The Major Flooring Mistake HGTV's Mike Holmes Warns To Avoid At All Costs

While homeowners and contractors may be looking for easy shortcuts that save labor and costs, sometimes those shortcuts can turn out to be a phenomenally bad idea. This cannot be more true when it comes to laying tile, which can often be costly and time-intensive to both remove and install. While there may be a temptation to simply leave the existing tile in a bathroom or kitchen and add the new tile over the old, HGTV host Milke Holmes of "Holmes Family Rescue" recently took to Instagram to tell us why this is a terrible idea.

There are many reasons why installing new tile over old does not work, including the weight of the materials layered on each other, particularly for ceramic tiles and stone tiles that already can place a large amount of weight on the subflooring. This can lead to structural damage and other problems. Holmes says in his Instagram post, "If your home was built to minimum code, it's not built to carry that much weight."

Not removing the old tile also eliminates an excellent chance to get a good look at what lies beneath, which is an opportunity to check for issues like sagging, moisture, and deterioration. You can catch problems in the subflooring when they can be easily fixed before the new flooring is laid. Fully removing the bottom layer of tile before laying the new materials is always the best option.

Moisture can also be a problem between flooring materials since there is usually no waterproof membrane between the tiles. This can allow moisture to get between the layers of flooring, causing both health risks for the inhabitants and costly damage to the newly laid tile. Holmes tells his Instagram audience, "Some homeowners and contractors think you can lay your new tile directly over your existing tile to save some time. Why do I hate this? Well, for one thing, you're just asking for your new tile and grout to crack — so that brand new floor isn't going to keep its look for very long."