I am about to lay large ceramic floor tiles in my daughters kitchen. She has a vinyl "gritty" non-slip floor covering glued down. I am imagining I would have to chip off the old flooring. Does anyone know otherwise?

Thanx

oooh, Sisters of Mercy fan eh?

Aha!
One to another methinks.

the original vinyl will have to come up first. sometimes it comes of easy othertimes it can be a right bastard to remove

We've got thick (12mm IIRC) travertine tiles in our bathroom. Fitter put down plywood on the boards to give the right surface.

If the vinyl is really solidly stuck then I don't see why you couldn't put the plywood on top of it and screw through to stop it moving, but probably best practice to rip it up first.

This link might help.
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/laying_floor_tiles.htm?#Tiling_over_existing_floor_coverings

FWIW I was listening to Vision Thing yesterday at work.

We have the same problem The guy in the tile shop said that their floor in the shop was stuck straight on to the vinyl tiles and that had been down for 8 years. so if you want to take a chance. Personally I have them up.

Not a nice job, esp. with the temperatures of late. My £0.02's worth...

If it was mine, I'd get rid of the vinyl tiles. I'd pick one that's away from the edge of the floor and heat it with a hot-air gun to soften the glue. This will avoid scorching plinths, skirtings or appliances.

Use a wallpaper scraper or putty knife to lift the edge of the tile and heat the underside as you go. Work outwards one row at a time.

Make sure you use gloves. especially if they're actually old lino tiles, they go brittle and sharp, and break easily - from bitter experience...

HTH

Francis

[Edited on 11/1/09 by mediabloke]

Watch out as some of the old floor tiles contained Asbestos

Andy