If existing tiles are beyond repair remove the tile and install a piece of wallboard in its place.
Installing tile on plaster walls.
Wash the wall with tsp tri sodium phosphate or an ammonia based cleaner to remove any grease or oil.
Test a tile to make sure the mortar is mixed and spread correctly.
If you have a tiling job to do in your bathroom and the walls have been skimmed with plaster you have to follow a few guidelines when installing tile to make sure you do not have a failure resulting in all the tiles coming off the wall.
This was back in the 80 s.
Not all plaster wall surfaces will support the tile properly.
I have repaired tile jobs that were over 20 years old that the tile was applied directly to regular sheetrock and plaster walls.
Can you lay tile on plaster walls.
Pull the tile up and look at the pattern that is create on the back.
Repair any loose or cracked tiles.
Loose paint must be scraped.
You need a flat surface.
Remove the tile and prepare the wall according to the corresponding instructions above or tile over the existing tile.
To do so make sure all of the tiles are intact and secure.
For the purpose of installing tile it s a lot simpler.
It used to be very common to put tile up on whatever the wall was and seal the the tile.
A wavy tiled wall isn t charming and.
For the average small wall tiles which are currently popular you will want to use a 1x4 square notch trowel.
One handy tip my father in law taught me three years ago was if you plan on tiling a wall and the wall is uneven then the plastering doesn t need to be abs.
Sanding the existing paint helps the tile adhesive stick to the wall.
Peel and stick smart tiles won t stick properly on most porous surfaces but with extra preparation they will.
Both painted and bare plaster allows for the installation of tile.
Testing the wall for durability.
If the walls you want to tile are concrete walls with paint on them remove the paint before you install tile so the tile adhesive has something to grab onto and hold the tile in the correct place.
Wavy plaster walls are common and that s part of their charm.