95sqm onto screed with water based UFH - recommendations?

[Wuffles]

Hi all,

Not been on here for a very long time, kind of dropped out of the tiling business for a while preferring to work with wood and get tilers in on kitchen & bathroom fits, but either way, I'd be out of my depth on this one, and the customer is the missus.

Large extension with screed that was laid last Thursday. We've (that's the Royal we) gone around the houses looking at different finishes for the area, which is mostly open plan apart from a hallway and utility. We've looked at Beton Cire (waxed resin/concrete type of thing), tiles, wood, all around the houses. Probably going to end up with tiles, and probably won't actually fit them myself to achieve a "better" finish.

What should I be looking for on this? I am aware of drying times of the screed for the underfloor heating being in the region of a few months due to the thickness, and I did read somewhere that firing up the heating a couple of times before laying tiles may be a better idea than not - but then that's perhaps open to interpretation? So I am guessing we'll be laying onto a dry screed by that time.

With this size of area should we be looking at having some kind of expansion gap fitted, under-tile matting, Native American burial ground, Pet Cemetery?

Be gentle, just trying to arm myself with info before I get done in by some cowboys.

If you are reading this and are based in Axbridge/Cheddar/Weston Super Mare, don't ride a horse and wear spurs, feel free to give me a wave and perhaps swing by and give me a price.

 

[Dave]

Screed type ?

 

[Wuffles]

Good point. Cement based with fibres.

 

[Dave]

Any idea of tile choice yet , ceramic , porcelain , stone ?

 

[Wuffles]

Well, as you asked, it will most likely be porcelain as we have some nice ones in another part of the house. Closest looking thing to limestone I've seen before. We once had limestone everywhere in a basement flat, and the maintenance was a struggle, but I'm not trying to start a debate.

If, however, people start recommending ceramic over porcelain, I'm game.

 

[Dave]

Ok... Do you have a room plan , like doorways and room direction changes .?

 

[Wuffles]

I do, I can chuck it on Dropbox and link it if that helps? It's pretty straight-forward though.

 

[Wuffles]

Here you go. The grey area is the tiled area. Utility small room bottom left, hallway bottom right, rest of it is open plan living, kitchen, dining, roller-disco, shrine, open to ideas.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rkmo75odzncdmkm/plan_copy.pdf?dl=0

 

[Dave]

Thanks for that.

so you know how to commission the ufh/screed ok..

i would put expansion joints in the doorways and uncouple the rest of the floor with an anti-crack mat .

new cemenet based screeds will cure over a matter of months and could curl/crack as this process takes place , some might see it as overkill but I see it as peace of mind.

 

[Wuffles]

I was just going to wait a few months before trying the UFH, we're on Air Source Heat Pumps so the water temp isn't dramatically high - we will be plumbing in a temp setting mixer for want of a better word - the kit came with one for use on higher temp systems, but I guess it'll help us out on the whole starting gently and getting hotter ramp some people seem to recommend.

Decoupling would appear to be the way to go, good. Any advantage of ceramic over porcelain? The walls are stud walls, so by expansion gap you mean a product that would sit in-line and just do its job?

Cheers for your time on this. Clearly there's no rush anyway for the tiles. Wait until after the heating's been commissioned before going ahead?