Managing / minimising step up onto new tiled floor

Hi All,

I've got an upstairs bathroom with floorboards, which I would like to tile.

I've read the sticky on the forum and done a search but can't find the answer, so thought I'd post a question.

I intend to use 6mm hardiboard to tile onto, with a new 18mm wbp ply floor underneath (replacing the old floorboards).

I want to keep the floor height gain to the minimum so there little/no step up into the room from the landing which will be recarpeted at a later date.

I've read about quadrants/bullnoses to manage the height difference but the ones I can find online only seem to be a couple of cms wide so there will still be a noticeable step. Is there anything more gradual that I could use under the carpet to raise the height at the doorway into the bathroom?

Thanks
Andy

The 18mm WBP might be enough on its own without the Hardiboard, what is your joist size/pitch/span? How did you fix the WBP down? Have you any joins in the ply? Did you seal the underside & edges before laying?

18mm will be plenty screwed down at 200mm centers with noggins on joins,you won't need backers on top.
I know the sticky recommends thicker ply but imo its overkill unless the spacing of joists is excessive.

Use a powdered trade flexi adhesive and grout.

Thanks for your input guys.

I'm still at the planning stage at the moment, so the old floor is still down, so I can't easily answer the questions about joist at the moment.

I've seen several posts about wbp ply not being the most suitable surface for fixing tiles to, hence the thought of going for the hardiboard.

Alternatively, could I go with using the thicker hardiboard and a thinner ply floor?

kingandy2nd said:

I've seen several posts about wbp ply not being the most suitable surface for fixing tiles to, hence the thought of going for the hardiboard.

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Nonsense, where did you get that from? For a suspended timber floor it’s probably the best you can get when used with a decent trade flexy powder addy. Never use it for walls though & acrylic prime the underside & edges before you lay. I screw fix every 150mm centres, its a few more screws but insignificant in the scheme of things.

kingandy2nd said:

Alternatively, could I go with using the thicker hardiboard and a thinner ply floor?

Click to expand...

Wouldn’t bother mate, I’d do away with the Hardiboard altogether. 18mm WBP is generally sufficient on it’s own for light load/use areas such as bath/shower rooms but if your floor joist construction is a little marginal, you can up it to 22mm or even 25mm. Wait until you lift the floor & come back with more info.

Thanks mate.

On reflection I think I read that ply wasnt a good base for tiles...but it may well have been in relation to walls rather than floors.