Slate tiles - TilersForums.co.uk | Tile Forums

Matthew77 · 17-02-2008

Hi all.

I've been asked to quote on a bathroom floor 2m by 2m in 300 by 300 slate tiles, from what i understand these tiles are natural slate but they have been cleaned and cut so there are no bits of loose slate.

The floor is pretty straight forward so i'm going to quote for a days work as i'm thinking that it'll take less than a day to lay but a few hours grouting the next day.

My questions are will these types of slate tiles still need sealing before & after laying or both as i've not taken this into account when pricing up? Also the floor needs plying out but unfortunatly due to existing floor height and the thickness of the slate (10mm) they want to go for 6mm flooring instead of 12mm. I understand that with the existing floor flexing as it is 6mm ontop probably will still have quite a bit of movement in it so i'll need some flexy adhesive, can someone pls point me in the right direction for the addy?

thanks in advance

Matthew

murf · 17-02-2008

no amount of flexi adhesive will be sufficient if the floor is as weak as you describe. you must ensure that it is rigid first. all good tile shops will stock flexible adhesive.

**grumpygrouter** · 17-02-2008

Hi Matthew, in my opinion, the floor is not a big floor and as such any tendancy for movement will be reduced because of this. If you are sure the floor does not have much movement, you may want to consider boarding out with Hardiebacker 250. This is 6mm thick and designed to go on floors instead of ply. This will give you a good surface to tile onto also. No More Ply is something similar, though I have not used that.

With slate, the usual problem is grading. It appears that your customer is obtaining slate cut and cleaned already but I would check for differing thicknesses as this is a natural property of slate. It will also need sealing so you will need to allow time for that as well.

Deffo for flexy adhesive and grout though. If you have a CTD near you give them a try for BAL and Ardex.

Grumpy

**Dave** · 17-02-2008

I would also recommend a slate seal..Lithofin slate seal is a good......no messing about with impregnators and coating sealers ..lithofin is an all in one and can be got from CTD as well............