DIY Newbie... Bathroom Floor Tiling

Hiya

First post, new to DIY so excuse any ignorance. Hopefully get some advice and can start on the road to having fun with DIY.

So existing bathroom tiles simply came up when checking, grout cracked, tiles broken. On investigation the tiles were put directly onto the floor boards, spacers left in and possible incorrect grout used / adhesive used.

I need to do a patch job firstly but also want to think about how to do it right in the future.

Research has pointed at the following:

1. Ply the floorboards to form a solid base - leave gaps around edges, stagger boards. Lots of screws - not long so not to pierce pipes.
Q. Do I need to ply under the bath?
Q. Do I need to prime or seal anything? Ie. the gaps of the boards?
Q. Should I silicon between the floorboard gaps to aid draft reduction?
Q. What thickness of boards - bathroom is 2.4m x 1.8m
Q. Do I tape the joins also? What Tape?

2. Adhesive - flexible - fast setting - 20mm trowel to apply - stagger tiles so grout line does not meet joins of ply
Q. Best adhesive to use - premix or powder?
Q. Should I get mould resistant etc?

3. Tiles
Q. What thickness of tiles is best? Does it matter?
Q. 4mm spacers?

4. Grout
Similar queries to Adhesive really - whats the best to use for floor in bathroom - want it to be mould resistant and maintain colour etc.

5. Sealant - I have seen these sealer pens to keep the grout longer - are these useful - recommended or just a waste of money?

6. Edges - silicon these up - what silicon is best for floors. Price ranges so much - heard latex is a great choice and more eco friendly I suppose?

Would like to look at making the project eco friendly - under floor heating a possibility? As I want to do it myself I can spend more on materials so if anyone has suggestions on cool gadgets to look at that would be great too.

Look forward to suggestions and setting the record straight on some of the research I have found.

Much appreciated

Ian

hi mate,

let me put it to you this way. my bathroom is about 2.4m long and about 2m wide. so ive created a step up so the bath is raised on a platform towards the back of the room.

the tiles around the bath and sink have no movement at all because there laid on chipboard.

so far the tiles round the toilet and shower are laid on the original floorboards and im getting sick of replacing the grout from all the movement.

im pulling up the tiles to also pull up the floorboards and replace them with chipboard flooring as its worked for the rest of the flooring.

1. Don't use chipboard. It isn't god to tile onto especially in the bathroom where any moisture will make it expand & pop the tiles.

2. Ply's okay to strengthen the floor if it needs it but also not good to tile onto.

3. Use a tile backer board - Marmox, Wedi. Or cement based Hardiebacker 250.

4. Follow the manufacturer's instructions on fixing, waterproofing, sealing etc. Marmox/Wedi are waterproof. Cement based are water resistant.

5. Cement based adhesive almost always better than premixed. Weber is very good and widely used.

6. Tile thickness for floors depends on what they are - stone, ceramic, porcelain. Buy a floor tile.

7. 4mm is quite wide. 2/3 mm will likely look better but it depends on the look you're after. 2mm normal on walls, 3mm on floor but 2mm can look better.

8. Grout bagged cement based will be better than premixed.

9. Silicone. Dow and Corning if it's porcelain/ceramic. Otto Seal S70 if it's Stone (also good with porcelain but D&C easier to source).

10. UFH is not ECO friendly - wastes lots of heat. Use Wedi/Marmox to insulate if you use UFH.

11. You may also need an isolation may - Durabase / Ditra

12. You'll need a sealer (eg Lithofin) if it's porcelain or stone. You could also seal the grout with the sealer if it's ceramic.