[deetjohn]

Thank You for the reply guys.

Originally Posted by Ohh!Oxygen

If its a 28 year old mosaic flooring on first or above floors, I will blindly take the adhesive approach......... As per my experience Rs 70-100 range is the good enough.

I want to go either 2x2 or 3x3 and looking at something near 100 per sq ft. I had almost zeroed in on Kajaria one fella I contacted told me they no longer make them flat enough.

Originally Posted by khoj

This option is very popular 'cause the contractors make more money.....Further if the floor is 28 years old then 99% it would have been played with perfect levelling. Get the level checked and if found right simply lay the tiles over to get the best of both Worlds.....

BTW have you considered pre polished and pre cut marble tiles.

It will be the ground floor. Why do you say the floor will have perfect leveling since its old?

Taking the top layer off say 1/4th sounds like a good plan, but I am not sure what will happen if they cannot control it and a whole chunk comes off. That said, I prefer the entire mosaic to be taken off. But its too much trouble not worth doing, will go with the adhesive way.

Yes, I will get the level checked and go forward from there. Not comfortable with the idea of gaps between the tiles and flooring even if its the ground floor.

Haven't given a thought about pre polished and pre cut marble tiles. Will it fit into our budget of 100 per sq. ft? Will inquire and evaluate. Thanks for the info.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Taking the top layer off say 1/4th sounds like a good plan, but I am not sure what will happen if they cannot control it and a whole chunk comes off. That said, I prefer the entire mosaic to be taken off. But its too much trouble not worth doing, will go with the adhesive way.

Yes, I will get the level checked and go forward from there. Not comfortable with the idea of gaps between the tiles and flooring even if its the ground floor.

You are better off laying new tiles on the existing mosaic floor itself. We got this done at my parents place a year back and our guy did a good job.

For a fact you don't need to chip the mosaic tiles , rather these chaps use their angle grinders and make V- ruts .
This method indeed kicks up some dust( manageable) , but it aint as cumbersome as removing the existing mosaic tiles, getting the concrete planed and then relaying new tiles. Usually the costs go skywards with this approach.

Once the ruts are done, then it all boils down to the adhesive in use. Be generous with the adhesive and ensure that it fills up the crevices on the mosaic floor.

Our only gripe was that we had to get it done room by room since my parents weren't ready to move out for a few days so as to get the whole house relaid at one go.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Hello guys, planning for a little makeover of the floor of our home. Want to swap the 28 years old mosaic with high quality vitrified tiles. Any pointers for the following questions will be very helpful.

1. Should we go for a complete relaying where the old mosaic flooring is taken off and the new tiles are laid on top of concrete? Or should the tiles be stuck over the existing floor using adhesives? Some contractors I talked to recommended the latter. Don't mind the slight delay or effort required for the first option.
   
2. Which brand of tiles should we pick? Looking for white tiles with minimal designs/ patterns. It should be durable and of good quality with a very flat surface.

In my experience, if the old floor is in relatively good condition (no dents due to stone chips that have come out), the best option is to grind and polish the floor. Mosaic layers are quite thick and can be ground by a mm or so at least 5 times. After grinding you can carry out "granite polish" which will give the floor a mirror finish. This is the least cost option and the resulting floor rivals the finish obtained with stone (marble and granite) floors.

If you do not want to retain the old floor, then
- Grind the existing floor by 10mm using coarse grinder. Should not take more than a day.
- Ensure that the surface is uniform with no undulations.
- This is the time when you can change the slopes, so that any water flows in the direction you want it to. Normally you slope towards the balcony if it is there.
- Now you can lay the tiles on a 5mm thick sand/cement course.

Again laying floor tiles seamlessly is an extremely skilled job, which in my experience very few contractors are able to carry out properly, so you will have to search for a contractor who has carried out similar jobs and critically examine the floors laid. That is why marble flooring is so popular, as there are no joints and any undulations are ground out.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

You are better off laying new tiles on the existing mosaic floor itself. We got this done at my parents place a year back and our guy did a good job.

Thank you for the pointers. Will try to get this done in a single stretch.

Originally Posted by Aroy

In my experience, if the old floor is in relatively good condition (no dents due to stone chips that have come out), the best option is to grind and polish the floor. ...... That is why marble flooring is so popular, as there are no joints and any undulations are ground out.

Thank you for the detailed write up! Yes, getting skilled laborers is a bit difficult these days for any job. Don't want to retain the existing floor as the stones have come off at a few places and its becoming extremely difficult to maintain. The current floor hide things very well and is a pain to keep clean and we cannot take chances with the little one around.

I will try marble as well and take a decision.

[sbala]

Fellas - One morning, i woke up hearing cracking sound. Me and my wifey were looking in all directions except down, but never thought the tiles would make those noises. Few tiles started chipping off the floor (due to air crack???). Thank God, We didnt step on it. close to 6 tiles have come off. I searched in the market for a replacement and found nothing matching the current tile colors and pattern.

Few folks are advising for complete relaying of tiles. Can you guys help me in clarifying below queries?

Can i have the new tiles laid on top of the old ones? Will run into same problem again with this approach OR should i go with traditional way of breaking everything and laying it fresh on the concrete?

[hrman]

Originally Posted by sbala

Fellas - One morning, i woke up hearing cracking sound. Me and my wifey were looking in all directions except down, but never thought the tiles would make those noises. Few tiles started chipping off the floor (due to air crack???). Thank God, We didnt step on it. close to 6 tiles have come off. I searched in the market for a replacement and found nothing matching the current tile colors and pattern.

Few folks are advising for complete relaying of tiles. Can you guys help me in clarifying below queries?

Can i have the new tiles laid on top of the old ones? Will run into same problem again with this approach OR should i go with traditional way of breaking everything and laying it fresh on the concrete?

We had a similar problem in our bathroom of our rented house. 4-6 tiles were bloated and had become convex. We were scared to step on it as it was making noises like glass breaking.
We called a mason and he extracted the entire floor tiles and re-laid new tiles using cement, leveller etc. There was some air pocket which had got trapped, which had bloated the tiles. The new tiles were slightly different from the existing ones, but it is ok since it is in the bathroom.

In case it is a main room for you, you may need to relay the entire room for lack of availability of the matching colour and pattern. It is possible to extract only the damaged tiles using a cutter, but the matching with other tiles will be a challenge.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by sbala

Fellas - One morning, i woke up hearing cracking sound. Me and my wifey were looking in all directions except down, but never thought the tiles would make those noises. Few tiles started chipping off the floor (due to air crack???). Thank God, We didnt step on it. close to 6 tiles have come off. I searched in the market for a replacement and found nothing matching the current tile colors and pattern.

Few folks are advising for complete relaying of tiles. Can you guys help me in clarifying below queries?

Can i have the new tiles laid on top of the old ones? Will run into same problem again with this approach OR should i go with traditional way of breaking everything and laying it fresh on the concrete?

Solutions/options will depend on type of tile (ceramic/mosaic, etc), tile size and the room where this problem has surfaced (easier to do patch work/mix and match tiles in bathrooms).

[Sebring]

I would advise you to keep the mosaic. We recently got our 22 year old tiles re-polished. Cost around 8000 for 700 Sq Ft, the quality of those tiles are something else! Go for 'white mirrored' finish. Wont be surprised if the 'come back' in vogue.

The new tiles, ceramic or otherwise, break easily and lose gloss quickly. Again, depends on the manufacturer I guess. This is purely my opinion.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Sebring

I would advise you to keep the mosaic. We recently got our 22 year old tiles re-polished. Cost around 8000 for 700 Sq Ft, the quality of those tiles are something else! Go for 'white mirrored' finish. Wont be surprised if the 'come back' in vogue.

The new tiles, ceramic or otherwise, break easily and lose gloss quickly. Again, depends on the manufacturer I guess. This is purely my opinion.

I fully agree with this.

Check the depth of the largest "crater" in your mosaic floor. If it is less than 3mm, then you can grind the floor to its former glory. Otherwise I would go for marble. The marble costs in Delhi vary from Rs.60/ to Rs. 700/ per square foot, depending on the quality, it should be less in South. If you prefer white, then the Australian White marble is the best white available. It is hard and reasonably priced.

Good Italian (at Rs1000/+) and Indian Makrana (at Rs. 2500+)are out of most peoples budget.

[sbala]

Originally Posted by hrman

We had a similar problem in our bathroom of our rented house. 4-6 tiles were bloated and had become convex. We were scared to step on it as it was making noises like glass breaking.
We called a mason and he extracted the entire floor tiles and re-laid new tiles using cement, leveller etc. There was some air pocket which had got trapped, which had bloated the tiles. The new tiles were slightly different from the existing ones, but it is ok since it is in the bathroom.

In case it is a main room for you, you may need to relay the entire room for lack of availability of the matching colour and pattern. It is possible to extract only the damaged tiles using a cutter, but the matching with other tiles will be a challenge.

Originally Posted by NPV

Solutions/options will depend on type of tile (ceramic/mosaic, etc), tile size and the room where this problem has surfaced (easier to do patch work/mix and match tiles in bathrooms).

Thanks guys for your reply. Current one is ceramic tiled floor. Looks like i will have to get the existing ones out and do a fresh ones. Thats going to cost a lot :(.

How about laying wooden flooring? Can this be laid on existing tiled floor after doing the patch over and leveling it?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by sbala

Thanks guys for your reply. Current one is ceramic tiled floor. Looks like i will have to get the existing ones out and do a fresh ones. Thats going to cost a lot :(.

How about laying wooden flooring? Can this be laid on existing tiled floor after doing the patch over and leveling it?

Wooden flooring, as implemented in India, is just thin wooden tiles. So laying them will be similar to laying ceramic tiles. Just take the affected tiles out, fill the void with cement mortar. Let it dry/cure for a few days. Level the floor and then lay the tiles.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by sbala

Thanks guys for your reply. Current one is ceramic tiled floor. Looks like i will have to get the existing ones out and do a fresh ones. Thats going to cost a lot :(.

If it's just few tiles, you may want to just patch that up, maybe a picture will help understand it better.
We recently had a 4.5" inch internal wall separating 2 rooms removed. And we had cermaic tiles of 12" x 12". We got a piece of granite to fit the gap between the tiles and the result was quite satisfying so you can think of a strip of granite at the place where the tiles are broken, probably a line across the room, again a picture will help.

[sbala]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Wooden flooring, as implemented in India, is just thin wooden tiles. So laying them will be similar to laying ceramic tiles. Just take the affected tiles out, fill the void with cement mortar. Let it dry/cure for a few days. Level the floor and then lay the tiles.

Originally Posted by NPV

If it's just few tiles, you may want to just patch that up, maybe a picture will help understand it better.
We recently had a 4.5" inch internal wall separating 2 rooms removed. And we had cermaic tiles of 12" x 12". We got a piece of granite to fit the gap between the tiles and the result was quite satisfying so you can think of a strip of granite at the place where the tiles are broken, probably a line across the room, again a picture will help.

Thanks again folks. I don't have a pic right now with me as i am travelling now. But the damage is more like a rectangle.

Any references from Bangalore to fix this ? Local guys near my area are all for breaking the entire tiles in the room and fixing new ones.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by sbala

Any references from Bangalore to fix this ? Local guys near my area are all for breaking the entire tiles in the room and fixing new ones.

Yes, most of these guys will look for work that lasts few days, they typically don't want to do anything that is a day's work or lesser

If you can find a local guy and convince him to work on a Sunday it will be a good idea, they will want more wages. Typically, for this kind of work they will ask for a lumpsum amount rather than daily labour wages. Decide what is to be done and procure the necessary materials a day or two before the guy arrives to do the work.

[ramki067]

In need of grouting work to be done on tiles in bathroom and WC due to leaking of water through the tiles.
Kindly provide any references of tiles laying person who can do this job near Rajajinagar, Mahalaxmi layout area.

Thanks,
Ramki