Tiling over floorboards - is tile backer boards the way to go?

[Soyabean]

Hi guys. I am going to be installing electric underfloor heating aswell as having the whole bathroom tiled (and an en-suite too).

The current flooring is floor boards in one and plywood in the other.

Am I right in thinking that the best way to go is to screw down any loose floorboards then apply tile backer boards before having the tiler tile over them?

Also want to create a wet room in the en-suite so was going to buy one of those shower trays which also look like backer boards and a tanking system to be installed before tiling.

Thx,
Sel

[aph257]

sounds to me you've got it covered. you will need a sparky though to connect the power up.

[doug boardley]

you'll have to make sure there is absolutely no movement (deflection) in your floorboards prior to fixing the backer boards.

[Soyabean]

Hi okay Doug, and I suppose I do that by putting in plenty of screws into the floor boards yes?

[Rich]

Backer board is the way to go. You want to screw the floor boards down so that there is NO bounce in them at all, then fix the backer board to the manufactures specs, some say to use tile addy and others sell you a glue to use. Either way you must glue and screw as this will fill any voids under the boards, you want to screw the boards down at 300mm centers at least. This will give you just about the best substrate for the UFH as the boards will also help to reflect the heat back upwards.

Good luck with it, let us know how you get on.

[Perfect Tiling]

All good info above. Make sure that the shower tray you get is correct for the tiles. If you plan to put small mosaic tiles onto the floor you will need a solid tray as some of the composite trays will only recommend a minimum of 50mm tiles. If you use smaller tiles you can actually compress them into the tray causing damage which would mean ripping out the tray and replacing. Good luck!!

[aph257]

All good info above. Make sure that the shower tray you get is correct for the tiles. If you plan to put small mosaic tiles onto the floor you will need a solid tray as some of the composite trays will only recommend a minimum of 50mm tiles. If you use smaller tiles you can actually compress them into the tray causing damage which would mean ripping out the tray and replacing. Good luck!!

thats something i've learned today. thx.