hi all,,
ive got to prepare floor and supply materials to have my kitchen floor tiled,
all i have so far is the tiles,,300x300,dark slate effect,
they are to be laid upon a suspended wooden floor.
ive been told i need to ply this 1st,,
being a dumb old sparky i need advice as to what to do please,,
depth of ply,any other prep needed,,type of adhesive,grout etc,,
thanks in advance

Can you give us a little more details on the floor....when you say suspended , do you mean floating floor ? or battened etc.....

Originally Posted by Dave

Can you give us a little more details on the floor....when you say suspended , do you mean floating floor ? or battened etc.....

thanks for taking time dave,,
its a 1950s type house with ground floor made up of floorboards on floorjoists,,,pretty solid,,no movement and floorboards in good nick,,
over to you lads
thanks so much

Personally i prefer not to tile directly to floor boards ( I over board ) but if the floor is deflection free and the boards are in good nick and clean then you can tile directly to them with a 2 part highly elastomeric adhesive....

Originally Posted by Dave

Personally i prefer not to tile directly to floor boards ( I over board ) but if the floor is deflection free and the boards are in good nick and clean then you can tile directly to them with a 2 part highly elastomeric adhesive....

as you well know lads being a sparky i know b####r all about floor tiling,,

im aware it needs over boarding,,
but with what size and type of ply?
will this then need to be sealed? if so with what?
then what make and type of adhesive,grout ?
will the tiles then need sealing?

the area to be covered is 15sq mtrs so i could do with amounts and best materials to get,,please please

see boys im rubbish

Originally Posted by bobandsmiffy

as you well know lads being a sparky i know b####r all about floor tiling,,

im aware it needs over boarding,,
but with what size and type of ply?
will this then need to be sealed? if so with what?
then what make and type of adhesive,grout ?
will the tiles then need sealing?

see boys im rubbish

If the floor is bouncy then you must overboard with plywood...minimum 15mm to use standard flexi adhesives. The ply must be sealed on the back and edges before screwing down at 300mm centres. If the floor is solid then you can tile onto it directly with 2 part flexible, after the boards have been primed with acrylic primer...Flexible grout is a must in either case...Gaz

Originally Posted by GazTech

If the floor is bouncy then you must overboard with plywood...minimum 15mm to use standard flexi adhesives. The ply must be sealed on the back and edges before screwing down at 300mm centres. If the floor is solid then you can tile onto it directly with 2 part flexible, after the boards have been primed with acrylic primer...Flexible grout is a must in either case...Gaz

thanks gaz,,
would you be kind enough to tell me recomended materials and amount to purchase, of adhesives,grout,sealant etc
im covering 15sq mtrs,
sorry to be a pain lads

Originally Posted by bobandsmiffy

as you well know lads being a sparky i know b####r all about floor tiling,,

im aware it needs over boarding,,
but with what size and type of ply?
will this then need to be sealed? if so with what?
then what make and type of adhesive,grout ?
will the tiles then need sealing?

the area to be covered is 15sq mtrs so i could do with amounts and best materials to get,,please please

see boys im rubbish

That will depend on what tile you have chosen, if ceramic then no .

Originally Posted by bobandsmiffy

thanks gaz,,
would you be kind enough to tell me recomended materials and amount to purchase, of adhesives,grout,sealant etc
im covering 15sq mtrs,
sorry to be a pain lads

Ok boys...Prime neat onto wood with this quantity 1 x 2.5 litre..make sure the boards are solid as a rock.


Then tile with this x 4 bags and 4 bottles


Finally grout with these




2x 3.5kg...chose your colour...and include this


Improves grout....1 bottle mixed 1 to 1 with water

gaz i didnt think you need to prime when using fast flex

Originally Posted by garythetiler

gaz i didnt think you need to prime when using fast flex

Directly onto floor boards Gary yes you do. Its plywood that needs no primer..

Roughly £350 FOR MATERIALS.

Oh......and whatever for Ply

Originally Posted by GazTech

Ok boys...Prime neat onto wood with this quantity 1 x 2.5 litre..make sure the boards are solid as a rock.


Then tile with this x 4 bags and 4 bottles


Finally grout with these




2x 3.5kg...chose your colour...and include this


Improves grout....1 bottle mixed 1 to 1 with water

Show Off

Notwithstanding that these guys are all great fellows, you should never put tile onto a single layer of subfloor.
You need 2 layers plywood, a minimum of 1 1/8 inch thick and this would be on min. 2X10 joists on 16 inch centres with the joists being 12 to 14 ft long, with crossblocking between the joists.
I would still use the flexible thinset and I would prime the plywood.