Any tilers on here? Bathroom floor question

[dale1uk]

Hi, in the next month or so I'm going to refurb my bathroom. Currently the floor is vinyl roll over the original floorboards, my plan is to add underfloor heating and tile it.

So my question is in regards to tiling over the original floorboards. What is best for overboarding the floorboards? 6mm cement boards (like no more ply) or insulated tile backer boards (like wedi)? If the latter what thickness do I need? Is 6mm any good or do I need to up the thickness to 10mm? I presume insulation board would be better since I'll be adding underfloor heating ?

Thanks

 

[Participant]

Remove vinyl (obviously).

Secure existing floorboards with proper floor screws if not already. Check for movement before tiling.

Use 6mm insulated tile backer board. Ply with backer board or thicker boards with ufh will create a step and is overkill if you lay the backer board correctly. The 6mm is perfectly adequate as it's rigid.

Glue and screw the backer board to the existing boards, staggering in a brick pattern and laying across the boards so the new joints run in a different direction.

Lay ufh mat in the tile adhesive and don't switch on the ufh until the adhesive has completely gone off. Obviously use flexible adhesive.

I'm not a professional tiler.

 

[-Ad-]

Roughly the above.

Make sure before you start screwing your floorboards down that you check where the joists are (look for the old floorboard nails), then draw a line across the floorboards to show this. Then ideally get a stud finder and go over these lines to be sure you haven't got any cables or pipes notched into the joist beneath. You really don't want to put a screw through one of them.

Buy decent adhesive if you're going to give it a go and get some practise in first. Also ensure you know what to do regarding layout of the tiles, watch some videos on this. Then when tiling, be sure to read how long the adhesive can be worked for to ensure it doesn't flash over and fail down the line.

Also, you must back butter the tiles!

Give it a go, but be prepared for hassle, issues, breakage when cutting. Or invest in a decent time served tiler to do the job properly, with you doing the floor prep.

Comical quotes should be disregarded, get a good 3/4 overall to get a feel for the tilers and ask plenty of questions on their technique, products they use and layout of the tiles. If using porcelain tiles then I would be aiming for a labour rate of £25sq/m. Ensure you get a price breakdown for materials, labour, time etc so you can work out if it's good value.

 

[chroniclard]

We used waterproof floor panels instead, tiles can be a bit cold(when the heating is off), quicker and easier to fit and look pretty good.

 

[dale1uk]

Remove vinyl (obviously).

Secure existing floorboards with proper floor screws if not already. Check for movement before tiling.

Use 6mm insulated tile backer board. Ply with backer board or thicker boards with ufh will create a step and is overkill if you lay the backer board correctly. The 6mm is perfectly adequate as it's rigid.

Glue and screw the backer board to the existing boards, staggering in a brick pattern and laying across the boards so the new joints run in a different direction.

Lay ufh mat in the tile adhesive and don't switch on the ufh until the adhesive has completely gone off. Obviously use flexible adhesive.

I'm not a professional tiler.

Roughly the above.

Make sure before you start screwing your floorboards down that you check where the joists are (look for the old floorboard nails), then draw a line across the floorboards to show this. Then ideally get a stud finder and go over these lines to be sure you haven't got any cables or pipes notched into the joist beneath. You really don't want to put a screw through one of them.

Buy decent adhesive if you're going to give it a go and get some practise in first. Also ensure you know what to do regarding layout of the tiles, watch some videos on this. Then when tiling, be sure to read how long the adhesive can be worked for to ensure it doesn't flash over and fail down the line.

Also, you must back butter the tiles!

Give it a go, but be prepared for hassle, issues, breakage when cutting. Or invest in a decent time served tiler to do the job properly, with you doing the floor prep.

Comical quotes should be disregarded, get a good 3/4 overall to get a feel for the tilers and ask plenty of questions on their technique, products they use and layout of the tiles. If using porcelain tiles then I would be aiming for a labour rate of £25sq/m. Ensure you get a price breakdown for materials, labour, time etc so you can work out if it's good value.

We used waterproof floor panels instead, tiles can be a bit cold(when the heating is off), quicker and easier to fit and look pretty good.

Thanks for the replies .
Regarding the actual tiling work, I'm happy enough with that, it's more getting the subfloor right where I'm a little unsure.

If 6mm insulated tile backer board ( this for example) is OK to use then that is great as the less build up the better. My only concern is if the 6mm stuff is thick enough to prevent and deflection. I know the standard tile backer boards are 6mm but I presume they are more solid than the insulated boards?