Waxed concrete over tiles: 12 essential tips
You can no longer stand the tiles in your bathroom ? Dirty joints, peeling... Would you like a more modern, designer covering?
But you're not thrilled about undertaking major renovation work in this living space.
Visit waxed concrete meets all your criteriabut an important question remains: Can you lay waxed concrete on existing tiles? The answer is yes. In fact, it's a very common indoor application on floors, bathroom or kitchen walls.
Marius Aurenti waxed concrete can be applied directly over old tiles if the latter are sound, and after proper preparation of the substrate. Here are 12 essential tips if you want to lay waxed concrete over tiles in any room of your home.
Contact a Marius Aurenti consultant free of charge if you have any questions about your construction or renovation project.
Waxed concrete over tiled floors
Tip 1: Enlarge the space
A home in waxed concrete looks larger, and spaces communicate better with one another.
Everyone dreams of finally being able to eliminate those ubiquitous joints that are sources of clogging and divide up space.
Visually, the joints are like a wire mesh in front of our eyes. Removing them frees up the visual space, making it soft and pleasant!
Waxed concrete over living room floor for example visual continuity without expansion joints.
In a bathroom or a kitchenThe absence of joints makes it easy to clean.
Tip 2: Avoid dirty jobsites
Thanks to its extreme thinness (2 to 3 mm thick), waxed concrete is discreet over existing tiles, creating no extra thickness. Like no other material, it allows you to renovate without changing heights. No need for thresholds, no need to plane doors, at 2 millimeters all-in, it's the thinnest coating available.
If the tiles are sound, applying them over the top without removing them will reduce noise and dust pollution. It is important to note, however, that this type of application on tiles requires professional know-how, a proper diagnosis and adequate preparation.
Tip 3: Get professional advice for your underfloor heating system
Can waxed concrete be applied to tiles with underfloor heating?
Marius Aurenti waxed concrete has been tested and is perfectly compatible with low-temperature underfloor heating. To ensure the success of your project, Marius Aurenti advisors will be on hand to provide support and advice throughout.
Unlike tiles, a 2 mm thick waxed concrete does not result in any loss of heating efficiency. Extremely resistant Marius Aurenti waxed concrete is guaranteed for 15 years without cracking.
Contact a Marius Aurenti consultant free of charge if you have any questions about your construction or renovation project.
Waxed concrete over tiles in the kitchen
Tip 4: Use a protective wax or varnish
Have you seen enough of your kitchen tiles? Whether it covers a floor, a wall, a credenza or a work planIf it adheres well and has no defects, it is perfectly possible to apply waxed concrete on kitchen tiles. Marius Aurenti waxed concrete covers and protects all your horizontal and vertical surfaces..
Extremely impact- and stain-resistant thanks to its high-performance protection systems, it is suitable for floors and work plans and kitchen walls. However, care must be taken not to damage it, for example with hot oils on credenzas, or with pure chemical cleaners and products...
Tip 5: Give free rein to your creative spirit
The Iris color chart, developed by Marius Aurenti, allows waxed concrete to be harmoniously matched with Marius Aurenti paint colors, with a palette of 71 shades for waxed concrete on tiles.
Contact a Marius Aurenti consultant free of charge if you have any questions about your construction or renovation project.
Waxed concrete over bathroom tiles
Tip 6: Renovate from A to Z
Can I apply waxed concrete over bathroom tiles ? Visit waxed concrete transforms the floorthe walls and furniture of your bathroom. It allows you to create basins and vanity tops adapted to your space and in the color of your choice, but also to create magnificent walk-in showers.
On a tiled wall in good shower or bathtub, waxed concrete can be applied directly, without removal. It evens out the surface without expansion joints, creating a seamless continuity between floor and wall.
Tip 7: Choose the Marius Aurenti + Wedi solution
In a walk-in shower, Wedi trays, designed to receive a waxed concrete finish, are the most suitable. The system is guaranteed watertight. This type of work requires specific preparation with our bonding primers. The waxed concrete is then protected with MA's varnishes, suitable for damp rooms.
Wedi and MA's are exclusive brand partners for the success of your waxed concrete bathrooms.
Contact a Marius Aurenti consultant free of charge if you have any questions about your construction or renovation project.
Waxed concrete over bathroom tiles
Tip 8: Keep it simple
Waxed concrete is one of the simplest stair renovation solutions. Existing staircases covered with adherent tiles can be covered without prior removal. Renovation is therefore quick, generates no waste or dust, and is not noisy.
Visit waxed concrete, on stair tilingcan be applied to all surfaces and adapts to the shape of your staircase: treads, risers, stringers, edges and underside. Its hardness makes it impact-resistant and ensures its durability over time.
Tip 9: Don't neglect the stair nosing
The treatment of the stair nosing is important. If use is not too intense, the corner can be made with waxed concrete.. The steps then have a very uniform appearance, with a single material.
It's a pure, aesthetically pleasing choice, ensuring simplicity and design in the space. Existing wooden thresholds can be retained. They play a technical and aesthetic role that works well in older buildings.
The contrast of materials is emphasized, giving character to the staircase.
For added protection, thresholds can be integrated in the form of stainless steel or aluminum metal corner strips to withstand knocks on edges.
Modern materials combine to reinforce edges, for example in hotels or public areas. Similarly, podotactile studs for the visually impaired or contrast strips to comply with current ERP standards can be integrated.
Tip 10: Avoid slipperiness
Waxed concrete creates a certain granularity to prevent slippery treads, especially on steam room stairs or stairs used outdoors on wet floors. Marius Aurenti waxed concrete complies perfectly with current standards.
Contact a Marius Aurenti consultant free of charge if you have any questions about your construction or renovation project.
Waxed concrete over outdoor tiling
Tip 11: Spruce up your exterior
Because of the wide variations in temperature and humidity outdoors, Marius Aurenti does not apply waxed concrete to old outdoor tiles. Waterproofing is not always reliable, and cannot guarantee tile adhesion. Outdoor use, it is therefore advisable to remove the tiles and return to the raw slab on which the outdoor waxed concrete.
Marius Aurenti exterior waxed concrete is available in 20 UV-resistant mineral shades. It can be used to cover terrace flooringa driveway that can be used by a light vehicle, a pool deck lined with designer furnitureetc. It is protected with a water and oil repellent.
Contact a Marius Aurenti consultant free of charge if you have any questions about your construction or renovation project.
Technical aspects of waxed concrete over tiles
Tip 12: diagnose your soil
Before applying waxed concrete to a tiled surface, it is advisable to diagnose the tiles and determine their state of adhesion by probing. To do this, simply "tap" it with a wooden handle, for example, to see if it sounds "hollow". When an old tile is partially detached, the tiles are removed and re-glued..
If they are too damaged, cracked or missing, they should be filled with epoxy mortar. If more than 10% of the surface is hollow, missing or detached, the risks of applying to such a substrate are too high.. In this case, the entire tiling system has to be removed.
We also need to check for the presence of water, which could damage the work in progress or later. To do this, moisture tests will be carried out, as well as a visit to basements, perimeter walls, etc. The maximum permissible moisture content of the substrate is 4%.
It's also important to spot the cracks that sometimes run through a series of tiles.
Note that these cracks may be in the joints and therefore less visible. Covering "active" cracks means taking the risk that they will reappear if the house continues to move. It is therefore preferable to give them a "working space" by marking a joint in this area. Some craftsmen successfully weave cracks using specific systems, as is done on facades (there is no official technical opinion on these techniques).
The installation of waxed concrete does not require any specific joints on tiled floors, even on underfloor heating, unless existing joints are respected, e.g. peripheral joints, expansion joints, breaks, thresholds, or a change of material.
Once the diagnosis has been made, the floor must be prepared to ensure good adhesion. This is achieved by sanding with a diamond disc and applying a sandblasted epoxy mortar that will ensure the waxed concrete's adhesion and prevent capillary rise as an impermeable barrier.
EPX2 is used on floors - or EPX2 turbo for low-temperature or time-restricted jobs - while EPXC primer is suitable for wall applications.
MA's waxed concrete system always includes an epoxy primer. After these preliminary preparations, the concrete is laid over the primer in two or three coats, followed by the finishing touches. Our training courses enable you to master these procedures and ensure a perfect diagnosis.
Contact a Marius Aurenti consultant free of charge if you have any questions about your construction or renovation project.
Discover our video tutorial on preparing a tiled surface:
Waxed concrete color chart
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