How to Redo Bathroom Floors Without Ripping Up the Tiles
Tile demolition is such a messy endeavor and adds so much time to your bathroom remodel you might be searching for a way to prevent it. If you choose to leave the tile, you can opt for one of 2 strategies to handle it. The first is clean it or give it a brand new look by painting it. The other is to cover it with another kind of flooring.
Just Clean the Floor
1 approach to take care of the tile floor in your bathroom is to just maintain it as it is and remodel around it. If you do not need to do so, it might be because you’ve never been in a position to properly clean the blackened and moldy grout. You are not alone. It took syndicated home improvement columnist Tim Carter 9 years to find that oxygenated bleach soaks into filthy grout and loosens grime and mold so that you can scrub them away. Dissolve the oxygenated bleach crystals in water, then use the solution to dry tile, give it 30 minutes to soak in, and add more as you bathe with a brush brush.
Paint the Tile
You might not have realized that painting your tile floor was an alternative, but it’s. The key is to properly clean the tiles before you paint and to use the perfect kind of paint. Oxygen bleach comes to the rescue, because it cleans tile as well as it will grout. The next step is to prime the ground with a high-adhesive oil- or shellac-based primer. Oil-based paint is the most durable option for floors, but it is illegal in many states — a great alternative is latex paint with a urethane resin base. Protect the paint having two or three coats of clear ground finish.
Cover It Up
You can’t install a hardwood floor over tile, but it is possible to lay a floating laminate floor, and several look like hardwood. Even though you should clean mould from the tiles before covering them, a laminate floor doesn’t need exclusive tile cleaning. The only preparation that is necessary is to use a foam underlayment which cushions the ground and blocks moisture. You can also cover the tiles with vinyl flooring, but this needs a hardboard or plywood underlayment that for firmness, should be pasted to the tiles. Choose this option only if you are sure you’ll never revert back to the tiles.
Things to Think About
If your toilet has poor ventilation, and you frequently find water droplets condensing on the walls and ground, then cleaning the tiles is the best choice, followed by covering it with vinyl flooring. Even in the event that you protect paint with various coats of floor finish, the odds of it standing to constant exposure to humidity are slim. Laminate flooring is similarly vulnerable to humidity — the planks can stain, curl and, in intense moisture, de-laminate. If your toilet has excessive moisture, then your plumbing and lighting fixtures are most likely also getting damaged, along with an exhaust system should be a part of your remodeling plans.