Keep existing vinyl floor ?


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Old 03-22-18, 09:59 AM
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Keep existing vinyl floor ?

This is the laundry room. I want to install new ceramic tile floor. The existing surface is vinyl squares on top of concrete.
Must I remove the existing vinyl or can I get away with keeping it by using a flex-type of thinset mortar for the ceramic ?
 
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Old 03-22-18, 11:03 AM
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Do it right and remove the vinyl first.
 
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Old 03-22-18, 11:41 AM
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Thanks for that.
Is there a best way of doing that ?
Heat gun ?
Torch ?
Scraper ?
 
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Old 03-22-18, 12:02 PM
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Scraper, hammer and chisel, and lots of elbow grease, to name a few. They sell new tools that are supposed to make the work easier, but don't know anything about them.
 
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Old 03-22-18, 12:15 PM
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Yep - called my local rental company. They vibrate with an 8 inch blade. Rents for $64 / day or the weekend.
Looks like the only way to go. Otherwise, I could see the removal taking several days.
Brutal, just brutal.
 
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Old 03-22-18, 12:22 PM
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Never said it would be fun but you'll be happy you went this route when you're done.
 
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Old 03-22-18, 06:12 PM
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If it was put down correctly, it should be difficult to remove. Test with a heat gun, you might get luck and they were those peel and stick kind of tiles. When done, check back and tell us what you find underneath as far as subfloor. May need to beef it up for tile before proceeding.
 
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Old 03-23-18, 10:15 AM
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If the tiles have much color or pattern, they are probably peel & stick. If one plain color, most likely VCT. VCT are the hard ones to remove.
 
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Old 03-30-18, 08:06 AM
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Thanks guys...I have a good heat gun...I am going to give that a shot before renting the scraping tool.
However, right now I am now thinking the surface is a SOLID sheet of vinyl with a pattern to look like squares....SHEESH !!
Now what ?
 
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Old 03-30-18, 04:24 PM
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If it is sheet vinyl, it will be installed over a 1/4" sheet of plywood underlayment. Both the vinyl and the underlayment need to come up for tile, then tell us some more specifics of what you find once you remove everything. Tile need a solid base for success.
 
 

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