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When you’re thinking about starting a renovation, the thought of your home becoming enveloped in dust, budgets starting to swell, and timelines stretching beyond your initial expectations can feel like it’s a little too much. It’s only fair that many homeowners will want to consider tiling over tiles to save on the time, costs, and labour needed to demolish the previous flooring or cladding and prepare the new substrate.
While some aspects adapt well, allowing you to lay a new floor in a day, not all surfaces are created equal. Some lack the structure needed to maintain a lasting bond or a waterproof seal. Can’t tell them apart? Follow our guide to discover which surfaces are suitable for laying tile over tile and which to avoid.
Should you tile over tiles?
Sometimes, the existing surface is technically functional, but visually, has seen better days. By tiling over existing tiles, you can easily update colours, textures, and grout lines with minimal upheaval, bringing new life to bathrooms, kitchens, living areas, and outdoor spaces. It also offers other advantages, including:
Less demolition, less disruption
If you’ve ever renovated your home before, finding entire areas caked in dust can be the biggest drawback. Sometimes it seems to persist even after multiple rounds of cleaning. By laying floor tiles over existing tiles, you can avoid the mess and inconvenience of ripping up old surfaces.
Faster results with fewer trades
By eliminating the demolition phase, laying tile over tile can reduce project timelines during installation or organising trades to complete the work. It’s a huge help when new toilets or cabinetry need to wait for your flooring to settle and cure.
Potential cost savings
If you’re working to a budget, there’s less work for your contractors to do, and less waste to dispose of, meaning you can allocate the money you saved into fixtures and furnishings that make a bigger, lasting impact on the space.
What makes tiling over tiles successful
While retiling can be more than a shortcut, it can be a practical and lasting solution if you’re starting with the right foundation. These are:
- Solid, well-bonded tiles: To ensure your new tiling adheres properly, you’ll need to assess the existing tile layer, checking that it is structurally sound and has no signs of cracking or a loose installation. If a tile sounds hollow when tapped, it may indicate that a repair is needed first.
- Level and even surfaces: Uneven or sloping floors may cause the new layer to shift or crack over time. A flat, level surface ensures that your new tiled surface is aligned correctly, reducing the risk of lippage or grout failure.
Hiring a professional is essential to ensure your installation complies with Australian building standards and to address any inclines that fall outside code requirements. Interior floors have a maximum allowable variation of 5mm across a 3m span, while outdoor areas may permit up to 10mm of variation.
- Non-glossy, etched, or prepared surfaces: Your existing surface generally requires a rough finish for the tile adhesive to adhere securely. You’ll generally need to prepare smooth and glossy finishes with primers and mechanically roughen them to allow your new tiles to bond.
- Dry and moisture-free conditions: Even the best adhesive won’t hold if moisture is trapped beneath the original tile layer. Areas that have been water-damaged or exposed to leaks should never be tiled over until they’ve been adequately assessed and restored. By rectifying this, you can prevent mould from persisting or pooled water from damaging your home’s structure.
In wet areas, such as bathrooms or laundries, it ensures your installation meets the Australian Standards AS3958-2023 for tiling, AS 3740-2021 for waterproofing, and the National Construction Code (NCC).
Where you should avoid tiling over existing tiles
The integrity of your new installation depends entirely on what lies beneath, with many surfaces and materials making it unsuitable for laying tile over tile. Here are the biggest red flags you should watch out for:
- Loose and dummy tiles
- Uneven and damaged surfaces
- Water damage and mould
- Painted or sealed surfaces
- Flexible, non-rigid bases such as vinyl and laminate flooring
- Improper floor slope
What surfaces can you tile over?
Not all surfaces can provide the stability and adhesion required for a durable installation. Before you begin, it’s essential to assess the material you’re resurfacing to determine your approach. Here are our general recommendations:
1. Tiles
Suitable when stable, well-adhered, and properly prepared
Tiling over existing tiles is possible when the existing layer is sound, meaning there are no loose, drummy or cracked tiles. The surface must be level and clean, and glossy finishes must be mechanically etched or coated with a bonding primer.
2. Concrete
Highly suitable, provided it’s cured and free of contaminants
Concrete is one of the best substrates for tiling due to its rigidity and durability. However, new slabs must be fully cured (typically 4–6 weeks) before tiling can be installed, and any laitance (surface dust or weak cement layer) should be removed. If the surface is painted or sealed, it will require mechanical abrasion or priming to ensure your tiling bonds effectively. Cracks should be assessed — hairline surface cracks can be bridged with flexible adhesives, but structural cracks must be treated or isolated.
3. Fibre cement and compressed fibre cement
Highly suitable – especially in wet areas and floors
After confirming that the cement boards have been installed with the proper screw spacing and support joints, fibre cement’s lack of movement and weight distribution and tolerance provides a stable, moisture-resistant base ideal for wall and floor tiling. You’ll just need to waterproof the sheet joins in areas with high moisture, such as bathrooms and laundry rooms.
4. Cement render
Suitable when fully cured and level
Cement-rendered masonry provides an excellent tiling substrate, but only once it’s cured (typically a minimum of 7 days per 5mm of thickness). Any drummy or cracked render should be repaired, uneven surfaces levelled, and dusty or powdery surfaces must be sealed or cleaned before tiling.
5. Plasterboard
Conditionally suitable — only in dry areas and with proper fixings
Standard plasterboard can be tiled over in low-moisture areas, such as powder rooms and mud rooms. However, it must be securely fixed with no flex or bowing, and the surface should be free from paint, dust or wallpaper. If you still want to pursue plasterboards, you’ll need to apply a waterproofing system before tiling.
6. Bricks
Conditionally suitable, only if rendered or levelled
Raw brickwork is uneven and porous, which makes it challenging for tiles to adhere without it being rendered or levelled using a cement-based screed first.
7. Set plaster
Unsuitable — too brittle and moisture-sensitive
Usually found in older homes, set plaster makes for a poor surface to retile. It’s highly porous, prone to disintegrating and lacks the structural integrity to support tiles, particularly large-format faces. You’ll either need to remove the existing plaster or over-sheet a tile-appropriate substrate, such as fibre cement, to install your wall cladding.
8. Timber floorboards
Unsuitable due to the risk of timber moving
Laying tiles over floorboards is not advised due to the timber’s tendency to expand, contract, and flex with humidity and temperature changes, which can cause the tiles and grout to crack. However, it doesn’t mean you need to demolish your floorboards either — you’ll just need to install a decoupling membrane and a structural underlay, like fibre cement sheeting, first.
9. Vinyl and laminate
Unsuitable due to a lack of stability and bonding potential
Vinyl and laminate flooring may appear flat and stable, but they are inherently flexible and designed to “float” over subfloors. This flexibility makes them prone to movement underfoot and expanding with temperature changes and moisture ingress, making them poor candidates for supporting the weight and rigidity of tiles. Additionally, most adhesives are unable to bond reliably to their smooth, often sealed surfaces, especially when the product is textured or cushioned.
10. Painted surfaces
Unsuitable unless fully prepared and primed
Tiling on painted walls is risky due to the potential of your adhesive to fail. All loose, flaky or glossy paint must be removed, and the surface should be roughened or primed with a tile-specific bonding agent. However, even when your surface is prepared correctly, painted substrates may still fail under the weight of large-format tiles or in damp environments.
11. Wallpaper
Unsuitable — must be removed entirely
Wallpaper provides no mechanical strength or moisture resistance — attempting to tile over it can lead to adhesives struggling to grip. Always strip wallpaper completely and prepare the surface before proceeding with any tile installation.
Can you tile over tile yourself, or do you need a pro?
Even for the seasoned DIYer, retiling and resurfacing walls, floors, and splashbacks can require too much precision to guarantee a lasting adhesion and polished finish. It’s best to leave it to experienced tilers and other professionals who are better qualified at assessing surface conditions and adhesive compatibility.
A qualified tiler will begin by inspecting the substrate for hidden movement, moisture issues or drummy tiles, problems that are not always visible to the untrained eye. They also understand how to prepare glossy or glazed surfaces through mechanical abrasion or priming, and they’ll select the right adhesive system. Knowing what is the best adhesive for tiling over tiles is key — using the wrong one could lead to delamination, cracking or grout failure.
Even if you’re confident in your skills, the technical demands of tiling over tiles leave little room for error. A single misstep in preparation, levelling, or curing times can undermine the entire installation. That’s why working with an experienced tiler is the safest and most cost-effective choice, especially for high-traffic and wet areas.
Retile and transform your home with Elegance Tiles
Laying tiles over existing tiles and other surfaces can absolutely be a smart solution when you’ve properly assessed and prepped the area. While it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, it allows you to allocate any savings in time, labour, and cost on other parts of your renovation that make a bigger difference to the function and look of your home.
However, one of the biggest factors in achieving a polished and long-lasting tiled floor or wall cladding is the quality of the tiles. Take out the guesswork and explore the entire collection at Elegance Tiles, where you can find durable, on-trend indoor and outdoor tiles across a range of shapes, finishes, and small and large formats, all rated to maintain their look for years to come.
We’ve sourced our wall, feature and floor tiles from leading suppliers in Italy, Spain, Brazil, and the UAE — trusted for their ability to withstand the demands of growing households and high-traffic areas. Whether you’re undertaking a complete renovation or simply updating key elements, our expert team can recommend tiles that seamlessly integrate into your interior. What are you waiting for? Explore our entire selection online or visit your local showroom for expert advice.
