Definitely not a smart idea to go over the existing floor. A friend of mine did it. Floor had to be ripped up anyway. Majority of tiles cracked and most were loose. Stove was above the countertop and refrigerator didn't fit in its original spot. He had to remove the cabinet above it for the fridge to fit. Doors had to be trimmed too. It's not worth taking the easy way out. Just more problems and a major headache. If you're going to do something, do it right.

Thanks - every so often my inner cheapskate comes up with some cockamamy idea - I appreciate your advice.

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Agreed! You always want to know what your dealing with, and shortcuts are always a nightmare.

It's OK as long as the original was properly laid, most in the last half century were not. Was it laid just direct on plywood? Does it creak at all? Have tiles come up or cracked? If yes to any, I'd pull it all up and start new.

Story: had a tenant who had found a contractor to lay 16" sq tiles in her kitchen of 100 yr old building. He was going to use cement board, but not properly bed it on thinset, just use liquid nails and screws. I bounced him out, and told her to return the material. Not only would the poor install have cracked the tiles, but the flex in the old joists would have been too much for such large tiles and cracked them. I laid laminate.

It's definitely possible, but a few things that you need to make sure of:

- existing floor has no cracks
- existing tiles are not glazed or sealed in any way
- you have enough clearance with doors, etc for an additional 3/4" on top of existing floor (you can install a new saddle if needed)

If these conditions exist, then you'll need to grind/roughen the surface of the existing floor before you lay anything on top of it.

I've seen a few tile floors laid over old floors, either ceramic or vinyl tile, but haven't done it myself. I think it's a shortcut that you should avoid unless for some reason it's totally impossible or impractical to pull up the old tiles. Keep in mind, any flaws in the existing floor (cracks, uneven surfaces, out of level, etc.) will be transmitted directly to the new tile floor.

If you do lay new tile on top of old you will still need to correct and prepare the old floor as a subfloor - with leveling compound, crack preventing membrane, etc. Also, your new floor will be higher which can lead to needing to trim doors, etc.

Probably better to pull up the old tiles and cement board and start with a clean subfloor.

I always took up the old floor and put down a new underlayment.

Has anyone ever put a new floor over an existing ceramic tile floor? The floors are in a bathroom and a kitchen. What did you use as a new floor? DIY or contractor? If you think this is totally crazy let me know that too. Thanks