Leveling Prep after Removal of cracked tile floor

Bathroom tile floor in Manchester, New Hampshire had multiple cracked tiles needing remove and replaced.

Removing the hunky wood door threshold revealed the tile floor was installed over several layers of other flooring through the decades of the home.

Cracked floor tile removal demolition 

Let the demo begin...

A mini jackhammer with masonry chisel made quick work of popping off the old tiles loosely laid over luan.

Tile over Wood is No good

It's never a good idea for tile installed directly over wood substrate without any underlayment.

Removing flooring layers to demo to subfloor

Let's get to the bottom of things.

I'm not a contractor that installs tile over existing floor covering.

I've always been a firm believer in a lasting tile installation having solid prep.

And just tiling over existing floor as a time saver doesn't sit right with me.

Thin layer of Luan is not a suitable substrate for tile installation 

So we removed the Luan underlayment. Which popped up easily, with rusty nail tacked.

A linoleum sheet flooring under that removed. Revealing another, original sheet floor covering.

Finally, getting to subfloor after 3 layers of flooring piled on top of each other removed

Once the layers of existing flooring removed and brought out for disposal. A subfloor with still good structural integrity was found.

The leftover sheet vinyl remnants were removed with scraper and an oscillating multitool.

Self leveling compound installed over subfloor

The subfloor was primed and a self leveling compound mixed, poured and finish troweled.

2 coats of Laticrete HydroBan installed over leveling compound. And we're ready to tile.

New floor installed with 12x24 porcelain tile. Setting tile with ProLite thinset mortar by Custom Building Products. And grouted with Laticrete PermaColor grout.

View the rest of this tile install for bath remodel in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Need an old floor removed? Want a quote to estimate floor tile installation?

Call Matt Cupan TileWorks at:

(603)785-0869

A new vanity that homeowner purchased months before. Finally able to get installed after scheduling tile floor install. Project coming together.

And finishing with baseboard trim nailed into stud. 

After the new tile shower finished. Nothing much more needed than a full coat of paint. And the peeling ceiling touched up. Although, we suggested tiling the ceiling.