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[r1]

my mrs has decided that the dinning room  floor needs tileing before christmas so has been out and bought the tiles!
now its my job to sort them out as ive only done this job twice before and that was a long time ago  so i need a bit of advice as this is not a straightford job.
the first proplem is that they are going to go onto floorboards
ive been told to ply the floor then lay them onto the ply,is this the best way? or is there another option? [someone has says flexable grout?]what thickness ply do i need to get?
the tiles that she has bought have a floorboard type pattern on them and have flat edges and she wants them layed with no grouting between them so they look like a wooden floor.the shop she bought them from told her she could do this,is this possible? as i have not heard of this before or was it just sales talk?
cheers

[redelitev6]

Tiles must go onto plywood base-floorboards would be to unstable, thickness of ply depends on how much movement floor has , if it's bouncy go for 13mm ply otherwise 6mm ply is fine, as for the grouting, i've never heard of not using some ! i would have thoght floor would look scruffy very soon as joints would fill with dirt/dust etc.   

[Dishevelled Den]

I'll be doing my bathroom floor shortly. 

In preparation I lifted the existing t&g boards to allow me to get to all the pipe work that I’ve just done.  I have nearly a metre of clearance under the floor so I took the opportunity to install a central support joist to ensure that any flexing of the new floor would be kept to a minimum.

As I’ll be running the tiled floor flush onto the adjoining hall floor I’m using 12mm ply topped with D-Matt (a woven material designed to prevent cracking) suitable adhesive and the tiles of course.

I will also increase the joist width by attaching 30mm battens to one side of them and will screw the plywood to this increased joist area.

Finally, I’ll grout the tiles, so unless your tiles are to be designed to be laid without grout I would suggest you do the same.

[Osprey]

I had a similar story with my kitchen a couple of years back, and ended up having to rip out floorboards and joists and build extra support underneath before replacing joists at a closer spacing.   

Flexibility is not your friend.  I would suggest doing a bounce test - get Mrs r1 to stand in the dining room while you jump up and down in the middle.  If she feels the earth move, she will realise there is flexing that will have to be accommodated by the tiles.  Tiles aren't noted for bending well!  If it is all solid, go ahead and tile onto 6mm WBP ply screwed at 100mm centres into the joists (not just the boards). 

You may find 12mm ply plus adhesive plus tiles gives you a big change of level as you enter the room, in which case stripping out the floorboards and replacing with 18mm (or 22mm) ply is the way to go.  Screwing the ply to the joists at 100mm intervals will give much better stiffness than floorboards. 

Use a good quality flexible adhesive and ditto grout - I find Ardex works well.  I would agree that no grout at all will end in tears.  Some would argue that a wide grout line will absorbs movement best. 

Just a thought - if Mrs r1 likes the look of floorboards, why not...   OK, I know, no point even mentioning it 

[r1]

thanks for all the replys
was hopeing i could get away without the ply as it means trimming the bottom of 2 doors but done the bounce test and it will need some.
been looking at some  flexable grout today and can only find gray or white and as the tiles are brown 

Just a thought - if Mrs r1 likes the look of floorboards, why not...   OK, I know, no point even mentioning it 
[/quote]

there are 2 reasons 1 the polish/wax needs redoing and 2 she reckons all the cold air comes up from the floor and makes it cold

[Osprey]

You can get flexible additive powder to put in whatever colour of youshe choses e.g. Ardex E101. 

 

[Marks DTM Calib]

Or use Mapei Kerraquick with the latexplus additive, it goes off quite quick but is mega flexible.

[Cliffo B]

 I assume your wife bought vynil tiles these will require a 6mm ply sub-floor nailed @ 6" centres with 1" roundhead serrated nails if on floorboards

[Cliffo B]

Sorry should have said serrated "shaft" nails.

[Osprey]

Good point Cliffo B - if we're talking about vinyl tiles you can ignore everything I said.  I was talking about ceramic or porcelain. 

[Lazydocker]

I'd highly advise listening to Cliffo b's advice... He knows what he's talking about

[r1]

the tiles are clay/porcelian

[Cliffo B]

Thanks LD for your kind vote of confidennce I'll try to live up to it


Ah well but ceramic tiles are a building product and vynil/lino is a house furnishing/decorating product 2 very differant trades I was in the latter for many years,however I'll try and pass on what I know about the former. First of all it's important that the tiles are for flooring useage and not walls, you mention clay which could be for walls, I think good floor tiles are mainly ceramic.Now for the sub-floor if you are to have a crack free floor it needs to be flat and as solid/stable as possible. On a timber floor not easy, however doable. 1st of all screw down the floorboards easy enough in these days of power tools and take note of any pipes wires so as to avoid them, and the joist location for future fixing referance,then you need to screw down I would think flooring grade chipboard the panels are a green colour with tongue and groove edges importantly to lock together so no flexing /movement at joins is possible. They are also moisture resistant and damned heavy especially when you need them for loft flooring!! Also I would cross hatch them with the joists (seem to remember they come @ 8ft by 2ft panels) there you have it thats my own route I'd follow sorry it will seem like a lot of screwing but then no doubt your younger than I ha ha! Problem is you need to lay an inflexible surface on a flexible surface.Could be since I was active in the workplace differing materials /techniques have been developed so should you find alternatives I'll be happy to comment

[Richie London]

i always use 12mm ply with screws every 6inches apart and panel adhesive at the joints then seal with latex sealer. bal grip is the best adhesive and powder mix grout.