Ceramics Over Vinyl

Q: What makes a good base for ceramic tiles? Our contractor tells us we don’t need to pull up our old vinyl flooring before ceramic tile installation. Two different tradespeople we’ve talked to recommend driving a lot of screws through the existing flooring, then simply laying wire mesh and concrete over top as a ceramic tile base. Are we correct to be skeptical about this?

A: I think you’re getting good advice. You can leave the old vinyl down as long as you prepare the floor structurally. Driving lots of screws is one part of the equation, but so is stiffening the floor to prevent flexing of the entire structure. If your installer will be putting down a traditional mortar bed base (1 to 1 1/2 inches of mortar over steel reinforcement mesh), then you should be okay. But just beware that few installers actually do this type of installation any more. If they'll be applying tiles over anything less, then adding more plywood to the subfloor is an excellent idea. Another layer of 5/8-inch ply, fastened with screws driven down through the old floor and into the floor joists, works quite well. The good news in all this is that complete vinyl removal is unnecessary no matter which option you choose.