How do I cover an old tile floor?
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I would like to cover the old floor tiles that look like they might contain asbestos in my foyer. They obviously are original to my 1969 home. Most are in good shape with a few cracks.
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If they have asbestos need to tear out
In this post I wrote about luxury vinyl planks, you can see that we went over the old tile. That's the beauty of free floating flooring, it doesn't need to adhere to what's below it.
If the floor is level enough I would seal any cracked tiles, then you can use an under layer and then the interlocking manufactured flooring that does not have to be nailed down. We have used this in 2 different houses and really like it. If you are not too picky about color, you can usually find something on sale or at one of the flooring overstock stores found in most larger towns/cities.
If the floor is too uneven you need an actual level sub floor and the tile will have to come up because the subfloor has to be nailed down. Ditto for real wood flooring. Which does require a professional.
DO NOT try to remove the old tiles. Disturbing asbestos is what causes problems. You can lay a new floor over them (as others have suggested) without nailing. If you are really concerned about the asbestos, put a sealant of some sort on it before laying the new floor, though that is really not necessary. A floating floor, like a good quality vinyl plank is ideal, but if money is tight, a glue down sheet vinyl or vinyl tile will work, too. If using self-adhesive vinyl tiles, adding a layer of tile adhesive and letting it set up before peeling ans sticking will make them more secure than just using the self-stick adhesive.