Can You Tile Over Cultured Marble

One of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to tiling is can you tile over cultured marble in the bathroom there are two sides to this question.

Can you tile over cultured marble.

Technically it can be done but in practice it is avoided. The tile backsplash can be installed in place of the previous cultured marble splash as long as the wallboard is undamaged. It s your house your time and your money. But i would encourage you to consider removing the cultured marble walls and installing an appropriate tiling substrate rather.

There are no tile police. You can tile over the marble just scabble rough it up first then consult your local tile shop on the best adhesive to use if you remove the marble you will destroy the dry wall its stuck to you. Tiling over cultured marble in shower. Sir i doubt that any body has ever done that in fact i would go as far to say any contractor that was asked to do that would decline now you may find some one to do it but as i say i do not know of a contractor who would think this is a good idea or this will work.

If the wallboard is loose or crumbly you ll have to replace it before tile can be installed. But i wouldn t consider tiling over a stone as porous as marble. Tile has grout joints where as the cultured marble walls didn t. As a minimum i would use kerdi band at the perimeter and caulk it to the pan with kerdifix or nobleweld 150 and redguard the remainder of the walls before tiling.

Covering the cultured marble walls is not a good idea. Caulk is not sufficient protection with tile. Yes it s possible to go over a stable tile with a good substrate. This is one of the reasons why it s not recommended to use a product like rust oleum countertroptransformations on cultured marble or tile.

As for tiling over it. Upon receiving your question i asked all my contacts in the painting industry for help and i also scoured the internet to find a paint for a diy makeover on a cultured marble countertop. The reason for this is to create a surface rough enough so that the thinset or mastic will bond properly as cultured marble s finished surface is too smooth for tile adhesives to bond. Cultured marble is basically a plastic type of material.

There are not established standards for adhering tile to cultured marble. Use the belt sander to scratch the entire area of the cultured marble where you will be installing the tile.