How do I tile on this wall?

[smithys_regular]

My kitchen has art deco (?) glass tiles that were affixed to the wall using what I can only described as balls of play-dough! Each tile has 4 or 5 pieces of the balled up compound which is effectively dot-dabbed to the wall. Its firmly fixed, but can be levered off the wall reasonable once you get a row off.

When I remove the tiles however invariably some of the plaster comes away. The wall has also been varnished? (in prep for tiling or is that original?).

Can I tile this surface? I dont want to strap and line the wall unless I really have to. Is there a bonding compound that will ingress the plaster? Do I have to sand the varnish off first?

[Colour Republic]

Is that in a basement? It looks like blackjack from the pics but would need a closer look

[smithys_regular]

It's interesting you should say that. It's my kitchen which is a few steps down from the rest of the house. Its a varnish, glossy type paint that was also beneath the same style of tiles found in the bathroom upstairs.

I assumed it was a really old painted walls as the house is very old. Rather than some sort of anti dampness coating.

[smithys_regular]

On closer inspection the 'varnish' has been applied slap dash, so it must have been done in prep for these tiles.

Has anyone seen these tiles installed like this before? What is the playdough type thing? Was that convention in the 40s!

[Rorschach]

Ex council house by any chance? That looks like council tiling to me, our bathroom was fecking awful.

[smithys_regular]

It was never in the councils hands. The kitchen and bathroom must have been 60 years old.

Was that conventional back then to stick the tiles on with large dollops of play dough!

In the end I strapped and lined the walls.