Many homeowners install tile initially because of its style and longevity. While the occasional cracked tile or chipped grout may be problematic over time, you can generally expect tile to serve your flooring needs until well after the material has lost its appeal. Now that you have decided to refresh your home’s décor with new flooring, you may be drawn to the many benefits that vinyl offers. Are you wondering if you can install vinyl flooring over tile? This is seemingly a faster, easier and more affordable solution, but can and should you do it? After all, you want your new flooring to look amazing after it has been installed.
Can You Install Vinyl Flooring Over Tile?
Vinyl flooring is increasingly popular as an affordable floor material for homes across the country and beyond. In addition to being affordable, it is durable and comes in a wide range of styles. For example, you can choose between vinyl squares that mimic the look of natural stone or other materials, or you can choose planks that are a great alternative to hardwood flooring. Deciding to install vinyl flooring is understandably easy to do for these reasons. However, the total cost and timeline for your project are directly related to how much attention you need to place on the old tile floor. The good news is that you can install vinyl flooring over tile. In fact, you can install it over most types of hard floor materials. However, there are a few things that you need to be aware of before you get started on your project.
The Benefits of Installing Vinyl Plank Flooring Over Tile
Through the tile installation process, the tile is firmly affixed to the base floor. Because of this, removing the tile can be a labor-intensive, messy and exhausting project. Some people will scrape the tile and grout away inch by inch. Others will use power tools to clear away the bulk of the debris, but manual effort may still be required. Before you can install vinyl flooring on a subfloor, the surface must be perfectly smooth. Unfortunately, removing the tile and grout often creates bumps and divots that would ultimately impact the quality of your vinyl flooring installation project. Essentially, if you try to remove the tile, you may actually create more work for yourself than you originally planned on.
When you install vinyl flooring over tile, on the other hand, you can simply prepare the surface before you begin laying your new floor. In fact, you do not typically need to install an underlayment material between the old tile floor and the new vinyl.
Important Installation Tips
Before you go through the time and effort of installing vinyl flooring over tile, you need to inspect the tile floor carefully. Thicker vinyl planks or squares will generally buffer some imperfections. However, if you are dealing large cracks, gaps or other types of damage that affect the smoothness of the surface, you should make repairs to the tile floor first. An easy way to smooth over small blemishes and imperfections is with the use of mortar or liquid cement. You may also need to fill in deep crevices between the tiles if the grout line is deep. On the other hand, if the tile floor is severely damaged, you may need to actually go through the effort of removing the tiles and grout. While you may be able to keep the tile floor in place, you will still need to follow other essential steps in the flooring installation process. For example, you will need to remove the baseboards, plumbing fixtures and other features before installing the vinyl floor.
Are you ready to see a major improvement in your home décor? Installing vinyl square or vinyl plank flooring over tile is a cost-effective solution. Because of how much time and energy you can save when you take this approach, you may feel more confident installing the new flooring on your own. If you are ready to get started with your flooring project, you can begin by picking out your vinyl material and by inspecting the condition of the tile floor that the vinyl will be installed over. Keep in mind that you should schedule a professional installation if you are not certain about the prep work required or about the installation process.
Learn more: How To Clean Vinyl Floors with Vinegar
