I thought that putting in a new floor in this bathroom is going to be a breeze, but I was wrong. And, I'd like to find out what to do before I remodel my next bathroom. I apologize for this message being overly long, but I'm hoping that a few of you will chuckle, and say the answer is obvious, I should do this or that and I'll be a happy camper. The bathroom that I am remodeling currently had ceramic tile laid over a mortar bed, even though it is on the first floor. When I took up the tile, much of it would not come up using the tool I was using. I switched to chisel. The mortar bed was coming up before the tile was. However, I bought a mason's chisel, a darn sharp one made in the USA, and it worked much, much better. But, I had to repair the subfloor where it had become damaged from the tile removal, so patched it with patch mortar. After 40 years of service, the floor was not entirely level in a few places at the extremes, so I used the patching material to level it out. (FYI, most of the floor is the thinset used to lay the tiles. I wasn't trying to level a large portion of the floor.) I positiioned a tile without mortar on the entry to the bathroom, hoping my preparation so far was enough. The tile wobbled, so the mortar bed/thinset on the floor was not smooth enough for laying new tiles. Hence, I am putting down cement board (Hardibacker). Since there's a mortar bed below it instead of wood, I can't nail it down, so I'm putting the thinset down and using tapcon screws (for cement/masonry) to fasten it. This is labor intensive and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. Having said that, I'm sure the other bathroom has the same conditions. I was thinking I could tile over the existing ceramic tile. I was thinking I would scuff the existing floor with 40 grit paper. But then I need to level it and have a surface that is ready for the new tile. What do you recommend? Thanks!

Hi, I have a handyman installing floor ceramic tiles in my kitchen today. The new kitchen installation is scheduled for tomorrow. There is no time to put grout before the installation. Is it safe to put the tiles in, then install kitchen cabinets and then add grout? thank you very much. I would greatly appreciate any help.