Vinyl flooring over existing tiles: renovation without demolition or rubble

Ripping out the ceramic tiles in a 90 m² flat means a week of work, several tonnes of debris, dust in every room, waste removal and, almost certainly, a damaged screed that then has to be repaired. Add the noise, which is worth clearing with the neighbours in advance.

None of that is necessary. Glue-down vinyl flooring 2 mm thick is installed directly over the existing surface. Below: when you can do it, when you can't, and how to do it properly.

What you can install over

Ceramic tiles and porcelain stoneware. The most common case in Spanish housing stock. Installation is viable; the key question is the joints (more on that below).

Terrazzo, marble chip flooring. An excellent substrate: monolithic, strong and jointless. It needs sanding and thorough dust removal.

Old linoleum and PVC flooring. Possible if the covering is firmly bonded across its whole area, has no blisters and is not foam-backed. Homogeneous PVC: yes. Linoleum on a felt or foam backing: no, it has to come up.

Cement screed. The classic substrate, with the standard requirements: flatness, strength, dryness.

Poured floor, self-levelling compound. The ideal case.

What you cannot install over

• Laminate and engineered wood — these are floating floors and they move. Vinyl glued over them will follow every one of those movements and open up at the seams.
• Carpet of any kind.
• Debonded tiles. Tap the floor: a hollow sound means the tile has come away from the substrate. Those areas have to be lifted and made good.
• Substrates showing signs of moisture — efflorescence, dark patches, flaking paint. First find and eliminate the cause.
• Timber decking with any springiness — the boards must be rigidly fixed, otherwise the deflection will show through the flooring.

Three criteria that decide the job

1. Flatness

The tolerance is no more than 2 mm under a two-metre straightedge. Check the whole area, not a single spot.

A 2 mm vinyl plank does not level the substrate — it copies it. Any step between tiles, ridge of adhesive or dip will show on the surface after a few months of use, once the flooring has "settled" under load.

2. Moisture

For cement substrates, no more than 2% by the CM method (calcium carbide method). For anhydrite substrates, no more than 0.5%.

Vinyl flooring is vapour-tight. Moisture left in the substrate cannot escape and will build up beneath the covering: adhesive failure, blisters, mould. Even an old screed needs testing if there may have been leaks below it or no damp-proof membrane.

When installing over ceramic tiles moisture is usually not an issue — the tiling has stood for decades and the substrate beneath it is dry. It is still worth testing if the room has had leaks.

3. Strength and adhesion

The substrate must not be dusty, friable or delaminating. Old paint, mastic and residues of adhesive from the previous covering are removed mechanically.

How the joints between tiles are dealt with

This is the central technical question of the whole job and the point where mistakes are most often made.

A grout joint is a recess 3–8 mm wide and 1–3 mm deep. A 2 mm plank laid over it will in time press down into that joint, and the grout pattern will telegraph through as a grid across the floor surface. The defect does not appear straight away — it takes a few months, as the material adapts under load.

There are two solutions.

Option A: filling the joints. The joints are filled flush with a repair compound and then sanded. This works when the joints are narrow (up to 5 mm) and the tiling is flat. Cheaper, faster, less added height.

Option B: a self-levelling layer. A 2–3 mm self-levelling compound is poured across the whole area over a primer for non-absorbent substrates. This works in every case, and especially with wide joints, steps between tiles and large-format porcelain. It gives a perfect substrate, but adds 2–3 mm of height and one to two days of curing.

In practice, a residential refurbishment with ordinary 30×30 or 45×45 tiles is fine with Option A. For commercial projects and large formats, Option B is the safer choice.

Primer is a mandatory step

Ceramic tiles and porcelain stoneware do not absorb moisture. A standard adhesive will not develop adhesion on such a surface.

Use a primer for non-absorbent substrates — usually epoxy or polyurethane, often with quartz sand to create texture. It does two things: it provides the bond and it creates a micro-profile for the adhesive to key into.

Skipping this step is the most expensive mistake in the process. The floor will go down fine and lift six months later.

Sequence of work

1. Survey. Tapping for debonded tiles, checking flatness with a straightedge, measuring moisture, inspecting for leaks.
2. Repair. Loose tiles are lifted and the area made good. Cracks are opened out and filled.
3. Cleaning. Degreasing and removal of wax, mastic and polish residues. Kitchen and bathroom tiling is washed with an alkaline cleaner — there is always a greasy film on it.
4. Joints. Filling or self-levelling compound, then sanding and vacuuming off the dust.
5. Priming. As per the manufacturer's instructions, allowing full drying time.
6. Acclimatising the material. The planks are laid out in the room for 24–48 hours at service temperature so the material takes up its dimensions.
7. Setting out and dry-laying. Plank direction usually follows the longest wall or the direction of the main light source. Lay in a staggered pattern with an offset of at least 1/3 of the plank length, mixing material from different packs so the shades are evenly distributed.
8. Installation. Adhesive is applied with a notched trowel of the correct size, respecting the open time. Every plank is rolled with a 50–68 kg pressure roller — this is mandatory, not optional.
9. Curing. Light foot traffic after 24 hours; full load and furniture after 48–72 hours.

What this saves in time and money

A 90 m² flat:

• With tile removal: stripping out the floor, removing the debris, repairing the screed, levelling and installing — in the region of 8–12 working days. Plus the cost of waste disposal, plus a completely uninhabitable home for the duration.
• Without removal: substrate preparation 1–2 days, installation 2–3 days, plus curing. About a week in total, with no rubble and no heavy work.

The difference in the quotation comes from having no demolition, no waste removal and no substrate reconstruction. On a residential job that is a substantial share of the budget.

A separate note on height: 2 mm add exactly 2 mm. In the vast majority of cases the doors stay where they are, no threshold step appears at the entrance, and the transition to adjoining rooms is handled with a flat profile. That is precisely why renovations go for the glue-down option rather than click SPC — the latter, with its underlay, comes to around 6 mm and nearly always means trimming the doors.

For commercial premises

The same approach works here, with two qualifications. First: the use class is matched to the load — at least class 32, and class 33 for circulation areas. Second: if the space involves wet processes or requires hygienic joints, sheet commercial vinyl with welded seams is used instead of planks.

There is also an organisational benefit: a shop or a café can be refitted zone by zone without closing completely — impossible if the tiles have to come up.

FAQ

Does the skirting have to come off? Yes. The skirting is removed, the flooring is installed up to the wall, and then the skirting goes back on — new or the original.

Can vinyl go over tiles in a bathroom? Yes, the flooring is waterproof. What matters is the quality of the junctions with walls and sanitaryware, which are sealed with sanitary silicone. Shower areas with a floor drain are specified separately.

What about the level change at the room entrance? At 2 mm the step is minimal and is covered with a flat transition profile.

How long does this kind of floor last? Service life is determined by the wear layer and the use class, not by the installation method. On a properly prepared substrate a class 32 floor in a home lasts 15–20 years.

Can it be installed over tiles with underfloor heating? Yes, provided the temperature regime is observed: no more than 27 °C at the surface, with the mandatory heating-up protocol before and after installation.