am i doing this adhesive and grout lark right

[bockster]

hi there, newbie diy'er here, embarking on kitchen floor and wall. have tiled before but i wasn't so pedantic about it all before! heres the deal;-
will be lifting existing ceramic floor tiles from a concrete screed floor this w/e, these exising tiles have cracked from one side of the room to the other, not severly just hairline really, but i don't want it happening with the new ones.

i've bought, so far, all johnson/norcross products;-
400 by 400 ceramic floor tiles,
rapid set flexible adhesive grey
wide joint grout, limestone colour.

1 i didn't think about the adhesive colour at the time, do you think it will be ok with the grout?

2 have i done the right thing with the flex adhesive?

3 suspect if adhesive is flex then so should be grout but i can't get hold of the norcross aditive so far, will another make do the job ( i guess any claims would be shot but i'll accept that)

4can't get the norcross prime and seal either, or bal spd so far, would anyone recomend the mapei g? £5 for 1kg in screwfix, how much would i need for 13m2 floor and also 6m2 wall? (the wall is plasterboard/skim with previous tiles busted off.

any advice greatly appreciated before i start the job sundayish.

thanks in advance, bockster.

[whitebeam]

Is the crack in a straight line, staggered or between a door or two other points. Has there been an extension put on at anytime and the cracking between old and new floor, Just a little more info may help

[bockster]

the crack is not a straight line but is continuous if you know what i mean. if i drew a straight line between start and finish point the crack wanders about 12 inches.it origonates at one side of a dooor frame on a internal wall and has taken 4 or 5 years to reach the opposite side of the kitchen, mid wall.it does not continue up the wall. no, no building work, house is 10 years old, floor is block and beam, and does bounce some when the kids start jumping!!! just looking again now and most of it is too fine to see. i,m not overly concerned about the crack as such, (i guess/hope its just the bounce/settlement) i just don't want the nice new tiles going the same way as the old ones!

cheers for now.

[Dave]

I have tiled a few of these floors but must say never seen one bounce!!....

Is this deflection noticable when you walk across the floor or just when the kids bounce on it.....?...or can you just feel the vibration through your feet as they bounce...need to determine whether its deflection or not as it shoudn't really.....

[wetdec]

Hi

Sounds a little as if as the house dried out the expansion and contraction has taken its tole on the tiles. The bounce is in fact deflection which increases depending how far into the beam you go. Before re-laying your tiles I would recomend an uncoupling membrane to prevent latteral cracking in the future.


tiler

[bockster]

its as if the floor sags when you walk on it...................kidding, no its just vibration felt in the feet when the kids jump as dave suggested.

i didn't really intend the crack to become such a big issue really, he says in denial. it really is just hairline and i,m sure its just settlement.

any opinions on the origional questions. have to get some primer before sunday.

cheers, bockster.

[Dave]

Personally i would do as wetdec says..use an uncoupling membrane.....either ditra or wetdecs durabase one.......this will cope with the lateral expansion.....

[bockster]

old tiles have been 'kango'd', schluter ditra membrane is down, tiling start tiling tomorrow. thanks for the advice so far, now any views on origional points 1, 2 & 3.

thanks in advance.
bockster.

[Mike Strutter]

Hi bockster

1, the adhesive colour won't matter, grey is fine unless you're laying a natural stone material, then white is required.

2, Yes flexi is right.

3, Any additive make will do, i use Ultra Flexi Prime.

Hope this helps

[bockster]

Originally Posted by Mike Strutter

Hi bockster

1, the adhesive colour won't matter, grey is fine unless you're laying a natural stone material, then white is required.

2, Yes flexi is right.

3, Any additive make will do, i use Ultra Flexi Prime.

Hope this helps

thanks for that, full steam ahead then, ta.