What type of flooring can you install over ceramic tiles?

If you’ve got existing ceramic tile floors at home or your business, then you might be wondering how you can update those floors.

The good news is that you can absolutely float laminate, hybrid and timber floors over ceramic tiles.

Why install new floors over ceramic tiles?

When ceramic tiles are set, they harden like concrete, which provides an incredibly tough surface that can be challenging to remove. If they are removed, they tend to shatter like glass which makes for a messy removal process. 

For this reason, many people prefer to avoid creating the mess of broken chips and dust flying all over their home or business, and just install new floors on top.

Installing new floors over ceramic tiles is more cost-efficient, and much easier on your back, too.

Here are our tips and tricks for a smooth installation. 

Laminate

• Laminate flooring works well on top of ceramic tiles because it’s thin, solid, and doesn’t need to be glued down. It also tends to be cheaper than other types of floors.
• Laminate flooring looks best when the floorboards are installed parallel to natural light, so align your floorboards along with the way sunlight streams into your home or business.
• Avoid installing laminate floors in environments that tend to get wet, like bathrooms or under kitchen units.
• Avoid installing laminate under heavy furniture or cabinetry to prevent the floors being fixed.
• Allow a 8-10mm gap for expansion and contraction of floors which naturally occurs over time.

Hybrid

• Make sure the ceramic tiles are clean, flat, smooth and level. You could apply a levelling agent to grout lines if you need.
• Choose boards that blend well with matching scotia, skirts and trims.
• Install the boards perpendicular to a window, as this tends to give the room a bigger, more open appearance.

Timber

• Depending on the specific type of timber floors, they can be either floated or glued on top of ceramic tiling.
• Make sure the ceramic tiles are smooth, flat and continuous, and that the tiles have minimal bevel (also known as the slope of a surface).
• The grout lines must be in good condition.
• Lay out the new floor over the ceramic tiles before you install it to make sure that it fits correctly.
• Make sure that the locking system is not installed over any grout lines to help avoid any disengagement after installation.

Learn more at Embelton Flooring

For more information, head to our Flooring Blog for everything you need to know about flooring. 

By James Embelton