2 years ago I pulled up the linoleum in our kitchen and put down porcelain tile over 1/4” Hardiboard. We hate it as we can never get a decent coat of anything on the tile. It was a bad choice.

We’re thinking Downs 'luxery', corked back, 7” x 59”, 8mm vinyl planks may be a solution. We would put this down over the tile. We don’t have any clearance issues. From what I’ve heard and read, pulling up the tile and Hardi would be a task. The Hardi is set on mastic and nailed to the subfloor.

I have about 300 sq ft of kitchen. Thoughts?

Mike

how big is the porcelain tile? I would worry that it will telegraph through the LVT pretty quickly.

But LVT is a very good flooring surface. They make some great patterns and textures and it is extremely resilient.

Are you slab on grade or elevated? Sometimes you can get moisture up through a slab that effects the adherence but I thin with mastic and hardi backer, you should be fine.

Not sure I understand your issue with the tile. Do you mean keeping it clean?

As far as putting the vinyl plank over that, I'd say no go. Doubt any installer would warranty their work if hired out and further doubt the manufacturer would warranty it over the tile. The tile isn't a smooth surface and over time I suspect you would see the old grid of the tile showing through. Tearing up tile is actually easy, it's the hauling the debris part of that is hard

agree it would be better to pull up the tile. recently refurbed my bathroom with peel and stick vinyl as I had a time constraint. Whatever you choose make sure you can use it on the concrete board. The luxury vinyl(if there is such a thing) is not designed to stick to hardibacker per instructions so I dropped down sanded plywood instead to insure flatness etc...

Is that 8mm with the cork backing????
That is pretty thin. Most of the stuff with preinstalled backing should be about 12mm.

I presume you are referring to the snap and click planks. I have not seen it put on tile before. Depnding on how thick the cork is it may not telegraph through as the cork backing should fill in the grout lines. But as I said before 8mm seems pretty thin and I am not sure I would want to take the gamble.

I just put the planks in my cabin and it went in very easy and looks good. But I also put in new joists and sub floor. I am hoping it holds up but does have a lifetime warranty.

I just posted some pics of the floor here in my cabin rehab post.
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/7390088134

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
agree it would be better to pull up the tile. recently refurbed my bathroom with peel and stick vinyl as I had a time constraint. Whatever you choose make sure you can use it on the concrete board. The luxury vinyl(if there is such a thing) is not designed to stick to hardibacker per instructions so I dropped down sanded plywood instead to insure flatness etc...

Sorry for the thread drift, how are you liking the peel and stick planks? I am looking to do that in the kitchen of the cabin. I don't need the waterproof of the snap and click planks and would prefer to keep it close to $1.00 a square foot.

Thanks for the input. Let me answer a few questions.

1. this is a first floor over a finished, heated basement.
2. The existing tiles are 18"x18".
3. The Vinyl Planks are designed as a floating floor with no sticky back or gluedown.
4. I'd probably level the grout lines to insure they don't telegraph through the new floor.
5. I'd do all of the work.
6. If the overall recommendation is to tear out the tile and backer board, hauling the trash isn't a problem as I have a trailer. I'm just aftraid its the job from hell.

Further thoughts?

I'm not a flooring "expert," but IMO it sounds like you've probably covered the bases as far as laying the new over the old (filling grout lines, no chance of moisture coming up from below).

I had TrafficMASTER Allure Ultra installed a couple of years ago, and am pretty happy with it. My dog has medical-related bladder control issues and had ruined my carpet. The plank flooring looks good, is durable, and wetness is no longer a big deal. It probably doesn't fool anyone for long as far as not being real wood, though. Also, despite it's texture, my dog still slips easily on it and has fallen a few times.

We installed the Core-tec(sp), cork bottom layer, water proof center and vinyl wood grain top layer. This went down over the the existing sheeting without the need for under layment. It looks very much like the real wood planks with the added bit of cush feel. I will say though that it can be damaged by such as moving a big fridge/freezer combo out from the wall. The weight will leave a indent from the wheels. We use a office chair plastic matte to lay down jammed against the front wheels, then roll the unit on it.

Seems like a workable plan, be sure to show us some pics when you are done.
The beauty of a floated floor is that it comes up easy if you don't like it, much easier that pulling tile or even glued wood off.

Clean the floor and grout joints first, I'd uses a strong ammonia and water solution.

Then skim coat the tile floor to fill in the joints and you'll be ok. Otherwise the joints will likely telegraph through the tile over time.

The nice thing about all floating floors is come replacement time the next floor install is a breeze.

I had the same issue with the porcelain tile in our kitchen. We hated it, but didn't want to go thru the mess of tearing it up. We put down Armstrong "Luxe Plank" flooring. We put it right over the porcelain tile - we did NOTHING for prep. there were some high spots on the corners of some tiles which we left alone. We did it last December. There has been ZERO "telegraphing" of joint lines thru the new floor. There have been no squeaks, no movement. Nothing! Our contractor said it would expand/contract with weather so he put in a transition strip where it butts to the carpet. It has gone thru an Iowa winter and does not appear to have done so. Our flooring contractor called Armstrong to verify that it was OK to install like this. So the warranty does apply for this installation.

The key to this product is the substrate, which is PVC - flexible enough to float over uneven areas, but rigid enough that it does not move. This was not a cheap LVT product, but we have been extremely happy with it. Highly recommended.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
agree it would be better to pull up the tile. recently refurbed my bathroom with peel and stick vinyl as I had a time constraint. Whatever you choose make sure you can use it on the concrete board. The luxury vinyl(if there is such a thing) is not designed to stick to hardibacker per instructions so I dropped down sanded plywood instead to insure flatness etc...

Sorry for the thread drift, how are you liking the peel and stick planks? I am looking to do that in the kitchen of the cabin. I don't need the waterproof of the snap and click planks and would prefer to keep it close to $1.00 a square foot.

Really like it, the bathroom is maybe 44 sq ft so didn't need much but we grouted it with the stainmaster grout they offer and so far it has held up nicely. It's only been since July but I have not had any tiles come up. Everything I read was as long as it is done correctly it will hold up for quite a while. Grouting is just as easy as regular tile except you have to wipe it every 10 sq feet since you can sometimes get residue. It does recommend getting a vinyl roller as you need pressure to help with the bonding, if you kitchen is big, I would. I just used a flat board and stood on it to add pressure to the tiles. Also buy the primer too and read what sufaces they are allowed to stick too.

Spend the extra money and buy the sanded plywood and overscrew it down so there is as little flex as possible. Goes on quickly and tiles cut very easily by scoring with a box knife and breaking it.


Mine looks like this.