Toilet Floor Overlaying

[icestorm 0]

[for toilets - either do hack+tile or dont touch it at all.

the savings is actually a RISK down the road - tiles pop up, water leakage...etc

If its a ground floor unit ..do you see any problems in overlaying... esp if I take care to make sure the existing floors and waterproofing are OK first. Its a 14 yr old flat.

I am also thinking of doing overlaying of tiles for my upcoming 'new' flat. After reading all these thread, wonder if i shd?

How long does it take to hack and re-tile? And how long does it take to overlay? Really overlay is no good?

How do we do chemical wash? must ask contractor or can DIY?

Sorry ..really duno anything.

[pisces 0]

I have recently done a overlay of tiles in both bathrooms. It was done in a matter of 3 days and so far no issues at all. It been almost 6 months now.

For those who are against overlaying ...i have few questions.

1. Normally when do the tiles start popping up/water leakage etc after overlaying ?

2. is it due to poor workmanship or just that overlaying in itself is not a good process ?

To me overlaying seemed to be the correct option during my reno. The xisting tiles looked horrible, If I have to do repairs for minor pop ups in the future ...I don't mind .....rather than looks the orginal tiles

Hacking was a no-no bcoz of the cost.

[icestorm 0]

I have recently done a overlay of tiles in both bathrooms. It was done in a matter of 3 days and so far no issues at all. It been almost 6 months now.

For those who are against overlaying ...i have few questions.

1. Normally when do the tiles start popping up/water leakage etc after overlaying ?

2. is it due to poor workmanship or just that overlaying in itself is not a good process ?

To me overlaying seemed to be the correct option during my reno. The xisting tiles looked horrible, If I have to do repairs for minor pop ups in the future ...I don't mind .....rather than looks the orginal tiles

Hacking was a no-no bcoz of the cost.

how much does it costs you to finish the work in 3 days?

[pisces 0]

how much does it costs you to finish the work in 3 days?

Sorry, I dun remember so well bcoz it was all part of the reno package....just that it was much lower than hacking. I will try to dig thru my papers and see if I can get the quote.

[karen77sg 0]

I tink overlaying is suitable for new flats or not so old flats ba?

If yr flat is 9 or 10 years old, I dun tink it is advisable.

[MaCe 3]

I have recently done a overlay of tiles in both bathrooms. It was done in a matter of 3 days and so far no issues at all. It been almost 6 months now.

For those who are against overlaying ...i have few questions.

1. Normally when do the tiles start popping up/water leakage etc after overlaying ?

2. is it due to poor workmanship or just that overlaying in itself is not a good process ?

To me overlaying seemed to be the correct option during my reno. The xisting tiles looked horrible, If I have to do repairs for minor pop ups in the future ...I don't mind .....rather than looks the orginal tiles

Hacking was a no-no bcoz of the cost.

hopefully this forum is still around in 3yrs' time. maybe by then you will pop by and post your tiles' stats.

[icestorm 0]

I tink overlaying is suitable for new flats or not so old flats ba?

If yr flat is 9 or 10 years old, I dun tink it is advisable.

i see, mine is abt 5yr old flat.So now deciding whether to do just chemical wash or overlay tiles.

[karen77sg 0]

i see, mine is abt 5yr old flat.So now deciding whether to do just chemical wash or overlay tiles.

Best is to get yr contractor to go up yr unit and ascertain the condition....

Bt if u were to stay there long, betta to hack and redo everything...it may be

very exp, bt it saves u the trouble in future.

Else, just chemical wash....

[pisces 0]

how much does it costs you to finish the work in 3 days?

The cost was around 1000 for both batrooms including the tiles. Also my flat was 6 yrs old and I had the contractor check the current situation before deciding on the overlay.

hopefully this forum is still around in 3yrs' time. maybe by then you will pop by and post your tiles' stats.

Will try to do that, but I rather hope there's someone out there who has already done a overlay long ago and can post his comments.

Edited October 9, 2007 by pisces

[mamapea 0]

hmmm.... looks like there's no conclusion to this topic. I'm also considering overlaying. Reason being I'm worried abt the quality of the tiles. My mom's place the tiles after a few months all become very dirty and patchy. No matter how we scrub or even chemical wash, the patches are still there. Her tiles are light pink in colour.

I'm getting brand new flat from HDB but bought fr open market.... those reject flats. the tiles are grey but they look exactly the same type like those in my mom's flat. At first we thot just wait & see. If it gets bad, then we can overlay later. But contractor said then have to remove shower screen & reinstall new one. What a waste of money right.

So I think best thing to do is to overlay. I really hope no problems in future.

[Lakmy 0]

Hi All!

After getting keys and inspecting throughly decided to hack both toilets wall and floor.

Quite a few hollow tiles and some major cracks too. Also the drain is in between the basin and WC...so the whole toilet will get wet when we shower. The only way we can relocate drain is if we hack n lay. (?) so said our plumber.

The kitchen however is another story some wall tiles are broken. Like where earlier they had put the kitchen cabinets then removed them... stains ..+ places where they had put nails have big lobang!!

HDB had already hacked n taken away all the kitchen cabinets ...just left the base...one of which we cant use as we are not building 2 L's (upto 32 feet ! of solid surface!) we need only 16 feet of countertop ...which was just one L shape.

But there were no hollow tiles and the floor tho old n ugly pale pinkish tiles...was in good shape.

Same for service balcony...

Saved on hacking cost in kitchen n service balcony... overlaid floor n wall tiles in kitchen and overlay only floor in service balcony.

[crrabb 0]

Hi folks,

Currently thinking of hacking vs overlaying my new flat's 2 toilets. My flat is one of the left-over unit from SERS allocation and is more than 3 years old, so is allowed to hack toilets.

Pros of hacking:

- size of toilet maintained

- new water-proofing, thus less risk of leakage since house has been vacant > 3 yrs

Cons of hacking:

- higher cost

I've gotten a quote from my ID for $3.2k per toilet, which is inclusive of supply and labour for hacking, waterproofing and laying homogenous tiles for whole floor and wall, and plumbing for taking out and putting back the sink, toilet bowl etc. Tiles can use better ones (~$3-$3.5psf). Any comments on this quote?

Another option is ofcos not to touch the toilets at all. A bit wasted to reno toilets becos they are not used at all and only one or 2 tiles need replacement. On the other hand, the tile design and color (yellow and flowers) makes the toilets a bit dark and doesn't fit with our design style. Also worried that the ceramic tile flooring woud be dirty very fast and difficult to maintain..

[blackapple 0]

Hi folks,

Currently thinking of hacking vs overlaying my new flat's 2 toilets. My flat is one of the left-over unit from SERS allocation and is more than 3 years old, so is allowed to hack toilets.

Pros of hacking:

- size of toilet maintained

- new water-proofing, thus less risk of leakage since house has been vacant > 3 yrs

Cons of hacking:

- higher cost

I've gotten a quote from my ID for $3.2k per toilet, which is inclusive of supply and labour for hacking, waterproofing and laying homogenous tiles for whole floor and wall, and plumbing for taking out and putting back the sink, toilet bowl etc. Tiles can use better ones (~$3-$3.5psf). Any comments on this quote?

Another option is ofcos not to touch the toilets at all. A bit wasted to reno toilets becos they are not used at all and only one or 2 tiles need replacement. On the other hand, the tile design and color (yellow and flowers) makes the toilets a bit dark and doesn't fit with our design style. Also worried that the ceramic tile flooring woud be dirty very fast and difficult to maintain..

hihi may i ask if the quote u gotten does it include erm.. vanity top, mirror, cabinet below vanity top?

May i know what does it means when the quotation use this word 'heavy duty ceramic wall tiles'? is there differences in ceramic tiles?

[crrabb 0]

hihi may i ask if the quote u gotten does it include erm.. vanity top, mirror, cabinet below vanity top?

May i know what does it means when the quotation use this word 'heavy duty ceramic wall tiles'? is there differences in ceramic tiles?

Nope, only the hacking, tiling and some plumbing. I have existing vanity top and the pipes are all concealed. The vanity cupboard and mirror is quoted for $980 . About 30% more expensive than normal, because the mirror is imported from japan and customised locally, and the vanity top is curved.

Not sure about ceramic tiles though.

[nobrain1 0]

Planning to overlay floor tiles only for my 2 toilets. Size 2.5 m x 1.65 m each.

My doubts

1. Many forumers are considering hacking and relaying is better than overlaying. My flat is 8 yrs old and I am not changing floor tiles anywhere else(quite ok condition), only for 2 toilets for hygiene reasons. In this case, is it better to overlay?

i can only reply ur one...first hand hdb do one the waterproofing membrane normally last 20 years. u stay there another 12 years may have a chance to leak so it's better to hack and retile...