least here in the U.S. since, while the job isn't terribly difficult, most "trades" (plumbers, electricians, tilers, etc) won't do work on those items that are not their specialty for fear of violating some code or other. You may wish to check into that...

[Old_Geezer]

Unlikely to have much in the way of outlets here. Maybe a shaver point. But I'd have thought the use of longer bolts to hold the frontplate to the box would make that a non-issue.

[greenrook]

Electrical outlets and switches other than pull-switches are a no-no in UK bathrooms, I believe

[Clanad]

As they are hee in the U.S. but only as long as they are no nearer than 3 feet to any water source...

Extension bolts don't do any good since they screw into the box in which the actual connection resides, not the connector itself... leaving the actual "plug-in" or switch indented by nearly 1/2 inch or so...

[Marijn]

Thanks all. I have no electrics in my bathroom (only the ceiling light, which has a light pull from the ceiling).

[The Builder]

Yes, go ahead, Marijn. It's done all the time.

[Marijn]

Thank you Builder. I was hoping for your input too. Thanks all; I'll go for it.