Floor Tiling Question
Discussion
Am new to PH, a friend of mine suggest I post this question on here as others may know/have experience....
Am wanting to put ceramic tiles on my upstairs bathroom floor- not a fan of carpet or linoleum. Problem is we have floor boards.
We went into a tile shop at the weekend and apparently there is this wonder product from Germany - a type of matting called Schluter Ditra- that you simply put down directly on top of the floor boards and hey presto you just simply tile on top. Seems almost too good to be true.
Has anyone used this? is it any good?
The other option is just to put some boarding down on top of the floor boards to make a flat surface but is this effective?
Any thoughts on either of these methods or other suggestions would be appreciated
I agree with groucho.
Screw the boards down.
Use flexible thinset adhesive and grout.
I've done bathroom, kitchen, and hall with no problem. Even rolled the refridgerator across the tiles without breaking any.
A lot of installers will tell you you need 2 inches of concrete but I'm sure that is just so they can inflate their prices.
Screw the boards down.
Use flexible thinset adhesive and grout.
I've done bathroom, kitchen, and hall with no problem. Even rolled the refridgerator across the tiles without breaking any.
A lot of installers will tell you you need 2 inches of concrete but I'm sure that is just so they can inflate their prices.
groomi said:
Personally, I'd screw the boards down and then put an inch thick layer of MDF boarding over the top (Using as large sheets as possible). Then fit with flexible grout.
Only problem is the small step and the need to cut an inch off the bottom of the door.
There are now adhesives available which the need to board out the existing floor is no longer a requirement.
But MDF board is a complete no no wether WR or not... you need ply.....ps you didn't lay your tiles with grout did you?
Yes, I'd go with ply rather than MDF, can you get the waterproof marine ply in 6mm?, save the wood sucking all the moisture out of your adhesive mix, failing that a coating of upvc glue/water mix. and flexible grout is a must!!! Especially for all those bathroom games with Mrs Minicoo!!! 
Suits you sir!!!
Suits you sir!!!trumpet600 said:
I have used Ditra matting on projects for about 8 years.
It works out expensive and because of the laying process, takes longer. But, with a 100% success rate, I wouldn't consider any other method.
Thank you for your comment.
Do you just lay the Ditra matting directly on the floorboards and then put the grout on? or did you put down a ply base first of all? Have you used Ditra matting with underfloor heating as well? Can this be done?
minicoo said:
I have used Ditra matting on projects for about 8 years.
It works out expensive and because of the laying process, takes longer. But, with a 100% success rate, I wouldn't consider any other method.
Thank you for your comment.
Do you just lay the Ditra matting directly on the floorboards and then put the grout on? or did you put down a ply base first of all? Have you used Ditra matting with underfloor heating as well? Can this be done?
If you are going down the under floor heating route ..it should be laid on top off the floor stucture.
Then lay the tiles....but not with grout
minicoo said:
I have used Ditra matting on projects for about 8 years.
It works out expensive and because of the laying process, takes longer. But, with a 100% success rate, I wouldn't consider any other method.
Thank you for your comment.
Do you just lay the Ditra matting directly on the floorboards and then put the grout on? or did you put down a ply base first of all? Have you used Ditra matting with underfloor heating as well? Can this be done?
There is no problem with laying it ona floor with u/floor heating but would recommend turning it off while laying the mat and tiles.
The process is a little long winded. The mat is stuck to your boards with a flooring grade contact adhesive. When this is firmly stuck, fill all the voids with an ardurit adhesive and let it set. Once that has gone off, lay the tiles on top in the normal
manner.
This process effectively creates an independant platform over a floor that will move underneath without any impact.
trumpet600 said:
I have used Ditra matting on projects for about 8 years.
It works out expensive and because of the laying process, takes longer. But, with a 100% success rate, I wouldn't consider any other method.
Thank you for your comment.
Do you just lay the Ditra matting directly on the floorboards and then put the grout on? or did you put down a ply base first of all? Have you used Ditra matting with underfloor heating as well? Can this be done?
There is no problem with laying it ona floor with u/floor heating but would recommend turning it off while laying the mat and tiles.
The process is a little long winded. The mat is stuck to your boards with a flooring grade contact adhesive. When this is firmly stuck, fill all the voids with an ardurit adhesive and let it set. Once that has gone off, lay the tiles on top in the normal
manner.
This process effectively creates an independant platform over a floor that will move underneath without any impact.
You use the same adhesive to fix the matting as the floor tiles no need to complicate matters.And yes its Ardurite
billynomates said:
I have used Ditra matting on projects for about 8 years.
It works out expensive and because of the laying process, takes longer. But, with a 100% success rate, I wouldn't consider any other method.
Thank you for your comment.
Do you just lay the Ditra matting directly on the floorboards and then put the grout on? or did you put down a ply base first of all? Have you used Ditra matting with underfloor heating as well? Can this be done?
There is no problem with laying it ona floor with u/floor heating but would recommend turning it off while laying the mat and tiles.
The process is a little long winded. The mat is stuck to your boards with a flooring grade contact adhesive. When this is firmly stuck, fill all the voids with an ardurit adhesive and let it set. Once that has gone off, lay the tiles on top in the normal
manner.
This process effectively creates an independant platform over a floor that will move underneath without any impact.
You use the same adhesive to fix the matting as the floor tiles no need to complicate matters.And yes its Ardurite
I don't doubt you can, but I have always used F4 as it is quicker than normal ardurit, and a damn sight less messy
billynomates said:
Personally, I'd screw the boards down and then put an inch thick layer of MDF boarding over the top (Using as large sheets as possible). Then fit with flexible grout.
Only problem is the small step and the need to cut an inch off the bottom of the door.
There are now adhesives available which the need to board out the existing floor is no longer a requirement.
But MDF board is a complete no no wether WR or not... you need ply.....ps you didn't lay your tiles with grout did you?
You know what I meant. 
PS: I haven't done it at all, just advise from my old man when I was considering it. We weant for the 'click-lock' style imitation tiled floor in the end.
PPS: So why is ply better than MDF? My old mans theory was MDF will bend less...
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff