1st Job: Tiling the kitchen floor

[Jackal]

Hi Guys and Gals,

I'm looking for abit of advice really.
We have moved into the house and ripped the kitchen out... its 12sqm and its just a square room. We have swayed against laminate flooring and want tiles.(its swayed all over the place) thing that was putting us off it we would have to rip the floor boards up and put Board down to tile on... The floor boards thats are on the floor an't thats bad... Reason we feel we have to take the floor boards up is that we dont want a leval change going into the kitchen!

I've done abit of research on tiling on wooden floors....We have found if we use a primer on the wood and a flexible adhesive and flexi grout then we could tile ontop of the very sturdy floorboards. We found a test on here to see if the floor boards are sturdy enough a glass of water full up to the brim and try jumping on the floor to spill it... 2 of us could'nt manage to spill it!!!!

So the plan is to clean the floor boards... plain the high points back so its more a less level... Prime it and then set my tiles up... and start tiling.

Will this be ok... I'm i heading down the right track? any advice it more than welcome.

with thanks

Jack

[faithhealer]

welcome to the forum Jack, I would really advise you to overboard with 6mm hardie backer or similar. peace of mind over a gamble

[Bri]

As above. Tiling straight onto floorboards, no matter how solid, is still a gamble. As faithhealer says, use a 6mm cement board and you will have a floor that will last years. A little more expensive to start with, but you won't have to worry about the floor failing. Welcome along to the forum.

[Jackal]

Thankyou for the welcome..

I thought adding a Hardie board or 6mm ply would make it worse... due to you laying tiles on a floor that could have gaps under it because its on boards... It would also raise the floor which we are aiming not to do...

i take its abit of a gamble laying on floorboards....lol

Jack

[Bri]

The boards need to be stuck to the floor either with flexible tile adhesive or a glue recommended by the manufacturer, then screwed down. The adhesive/glue is what eliminates any void between the cement board and your floor boards.

[kilty55]

hi jack,when laying the cement boards lay them on top of a bed of flexi adhesive directly trowelled ontot he floorboards,then screw down as well

i wouldnt tile right onto floorboards no matter how silid you think they are,6mm is a tiny height to accept to ensure a good jon imo

[aph257]

welcome, i think its all been said above. to reiterate, over board with 6mm cement board then tile.

[Jackal]

Lets try this then?

If we ripped the floorboards out and put 18mm WBP ply wood down instead of the floor boards then just tile ontop of these??? Would this be ok????

Id have to cut the ply so that it joins on the cross members i surpose...

Problem we have with hardieboard is that it will be a tight fit to go under the PVC door in the kitchen.

Jack

[Bri]

That is another option, but 18mm is a bit thin. If you can get 22/25mm in that would be better suited.

[Jackal]

Yer... I think in the long run this is going to be the better option. Floorboards up plywood down.

[Bri]

Yer... I think in the long run this is going to be the better option. Floorboards up plywood down.

If you are going to take the floor boards up and replace with ply, you might aswell add a few extra noggins to the joists for even more stability, these will also be a bit more for the ply to be attached to.

[suave]

welcome!

[Jackal]

I'll have to have a think which way i'm going to go again... Have a measure up and price it up again.

Thanks for your help guys.

Jack

I'll be back!!!!

[Alberta Stone]

I am assuming these are planks that are laid on the floor joists?

It is recommended to have 2 layers of wood minimum thickness of 1 and 1/8th inch.
If that raises the height more than you wish, then you ought to consider a laminate that looks like tile that has glued together joints for water-proofing.
You really can't skimp on the subfloor as there is deflection you cannot see with your waterglass test.
That will end badly with cracked groutlines and cracked tiles eventually.

A thing I have done many times is use a transition course with a bit of the subfloor removed where it joins to the other area or doorways, feathered with flexible thinset and then set the tiles on a gentle slope to make a nice transition.
It is common to run into this problem when putting stone into a bathroom with underfloor heating cables and this is a good and appealing solution.

[Jackal]

I've gone for the hardieBoard idea...
I bought 12 Hardie boards today picked the tiles and got the adhsive....

Can i use plasterboard tape to connect the boards together on top??????

Cheers

Jack

[tfs]

yes, you will get away with using the mesh tape and feather all the joints with addy

[Jackal]

Thankyou for your help guys

[deanotile]

make sure the floor has no bounce in it and screw the floor boards down before you lay the hardy.

[Alberta Stone]

Any cement board is not a structural material, merely a smooth surface.
The code requires minimum subfloor thickness of 1-1/8th inch comprised of 2 layers of plywood, screwed and glued to the floor joists.
Then you can add cement board if you wish for a smooth surface to work on.
The floor joists need to be crossbraced as well.
I don't have the code book as I loaned it out so I am not sure what the deflection parameters are.

If you are just putting cement board directly onto the primary deck then...good luck.
You would be better advised to screw the heck out of the primary deck and install Ditra mat as that will do a superior job compared to the cement board.
But.....do as you will.