Tile – tile over old yellow mastic

tiletiling

I need to tile a floor in my house (concrete slab) where there was some vinyl tiles that were put down with some type of yellow mastic. Can I mortar and tile over this mastic or does the floor need to have this stuff scraped or stripped off first?

The holes/divits in the picture are from me removing carpet tack strips from the concrete that were put over the old flooring when the bathroom was carpeted (ick!).

Old floor with yellow mastic

Best Answer

You should scrape as much off as you can to prevent any interference with the mortar bond and to ensure the tiles will lay flat. I use a razor scraper like this:

razor scraper

P.S.- invest in a few packs of replacement blades.