If you have your tiles in a pretty good shape then you can most definitely do that. Replacing your wall tiles altogether might be a daunting task to many. But there are some things you should take care of before diving into that.
Assess Your Old Tiles
Before you start to paste newer tiles, hold your horses! Take a look at the surface first. Does it have any irregularities? If it does, you should probably not proceed. An uneven surface can cause foundational issues and will not give you the best results. Look for symptoms like discoloration and damaged grout. If you find any of these, the tile has likely been eaten away from the bottom.
If you cover your tiles in this condition, you can have a lot of issues. Water can get trapped inside and can damage the base. This will continue to worsen if you don’t remove the old tile first. Similarly, if the old tile was not installed properly, the new one will likely suffer.
Careful with the Installation
If your tile is on an uneven surface, you will likely not have the required results. The globs should be perfectly leveled and you should cover the loose ends. Cut the tiles in even dimensions and make sure that you have degreased the base. After that, let them dry for some time.
Start your installation by putting mortar adhesive on each tile. Don’t overdo it though. If you are thinking you can paste the whole surface, then you are wrong. You need the tiles and the surface to blend in while the adhesive is still wet. The time you will take to paste the whole surface will most likely dry it.
Apply the adhesive to the back of your new tiles instead of putting it on the older tiles. However, this method is only recommended when the old tile is in perfect shape.
Some people have also used silicon as an adhesive to get even grout lines. The key is to place some kind of a spacer to leave some space for the grout. But, we don’t recommend using silicone as an adhesive because it doesn’t go well with water. If you are trying to install shower tiles then silicone might not be a good idea.
After you have all things in place start placing the tile on top of the old tiles. Once it is set you can manually adjust the positioning yourself. If the older tile has an uneven surface then this method is only a temporary solution.
Bottom Line
You can easily tile your walls as long as the surface is even. You have to first access the wall yourself to have a bright idea of whether you should proceed or not. Once you have ascertained your terrain, you can proceed with the installation. A pro tip: always leave some space between the grooves for grout. This will protect any kind of moisture from seeping into your tiles.
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