Tile is falling apart

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Onion69420

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A few years ago I paid a professional to tile my kitchen floor.
It's literally falling apart. Broken tiles, missing grout, I can take some of the tiles out by hand.
Anyways the guy won't stand by his work, said it's only a 1 year warranty.
Wondering if I can go over it with vynyl plank or if the 340sqft of tile needs to come up?
I have a company that will lay down the plank but they won't warranty it because of the tile. He is reccomending a tear out and wants 4500 to tear out and install the plank.
Need advice
Thanks
 
Agreed. What is a fair price on demo? I've now had a few quotes, lowest was 1.50 per sqft and then I had a quote for 4 grand and another as high as 8k.
I am inclined to go with the cheapest because demo is demo....
 
Or, because "demo is demo", you could rent the tool and comp. from your local HD, and DIY, and deposit into your curb-side trash container. Refuse from that small an area shouldn't exceed the set weight limits, and if it does, 1/2 now, 1/2 next week.
 
But is demo really just demo? Does it take a fair amount of skill do to the job and get it done correctly? Would it be worth paying the higher price?
 
A friend once told me to never go with the cheapest estimate. I made that mistake with the tile and now it's falling apart, so I'm a little hesitant with the lowball demo estimate
 
There are DIY'ers and there are those who elect to hire task performance, and for those, they need to develop and establish those who preform well, and consistently for their needs.

When you opt for a whomever process, is the time in contemplation fruitful?
 
Wondering if I can go over it with vynyl plank or if the 340sqft of tile needs to come up?

You can certainly go over the tile with LVP, as long as it's secure. Assuming the tile went down on top of plywood, so the problem with removing the tile is you will not have a clean surface (mastic/adhesive) and the installer will still need a good/clean substrate to lay the LVP.

If the tile is flat, I'd (re)secure the loose pieces and go over - otherwise the $4k for demo and sanding or new plywood doesn't sound bad.
 
Interestingly, nobody has mentioned the access to undercounted appliances that fail and need to be removed, for service, or replaced.
 
Depth of the thought process. The OP didn't ask.
 
Yea the dishwasher could be an issue but I'll figure something.
The tile was laid on backerboard.
I have another guy that has suggested removing the section of loose tiles(they are all in a 75sqft area of the kitchen, then using self leveling cement, then doing the LVP.
That seems like tge best option to me
 
Yea the dishwasher could be an issue but I'll figure something.
The tile was laid on backerboard.

So, you've ALREADY added about 3/4" of material, and are contemplating another 3/8-1/2", and no body has suggested , or voluntarily, removed the D/W toe kick cover to actually view the leveling legs, to ascertain if there exists the ability to contract them sufficiently, to remove the appliance, should it fail.

You mite want to heighten your level of acceptable.
 
Yea the dishwasher could be an issue but I'll figure something.
The tile was laid on backerboard.
I have another guy that has suggested removing the section of loose tiles(they are all in a 75sqft area of the kitchen, then using self leveling cement, then doing the LVP.
That seems like tge best option to me
The issue I'd be concerned about is just fixing the loose tile and laying LVP over it is future failure of areas not repaired.
 
Think everyone would agree the 100% correct way to do it would be to remove all of the obstructions (cabinets & appliances), old tile, remove (sand) any remaining bonding, lay down and level new substrate and install the LVP. I'm just not sure that is realistic unless you were doing a complete remodel - in which case I don't think we'd be having this thread!?
 
A few years ago I paid a professional to tile my kitchen floor.
It's literally falling apart. Broken tiles, missing grout, I can take some of the tiles out by hand.
Anyways the guy won't stand by his work, said it's only a 1 year warranty.
Wondering if I can go over it with vynyl plank or if the 340sqft of tile needs to come up?
I have a company that will lay down the plank but they won't warranty it because of the tile. He is reccomending a tear out and wants 4500 to tear out and install the plank.
Need advice
Thanks
One year warranty is normal.
 
Another suggestion: If large sections of tile are already loose, it should be relatively easy to remove the rest -- particularly if standard cementitious mortar was used to 'bed' the tile, rather than poly adhesive. Using a manual 'shingle stripper' or ice breaker from Home Depot or Lowes, you should be able to remove all of the mortar. Tough spots may need to be taken care of with a stone chisel and hammer. This should create a smooth and stable surface for new flooring. As others have noted, do not try to install new flooring over loose / damaged tile.
 
Another suggestion: If large sections of tile are already loose, it should be relatively easy to remove the rest -- particularly if standard cementitious mortar was used to 'bed' the tile, rather than poly adhesive. Using a manual 'shingle stripper' or ice breaker from Home Depot or Lowes, you should be able to remove all of the mortar. Tough spots may need to be taken care of with a stone chisel and hammer. This should create a smooth and stable surface for new flooring. As others have noted, do not try to install new flooring over loose / damaged tile.
Agree 100 percent.
Get the old junk off, down to clean bare subfloor.
Also, if just one area is getting loose and causing crumbling adhesive and grout, there is likely a moisture issue under there.
Leaking appliances, water lines, drains, humidity, condensation, something.
Or humid basement, crawlspace, water under slab.
Ignore it, and you will just be painting over a turd, which will screw up your new floor.
Fix this properly now, or tear everything out at big expense later.
 
As a over 30year remodeler and having done countless redo's involving Tiles I would not hesitate for a second to remove and redo, don't patch a major problem.
 
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