Have you ever started a home renovation project with these words: “It’ll just take a few hours.” “We can finish this project in a weekend easily!” “How difficult can tearing out old tile be anyway.” If you found this article, then like me you probably have. Don’t worry, I’ve shared this optimism: “It’ll be easy, I’ve tackled way more difficult projects.” Next thing you know you grab a hammer and a pry bar, maybe a rotary hammer drill, and that tile is out of there before lunch…
While this could be the case on a poorly installed tile job, most of the time you’re going to be met with much more resistance. With the tile bonded with mortar to a backer board or sub floor, you’re going to be hunched over or on your knees swinging that hammer for far longer than you can imagine.
Okay, perhaps the frustration and music you put on motivates you to demo at a more rhythmic and aggressive rate and you are finished in no time. Next thing you know you snap back to reality only to find the entire house, the kids, the dog, the cat, (hopefully not you wife) are covered in the dust and debris of your destruction. Next you realize you must clean up your mess and inspect the surface your left with and hope you didn’t create more work by causing damage during the demo.
“Was there another way to do this without the pain and destruction?” “Maybe I should have just hired someone?”
Well, I am here to share there is: Cover that ceramic tile with epoxy.
Let’s dive into this a little further and see what it takes to tackle this project yourself or provide some knowledge to help you hire the right contractor for the job.
Why Epoxy over Ceramic Tile
This reason is the most valuable: It will save you the time, hassle, and mess of tearing out your old floor or even countertops. With epoxy you will be able to pour right over the existing tile, grout lines and all. Damaged tiles? Poor grout lines? Even some not so level areas of the floor? The right epoxy can fix this.
Just like laying ceramic tile, there is an important process to this to ensure that your new floor is just as durable or often time MORE durable that the surface you are pouring over.
The process of preparing ceramic tile for epoxy
Abraham Lincoln once said, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." This quote perfectly illustrates the importance of preparation. Before you start, you must know that preparation of the job schedule and floor surface is important. While epoxy will save you plenty of time by eliminating demolition, it does take time to prep and for the product to cure between steps.
The first step in covering your ceramic tile in epoxy is determining your schedule for a few days and consideration of the room you are doing. Is this your kitchen or your only bathroom? You must remember that these rooms will be inaccessible during a few stages as the epoxy cures.
Okay, you’ve sent the dogs to daycare, the kids are warned about the project and you’re ready to get to work. Empty that space of all furniture, appliances, and whatever else is on the surface you are coating. It is best to remove any baseboard so you can pour right up to the walls. Be sure to mask the lower few feet of the walls or any other areas you don’t want epoxy to find itself on. Something like a pre-taped painter’s plastic is nice to protect walls and other surfaces or objects.
Next, be sure to inspect the floor and tiles.
Are there any loose tiles? Are any tiles badly damaged or missing? Are there high spots from the tile being laid unevenly. These things will all need to be addressed.
Is the tile broken? Removing the broken pieces that are not securely attached to the floor works here.
Are there any tiles that are very loose or seem like they could be popped out of place? If so, let’s get those removed (I know we said no demo, but this should be a quick fix).
Cracked tiles? Take note of this and we’ll address this in a bit.
Uneven tile? Low or high spots? This is important to find. Low spots can be filled in, high spots will need to be grinded down in some cases. A diamond head bit on a hand grinder with a dust guard attached to a good, filtered shop vac should do the trick here. We just want to lightly grind down the high spot and feather it out around the area to make it even with the rest of the floor.
Next let’s look at the transition areas where we have doorways or openings into another room or flooring type. It will be best to use the grinder here on the transition to lightly grind the edge of the transition area. We don’t want a high spot here. We need to lower it so the epoxy will come to your transition and be as close to level with the other floor as possible. Often you may want a transition strip here when complete.
In some cases you may want to use an abrasive sander or even a light floor grinder and go over your tile surface. Giving a bit more of a rough surface can at times help with adhesion depending on what type of epoxy product you are using. It is important to follow the manufacturer's guidelines for this as improper installation could cause the product to fail and delaminate from the surface.
Some jobs you can possibly skip the grinding steps all together. If the tile you are starting with is level and in good shape, you will just want to inspect those transition areas. Quality epoxy products like ones from Diamondcoat are great at their ability to bond to multiple surfaces. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to us or a local epoxy flooring professional.
Okay, I hope that light prep work that can kick up a little dust didn’t scare you off. I promise if you take the correct measures to mitigate dust with a shroud and shop vac, the mess will be limited. It doesn’t hurt to mask off entries to other rooms during this process to cut down on the dust.
Now, use a quality shop vac and get out and dust or debris you caused during any grinding you may have had to do.
Next, let’s clean that tile.
I find it is best to use a high concentrated isopropyl alcohol, anything above 91% should do the trick. We want to get any dirt, grime, and grease off that floor. If your tiles are highly porous like a travertine tile, you would want to use Xylene since the stones could be treated with an oil that would affect the bond of epoxy to the surface. The importance here is clear of dust, debris and any grime on the floor that would hurt the bonding of the epoxy to tile.
The Skim Coat: Sealing the Tile and Filling Tile Grout Lines with Epoxy
Now that we’ve prepped our floor and given ourselves a level and clean surface, we want to fill those grout lines. If grout lines are not filled with a skim coat, you will most likely have visible lines in your final epoxy floor. If you want this look, feel free to skip the step but you will have in my opinion a subpar floor.
There is going to be multiple schools of thought here on this step. Epoxy flooring contractors may have differing opinions depending on the training and types of epoxies they source. Here at St. Louis Epoxy Pourers LLC, we source arguably the highest quality epoxy resins on the market through DiamondCoat Epoxy. So, I would recommend a DIYer reach out to them for products or consult with a local epoxy distributor and follow their installation guidelines.
We can go two routes here to fill the grout lines. We can use a flooring epoxy like ones from Diamondcoat and mix a bit of drywall powder into the epoxy after mixing part A and B together. This will thicken the product and allow you go spread it over the floor with greater coverage. You will spread this skim coat along the floor with a squeegee and ensure it pools adequately in the grout lines. Coverage will vary depending on the floor you start with (large grout lines, small lines, any cracks etc.). St. Louis Epoxy Pourers LLC uses also utilizes Diamondcoat Epoxy's wall epoxy to fill grout lines in ceramic tile. This is a thick epoxy designed for vertical applications. We will use a trowel and spread the epoxy over the ceramic tile to seal grout lines. This is another quick and effective way to cover ceramic tile with epoxy.
Once you have spread this across your surface and filled in any low spots, removed bad tiles and grout lines, you are finished with this step for now. Let the epoxy cure for the recommended amount of time determined by the manufacturer.
The next day inspect your work and make sure you have adequately filled those grout lines and any low spots. Don’t forget to wear clean shoes and avoid getting moisture on your floor. Dirt is not your friend now. You want to check for any high spots of epoxy you may have caused when applying the skim coat. You can sand these high spots of epoxy down with a block or palm sander in most cases.
Now that you’ve inspected your work and fixed any high spots of epoxy, thoroughly clean the floor of any dust or debris. Vacuum up all dust and debris and if needed wipe down the surface with a clean rag and some isopropyl alcohol.
***If you have the time and room in your budget, it doesn’t hurt to apply a second skim coat to make certain that the grout lines are sealed, and the floor is leveled off. This is not required on most applications and is a determination you must make.***
Pouring your Flood Coat of Epoxy over your Tile
Finally, it is time for all that hard work to pay off. Depending on what room types or locations you’re working in you may choose a variety of epoxy flooring finishes. A few examples of epoxy flooring types you may choose could be:
Creates a marble epoxy look
High-end design great for kitchen and bath remodels
High gloss finish or can be made to a satin finish
High strength finish
Tons of color and pattern options
Either a Mica Flake or other Flake material in multiple sizes
Great in commercial settings or heavily used spaces
You’ve picked your floor type, and you can begin to pour over your freshly skim coated ceramic tile. You will follow the steps needed to complete the style of epoxy floor you’ve chosen to cover that ceramic tile. These steps will vary; however, the end results are the same. You’ve now covered that old, outdated tile with epoxy! Wait the time needed for the product to cure (generally 24-48 hours later you can safely walk on the floor) and begin to admire your hard work and new floor.
How Long Will it Take to Cover Ceramic Tile with Epoxy
Start to finish this type of job would take you about three days. The prep phase and skim coat could be completed in one day if you start with a quality base material:
Skim coat will need 6-12 hours to cure before flood coat (check manufacturer guidelines on the epoxy you choose).
Flood coat after it is poured will need 24-48 hours to cure before it is walked on. I always advise that the longer you can wait the better.
Generally, most epoxy surfaces will be good to place larger, heavier items on the surface within about 72 hours of the flood coat being poured (Always consult the epoxy manufacturer you use for exact guidelines).
Benefits
While the job may seem larger, it only appears this way due to the time frame needed for the curing of the product. This home improvement project is far less invasive than most. You will have a very limited mess to contend with during the entire process. The results of covering your ceramic tile with epoxy will provide you with many benefits:
Epoxy flooring is highly durable and capable of being applied in heavily trafficked areas and still hold up to the abuse.
Covering ceramic tile with epoxy is a great way to update your kitchen or bathroom flooring.
Epoxy flooring is low maintenance and easy to clean
With metallic epoxy flooring your colors and designs will make your space completely transformed and unique to you
Cover ceramic tile countertops and more with epoxy
Conclusion
At the end of the day, it is all about how much time and effort you want to put into your home remodeling venture. Covering ceramic tile with epoxy can be achieved by the dedicated DIYer with the proper research.
If you are not up for the task yourself, reach out to an epoxy flooring contractor near you and see if they specialize in this type of flooring. There are certified DiamondCoat installers across the U.S. and beyond!!
I hope this information will give you some knowledge when screening a potential contractor. Remember, there is more than one way to do things, and this is no different. While other techniques exist, the one laid out here is a tried and tested style with amazing results.
If you’re in the St. Louis, MO area or even Fort Myers FL or Punta Gorda FL area please reach out to us here at St. Louis Epoxy Pourers LLC. We would be thrilled to earn your business and provide you with a consultation and free estimate regarding your project!
If you have any questions regarding the content reach out! Leave comments below and we’ll do our best to get back to them!
A few links provided for prep products are an affiliate link through amazon.
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