A little advice please - wall prep before split face tiling

[giveitago]

Hi all,

I have a load of split face tiles to go into a kitchen wall. I took off the old ceramic ones which have been there since the 60s i think. The cement stuff they were put on with isn't steaming or scraping off, it's pretty solid. I don't think it's adhesive as such. I'm wondering if I can just sbr it and put on new tiles or should I get stuck in and try to get it back to the sand and cement underneath.?
Any advice gratefully received.

 

[Dumbo]

To be honest I wouldn't put split face tiles into a situation where hygiene and easy cleaning is a must . Not the answer you are looking for but very relevant I feel .

 

[LM]

Completely agree with @jcrtiling, have you or your clients considered this. It’s a bad option because of the stated reasons.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Only you can tell how well adhered the old adhesive is.
As far as the split faced tiles go it’s all about aesthetics.
As it’s a kitchen wall but not described as in front of a cooker or sink there are brick slips and rustic tiles used, and once sealed they can be cleaned.

 

[giveitago]

Thanks for the advice. I should have mentioned that it's my own kitchen and I'm a keen DIYer.

The wall is at opposite side of room to cooker, hob and sink, more of a breakfast bar wall. I will consider cleaning and hygiene implications however before proceeding.


I think the cement is solid tho - so If i did decide to go ahead , would I be OK to apply them over the cement - is that something that tiler's do if it is solid enough ?

 

[GoneGuy]

It all depends how lumpy the adhesive is that is left on the wall?
Would it be easier to overboard with a cement board to take the weight of the splitface tiles

 

[Lou]

Welcome! What have you decided?

 

[giveitago]

I'm thinking overboard would be safest solution. I've looked at a couple and the only downside seems to be losing a (little (12mm)) bit of room space. The split face tiles are kind of heavy - don't know exactly but perhaps 30Kg/m2 or so - so that would remove the guesswork. It would be easier to fit them too without am uneven surface. I'm looking at Hardiebacker 500 as a solution - up to 100kg/m2! That's mechanical fixings and glue.

 

[GAZ5518]

I think the what you are describing is 'sand and cement'.. Which is how tiles were fixed before the introduction of Ready mix and powdered adhesives.
With a bolster and hammer you can get behind it and chop it off( wear gloves)!... Failing that if it's as stuck as you say ... Bond / fill in the gaps and Tile away..( A Tiler would probably fill in and fix at the same time using a flexible powder adhesive)... Good luck .

 

[giveitago]

It's not too bumpy. I have attached a picture. I used an SDS tile chisel to to get the tiles off and could attack the cement with that, but would rather not!

 

[Qwerty]

Thats an extremely thin skim of plaster and then render underneath. Looks a very friable surface. I would scrape back/ rub off high spots, clean, prime, glue & screw (mechanically fix) tile backer boards to the wall.

 

[GAZ5518]

I think the what you are describing is 'sand and cement'.. Which is how tiles were fixed before the introduction of Ready mix and powdered adhesives.
With a bolster and hammer you can get behind it and chop it off( wear gloves)!... Failing that if it's as stuck as you say ... Bond / fill in the gaps and Tile away..( A Tiler would probably fill in and fix at the same time using a flexible powder adhesive)... Good luck .

After seeing the pictures .. I stand corrected...It looks like serrations on the wall over finish plaster..
Tiles look like 4 1/4s pilks...Stuck well and can be a bugger to get off..A few hair line cracks... which if has blown you should chop off and make good
As mentioned already ... Quickest fix is to overboard

 

[giveitago]

Some were murder to get off - a particle at a time! Others just fell off. The whole kitchen and utility room are the same. I've already detiled utility room and still the rest of kitchen to do. I'm still leaning towards backer board for that wall. the other walls are just getting plastered as normal. The SDS remover made all the difference , although the high up tiles seemed fixed better so a bit of a strain.