Advice re hard wearing and practical white floor tile for wobbly Victorian house?

[jane]

Hi every one I have some questions - hope you can help as this is the biggest job Ive ever done - want to get it just right.
I have Victorian flat conversion on a busy main road in London - flat shakes occasionally. It has wobbly wooden floorboards.
I want to lay a large white tile (poss 60 x 60) through the reception, hall, stairs bedroom and living area (18 stairs) and am also considering underfloor heating in the walked on areas only - this will complement the radiators. Its approx 50sq m total.
I have two dogs who are often muddy and teenage kids who can be loud and drop things.
Im thinking to use 18mm ply with porcelain tiles and waterproof grout? Does that sound like a good choice, any thoughts on any better tile than porcelain or better idea for prep flooring would be really welcome.
Also how much adhesive and grout do I need for 50sq m?
Thanks very much!!

[jane]

oops maybe I should have asked about the prep in a different thread. Sorry.

[aph257]

TBO get a professional tiler in.

[Dave]

Hello jane and welcome.. i have moved your thread to the tiling forum.

You must make sure you can stabilise the floors to accept your choice of tile and that sized format is not for the feint hearted first timer IMO.

[jane]

Oh I am looking for a professional tiler at the moment !!! Sorry I should have been clearer... its just Im getting all sorts of advice from shops and on line articles and I just wanted to be sure that what I am looking to do is reasonable and practical as sometimes shops / tradesmen very efficiently provide exactly what you ask for (!).... but I may not be asking for the right things... so Im trying to research as much as I can in advance..
(I know this wont be cheap and its all my savings!)

I want to know what I need to ask shops/ tilers for so as not to waste anyones time. I want a really good job, not cutting corners but naturally Im still looking for value. Im presuming porcelain is best from what Ive read and that underfloor heating can be put in walk through areas... but I dont really know from a professional POV. Also I dont know if my (occasionally) shaky house is suitable for large tiles.
Once I know what is the best option, i can source it. Hope that helps clarify.

[whitebeam]

Are you living next to the north or south circular roads, just a guess or similar which are relentless for heavy goods vehicles all day long.

[kilty55]

white tiles with mucky dogs and kids will be hard to keep clean

[jane]

Not that bad!!! Its the A219 - but my windows sometimes shake and new cracks appear every few years!! Top floor flat.

[GirlRacerRed]

white tiles with mucky dogs and kids will be hard to keep clean

but at least you'll be able to see when they're dirty tho

[jane]

small sausage dogs with black hair(?) and teenagers who are more noisy than muddy!!!

[hillhead]

This sounds like a mighty task taking into account strengthening the floor, insulation boards, UFH, levelling, decoupling, expansion joints etc.
Possible nice job for someone and with White polished porcelain maybe it should turn out class. Mmm

[kilty55]

small sausage dogs....i love them you never see them anymore

[whitebeam]

Not that bad!!! Its the A219 - but my windows sometimes shake and new cracks appear every few years!! Top floor flat.

If you do tile in your flat check with landlords about sound regs, you would need some sound proofing on the floor..

You may have the neighbours complaining about noise levels and as you described a couple children and a dog running up and down the hallway will travel down to the flat below.

[Del W]

If Dave cant put you onto a pro tiler in your area,get plenty of advice/estimates from local tilers,you'll get everything from no problem to very difficult/costly,because of what you want. This is a great site to double check what you're being told.Good luck.

[widler]

tiling stairs sounds like a lot of hard work,ive tiled stairs before but pre cast concrete.

is it possible to tile wooden stairs?(im assuming there wooden,in a old victorian house), how would you strenthen them,to stop them moving,bouncing,wouldent like to do it myself,the halls and bedrooms and landings would be fine IMO,with the right prep,but i would find another option if possible.
im prob wrong,the wife always says i am,so some of these nice chaps may know a good method of doing them

[Colour Republic]

Hi Jane,

There is often more than one way to complete a project which is why you may be getting conflicting advice from the tradesmen you have already shown around. In addition, getting advice from the tiles stores is not always the best option, some know what they are talking about and others won't have a clue but will sound convincing just to get a sale out of you.

In general your hall shouldn't be a problem with the correct prep, how far that prep goes and the cost will of course depend on the current construction. The stairs may be more problematic. It is possible but in most cases the stairs would either need to be steel framed or concrete which I doubt is the case from your description.

The advice you will receive here will be top notch but without seeing the job first hand it would be impossible to specify the job with 100% conviction. What we can do is give you all the advice and the questions you should be asking your tiler.

To do that, pictures of the areas you want tiled would be extremely handy

[jane]

If Dave cant put you onto a pro tiler in your area,get plenty of advice/estimates from local tilers,you'll get everything from no problem to very difficult/costly,because of what you want. This is a great site to double check what you're being told.Good luck.

Thats EXACTLY the problem you see - you dont know whether it really is 'no problem' and the others are making more work than there is to make it more costly ( I go back to my taking the car into the garage issue) OR the 'no problem' guys havent considered issues a more experienced tiler would understand or wont discover them till its too late. My experience of being a single woman commissioning work who has had some bad experiences means I am just as cautious about the 'no problem' guy as the sighing and tutting "its a nightmare" guy!! I've met them both!!! Guess it IS all about recommendation but also about me knowing what I want and need.( You have to be a good customer too.) So fingers crossed I get some great contacts from here - if not I will post you all back with the results of local quotes and may be you can give me your thoughts?

[Del W]

There is a section for a "tiler wanted".Good luck.

[jane]

thats really helpful... let me see if anyone contacts me who is recommended by Dave, if not, I will def post some pics and see what you think. Yes -its true there are many ways to finish a job, thats a very valid point. Half the issues is that I am cautious, I know it wont be cheap and I want to get it right and pay the right but fair price - Im not looking for cut price.

Thanks to everyone on this site - its nice to know there are good people you can ask.