Tiling on floorboards in bathroom?

travel_freak

Hi

I have bare floorboards in my bathroom and am wondering whether a vinyl covering or tilling would be best (I would much prefer tiles) but not sure how much more work (and therefore expense) is needed for preparation? I believe for tiling it would be necessary to put down plywood first?

If anyone else has considered these two options and chosen one in favour of the other I'd be grateful to learn the pros and cons and cost implications.

Also what precautions can I take to ensure that if tiled I won't need to get back at the pipes beneath the floorboards any time soon...?!?

Many thx.

mrtg0525

When tiling over floorboard etc, I believe you have to use a special "elastic" tile glue and not the regular stuff that you'd use on, say, concrete. The floorboard will give and over time the tiles will come lose.

The previous owner of my house thought he knew better and did use the normal tile glue with the result that I'm now facing the fact that I may have to retile the whole bathroom floor as tiles are coming lose and the grout has crumbled from the movement of the tiles...

coolagarry

I decided to tile my bathroom and I am well pleased with the job. I screwed 12mm plywood to the floor and stuck the tiules down with the special adhesive for wooden floors (I think it cost about £25 for quite a small bathroom). The only thing you have to consider is the extra height the plywood and tiles will raise the floor to and will the door still open?
http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17811

weekendwarrior

The thickness of the plywood depends on what type of tile you intend laying. Natural stone requires more support than man made tiles. It is explained here-
floor tiling

As for the pipes make sure they will never leak, try and minimise the amount of joints under the floor and use solvent weld for the waste pipes.

d7nmo

hi im a tiler normal practice is to put 6mm ply down,make sure all floor boards are srewed/fixed solid and level(any discrep run over with a plane or belt sander) then srew ply down at 6" appart across and lenghways
you will need a flexable tile ad try i use bischem/granfix
try and stay away from b&q /topps etc for ad as they are expensive
try and find a small tile retailer as these tend to be alot cheaper in some cases half the price iv found

andrew-b

BAL Single Part Flexible (SPF) is a good flexible adhesive - we used it for our kitchen floor ( though for different reasons than those here but would be suited here too). Also BAL's technical support helpline was helpful in advising us. Topps tiles sell it but we negotiated with a tile shop instead who would price match against a price on the internet.
As already advised, you need to screw down some ply first.

Andy

travel_freak

Hi

Many thanks for the excellent advice above - really helpful, particularly the link to "ultimate handyman" website (I shall bookmark that for later).

Just another quick question if I may - this is a Victorian house and everything is on a slant, bathroom floor included!! What would be the best way to cope with evening it out before tiling?

Many thanks in advance.

dld2s

I think it would depend on how much a slope there is, self levelling compounds can be used on plywood if primed properly and the floor is rigid