Replacing floor tiles over (wet) underfloor heating.

[Diyisfun]

I don't like the floor tiles that are in the kitchen / dinner about 36 sg yds.
A few have cracked, they are slippery when wet & white.
I have been in touch with the company that supplied the under floor heating system & they say it is ok to lay new tiles over the old floor, but they have said that if some of the tiles have cracked it may not have been laid correctly & advise lifting it. This would make life easy for keeping cabinets & cooker etc at there current heights. BUT is it possible to lift the old floor with damage to the current under floor heating?.

 

[tpt]

What is the substrate? if its a wet heating system i'd expect it to be a solid floor is that right?

 

[Diyisfun]

I don't know, but it was a new extension & I would guess it is a solid base.

 

[Diyisfun]

bump

 

[tpt]

taking the tiles up and retiling shouldn't pose any issues for a wet UFH system - they are laid within the slab itself, use a lump hammer and chisel or an SDS drill with a wide chisel bit and go at an angle from the side so you dont actually dig down into the slab itself.

Regarding the cracking, you may find it follows a crack in the slab - may be due to laying to early or just not laying well.

before laying your new tiles, the UFH must be off and the slab should be totally cold, leave it off for 48 hours after fitting and then slowly raise the temp over a few days. Dont forget you'll need a flexi adhesive and grout

 

[Diyisfun]

Thanks for that. Are you saying that the ufh is laid within the concrete slab?

 

[Diyisfun]

Just found this.
http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/DIY/wet-ufh
so if the tiles are laid onto the concrete screed are they not liable to lift the screed if they are removed?