Flooring – Should I peel off the top layer of vinyl in preparation for tiling

ceramic-tileflooringlinoleumvinyl

I'm preparing my kitchen floor for ceramic tile. Currently it's a sheet of vinyl(linoleum?). The plan was to sand off any gloss and tile over it. I was going around the edges picking off any loose areas and I noticed the top layer of the floor is peeling off and leaving behind a paper like layer which looks to be glued to the original vinyl floor. So it seems the vinyl layer is splitting in half. What would be the better surface to tile on? The paper like surface or the sanded vinyl? Please don't recommend pulling it completely off as that is out of time and budget.enter image description here

Best Answer

Unfortunately, you NEED to remove or cover the old vinyl. If you attempt to tile over an unsecure base, you are wasting yout time and money because the tile will not stay down. In your case, if you go over the splitting vinyl, the vinyl will continue to separate and up will come the tiles. If you go over the paper layer, the mortar/quickset will not stick properly. If you don't want to strip everything, which is a very thankless job, and your subfloor may not be the greatest either, then screw down a layer of Hardi-backer. Hardy-backer or concrete board is the perfect base for your new tile. Good Luck