Hi Gurus,

I'm in progress of renovating my whole house & my ID is giving me the option to either hack all tiles & lay the new ones or overlay the new tiles over the existing ones. Generally, the advantages for overlay is cost saving (do not need to hack) & time saving. But I'm still rather skeptical over only advantages & no other disadvantages. Hence, care to give me some pointers in which is better & what is the pros & cons for overlay.

Thanks

actually this qns was asked and answered many times. To quickly summarise:

Restriction of overlay:

• HDB ruling of floor to ceiling min height not violated (otherwise no go)
• the original tiles has no hollow (otherwise chance of tile popping increase)
• where u overlay? If on wet area kitchen or toilet, then better not overlay coz waterproofing is not so good on overlaying. (consequence: popping, leaking into downstairs)

actually this qns was asked and answered many times. To quickly summarise:

Restriction of overlay:

• HDB ruling of floor to ceiling min height not violated (otherwise no go)
• the original tiles has no hollow (otherwise chance of tile popping increase)
• where u overlay? If on wet area kitchen or toilet, then better not overlay coz waterproofing is not so good on overlaying. (consequence: popping, leaking into downstairs)

Was planning to overlay the whole house. I also agree with you that it's best not to overlay at potential wet area. So I guess the contractor will have to check & ensure that every single tile has no hollow. The question will be is that contractor honest enough to check all tiles for hollow before overlaying?

I would say it's owner's responsibility to check the tiles. Since u now know what to check. Of coz as a contractor I would happily advice u to hack to earn more profit outta you.

From my understanding, if you choose to overlay the tiles - the warranty of tile workmanship & material ONLY covers the part between the new tile to stick/bond tightly to the old tile, but not the old tile's stick/bond on the original flooring.

tiles POP up 3-5 yrs down the road.....what you gonna do?

hack and re-tile all over? or just live with it.

tiles POP up 3-5 yrs down the road.....what you gonna do?

hack and re-tile all over? or just live with it.

Was informed by my ID that overlay tiles comes with a 3 yrs warranty, which means any defects due to workmanship will be do good within the 3 yrs warranty.

Just went down to view some overlay job. Can't really see any difference from the top. Manage to see the 10 - 15 mm thickness difference. Was not very significant. Was told that even if I hack & lay, the tiles will also POP up if the workmanship is poor. My conclusion will be workmanship (correct me if I'm wrong.), provided all my existing tiles have not hollow lah.

From my own calculation, the price difference btw overlay & hack is around $1k+. Any comments?

Was informed by my ID that overlay tiles comes with a 3 yrs warranty, which means any defects due to workmanship will be do good within the 3 yrs warranty.

Just went down to view some overlay job. Can't really see any difference from the top. Manage to see the 10 - 15 mm thickness difference. Was not very significant. Was told that even if I hack & lay, the tiles will also POP up if the workmanship is poor. My conclusion will be workmanship (correct me if I'm wrong.), provided all my existing tiles have not hollow lah.

From my own calculation, the price difference btw overlay & hack is around $1k+. Any comments?

yaaaa arround 1k+ its not worth to overlay and take the risk only for 1k+. better hack imo

isn't it better not to hack existing floor tiles IF it has no problems of leaking in the last X years it was occupied by previous owner?

i faced a similar situation and my contractor told me it's ok to hack wall tiles cos scared of popping but floor tiles popping is not common. therefore can save the $$.

personally i went ahead with his suggestion because:

1) before overlay the original floor tiles never leak. when my contractor does waterproof on the old tiles THEN overlay new tiles, that means it's 'safer' and less chances of leaking?

2) overlaying is faster

3) overlaying is cheaper

therefore i went with his suggestion. please tell me if your opinion defers!

huh? floor tile popping not common?

it seems that floor tiles will pop eventually

heard of a few cases of floor tiles popping

some due to poor workmanship (within a few years), others due to time (after many years)

my own floor tiles popped after 20 years - none was hollow

do note that warranty is for the layer on top

if the original tile popped, no warranty

Was informed by my ID that overlay tiles comes with a 3 yrs warranty, which means any defects due to workmanship will be do good within the 3 yrs warranty.

anyone have idea how many years warranty for those hacked and laid a new set of floor tiles? Thanks a lot

eh? on workmanship ah? then should be listed by your contractor or ID. all different ba. Some offer 3 yr ... some 5 yr.. some 1 yr only ...

eh? on workmanship ah? then should be listed by your contractor or ID. all different ba. Some offer 3 yr ... some 5 yr.. some 1 yr only ...

Hi pinkpetter, yes workmanship. Thanks for the info

I was considering for this problem before I decide to hack all to do. Its said that overlay have problems after a decade or so..... but not sure lar....

Eh after a decade I think hacking ones will have problems also. hahaha well the thing is.. when your contractor guarantee... he only does it for what he did for you. Thus when the old tiles below pop... that's not his problem le. When the old tiles pop they will cause the top ones to pop also. Then who's fault is it now?

so must see if the risks are worth it