tiled floor advice

JBuk · 12 Feb 2015 at 18:18

I've got a stripped down upstairs bathroom that I want to eventually tile , I have decent sized joists although not sure how level they are, on top of that are some old floorboards that are about 22mm thick, these are not in the best shape and nailed down.

I'd also want to minimize any height differences with adjoining hallway

What would be the best way forward ?

I'm hearing different opinions so unsure

mattyg · 12 Feb 2015 at 18:26

Rip up/out old floorboards. Make sure no bounce in the floor. Refit 22mm WBP screwed at 6inch centres.

koolpc · 12 Feb 2015 at 18:32

mattyg said:
Rip up/out old floorboards. Make sure no bounce in the floor. Refit 22mm WBP screwed at 6inch centres.

Agreed

mattyg · 12 Feb 2015 at 18:37

koolpc said:
Agreed

But then I'd over engineer the crap outta it. With Wedi insulation board,UFH, Screed and ditra mat.

koolpc · 12 Feb 2015 at 18:47

No need to go overboard. Remember that one may need to gain access under the floor at some point!

NoNameNoNumber · 12 Feb 2015 at 18:56

I ripped out my floor boards and went for 18mm structural ply. Bal Tanking. Level It 2 part flexible self leveling compound. UFH embedded in that then tiled onto that. Overall height is around 15mm so will easily match up with underlay/carpet in the hallway

koolpc · 12 Feb 2015 at 19:06

NoNameNoNumber said:
I ripped out my floor boards and went for 18mm structural ply. Bal Tanking. Level It 2 part flexible self leveling compound. UFH embedded in that then tiled onto that. Overall height is around 15mm so will easily match up with underlay/carpet in the hallway

Thing is, what if you need to gain access under the floor?

NoNameNoNumber · 12 Feb 2015 at 19:15

No different to before really. Would be easier and cheaper to go through the ceiling below that to pull up a tiled floor.

JBuk · 12 Feb 2015 at 19:34

If the joists bounce what can I do?

Or would I be better just leaving the floor and getting a decent quality vinyl or laminate?

NoNameNoNumber · 12 Feb 2015 at 19:38

The plywood must add rigidity. I used flexible adhesive and grout

JBuk · 12 Feb 2015 at 20:03

Is there any benefit in laying backer boards too?

NoNameNoNumber · 12 Feb 2015 at 20:06

They don't go rotten but then If you've grouted properly they wont get wet. I tanked as a precaution as I had some left over from the shower.

JBuk · 12 Feb 2015 at 20:19

Struggling to find any 22mm wbp local to me

I thought about tanking as a precaution

I'm just hoping tearing up the floorboards isn't going to end up a mistake heh

JBuk · 16 Feb 2015 at 17:06

So after having a good think about it I will probably rip out the floorboards, lay some 18mm ply and then lay some cement boards

My question now is... should I do the whole room now why it is bare and backer board the lot, or lay the ply, fit bathroom then lay the backer board around everything

Ps. Theres no ceiling below so plenty of access underneath

FerretBoy · 17 Feb 2015 at 06:32

I just had 35m2 of floor tiles put down on floorboards. 6mm cement board (no more ply) was used, screwed and glued down. Seems very solid.

JBuk · 17 Feb 2015 at 22:40

I'd do that but the floorboards are rubbish hence I think I may as well start afresh

div0 · 18 Feb 2015 at 10:47

Not wanting to hijack this thread, but it's already useful to what we're looking to do.

We're currently planning on ripping out the existing bathroom and then fitting a new suite (and layout) and tiling.

We're currently looking to minimise the amount of work we get done by professionals and so my plan was to:

* Rip out and dispose of existing stuff (tiles, suite, etc)
* Re-plaster walls (we have someone who can do this as a favour)
* Get new suite fitted and plumbed in
* Tile (floor and half height walls)

My question is, does this order make sense? Should we be getting someone to tile around the newly fitted suite, or should we be getting it tiled first and then fitting?

Mark M · 18 Feb 2015 at 12:15

You'll need first fix plumbing and electrics before the plastering but the rest seems logical.

mattyg · 18 Feb 2015 at 12:46

koolpc said:
No need to go overboard. Remember that one may need to gain access under the floor at some point!

Id be going up through the ceiling downstairs before going through tiles screed and UFH.

The need arose from having a poorly fitted wetroom previously. This time you could fill the bathroom with water if you block off the door

Abyss · 18 Feb 2015 at 20:15

div0 said:
Not wanting to hijack this thread, but it's already useful to what we're looking to do.

We're currently planning on ripping out the existing bathroom and then fitting a new suite (and layout) and tiling.

We're currently looking to minimise the amount of work we get done by professionals and so my plan was to:

* Rip out and dispose of existing stuff (tiles, suite, etc)
* Re-plaster walls (we have someone who can do this as a favour)
* Get new suite fitted and plumbed in
* Tile (floor and half height walls)

My question is, does this order make sense? Should we be getting someone to tile around the newly fitted suite, or should we be getting it tiled first and then fitting?

I would always tile first. It's far easier, gives a better seal, looks neater and future proofs in case you ever change your suite.

Generally you should always do the walls/floors/ceilings first then fit the fixtures and fittings.