Doh! - Tiling Question

[offthemark]

I am in the middle of a major kitchen renovation. We plan to move the refrigerator. I pulled up the cabinets where they fridge will go and found that there was no tile under them, just the concrete slab.

No problem so far. I bought some matching tile to fill the spot. I decided that the partial tile next to the hole should come up.

Unfortunately, when I pulled one up, I discovered that all the tile is on the original linoleum. I can pull up all the partial tiles and cut out that linoleum. The problem is that the hole is a little lower. How do I fix the problem?

Thanks for any advice.

[Tequila]

I assume you're not planning to rip up the old linoleum floor, so the fix at this point is to get some levelling compound and pour enough on the slab to raise it to the linoleum thickness. How big of an area do you need to raise?

Great pictures by the way - you made it very clear what the issue was.

[jAngiel]

You could go check with the professionals at johnbridge.com.

It doesn't look too bad, a little extra thinset to support the tile will probably keep the tile flat and level. Just make sure you fill the cavity up with the thinset and then I would still butter the back of those tiles just to make sure there was plenty of support. You can always scrape out the stuff that gets squished into the grout line.

Another option would be to go get a bad of that concrete leveling compound, mix it up and pour it into the depressed area and let it dry. It's self leveling but you can help it out by spreading it into the hole and then let it "self level".

If it were me I would probably just use a little extra thinset since it seems to be near a cabinet or under a fridge.

[JR]

If it were me I would probably just use a little extra thinset since it seems to be near a cabinet or under a fridge.

Same for me.

JR

[rosesunkist]

Maybe find a scrap of the same thickness linoleum to raise the tiles up?
Ought to be able to find a piece big enough from somewhere. It seems that it would be easier than trying to get the thinset to the right height.

[crokett]

Same for me.

JR

Same for me too.

Writing just 'me too' and I get a prompt saying the msg is too short.

[offthemark]

Thanks folks. Hopefully it will work out fine.

[PALefty]

I second asking the question on JohnBridge. I am no tiling expert, but I would be more concerned about the possiblity that linoleum may be under all the other tiles. That is a no-no (as is lauan) and will surely shorten the life of the floor. Depending on how much depth you need to compensate for, you may just need a specific type of thinset. I believe they call it 'medium bed' which is basically thicker and allows you to build up to a certain degree.

[JimD]

My suggestion is just a slight modification of what has already been said. I would mix up a little thin set and take a joint taping knife - at least 6 inches wide and preferably 10 or 12 inch - and make a tapered bed to transition between the heights and let this dry for a day before installing the tiles in the normal way.

Jim