First Time tiling DIY - Hearth - Part DUX

[simplesteve]

Before we go any further, don’t forget it’s the top of the metal trim you want flush with the wooden floor….. put that under the tile and recheck the height…….
( and that gets adhesive under it too !)

 

[nero44]

yeah you are right, that is surely true. The metal trim itself needs to be raised by 3mm, however the trim itself also adds 1-2mm on the edge only. Whilst this gap is doable for the tiles sitting ON/around the trim, most of the surface centre is still short by 3mm+2mm=5mm as confirmed by the previous picture.

What if I cut out a 4mm backerboard (not cement board) and place it inside the trim, just to raise the centre part? The trim itself will sit straight on the cement board and can be raise to the correct height (by 3mm) with some extra adhesive around the edge. The middle portion is increased by 4mm, then I have 13mm-4mm = 9mm for the actual tiles. Which would be 7mm + 2mm adhesive with my 4mm notch trowel? Once the free sample arrives I can send a picture again to illustrate. I would assume after the solid cement base, the extra 4mm backer board will be stable enough for some very little slight foot traffic. But I reckon it will make the actual tiling much easier?

 

[nero44]

k so the free 4mm backer board sample arrived. The Idea would be to just place it inside the trim. I've put a straight edge on it to see how much space I have....




However, I don't think it will work. On the lowest side I would have a 3mm to play with, but it would still be quite tight if I also used adhesive to glue the backer board onto the cement board. Also on the other side, where the gap is smaller, I only have 1mm space and in the middle part, where the two cement boards are joined together with adhesive the spirit level actually already sits on the tiles in this dry run w/out any adhesive at all.

So last idea is to use a 3.6mm plywood sheet instead of the 4mm backer board and accept maybe a 1mm proud area.. OR... try to build up with a larger trowel and risk having a potential uneven/flat tile surface...

 

[nero44]

Epilogue:

I have bought a small piece of Bal Rapid Mat, which is only 1mm thick. Used 4mm notched trowel and then matting on top.


This gave me an extra ~3mm height on a fairly stable even ground. Embedded the trim with adhesive and then tiled. Mad respect for tilers, as this was not easy! I thought this "small" project was DIYable, but I think that tiling an entire plain bathroom floor would have been easier.

Would I do this again, not sure... In case anyone is planing something similar here is what I learned:
- manual tile cutter works, but only straight lines and on a 45mx45mm tile the smallest piece you can cut is probably a third of it. Trying to cut smaller pieces just destroys the tile and leaves sharp edges (cut my hands twice...)
- having an angle grinder with the right disc handy would have been helpful
- subfloor preparation is absolutely key. If I were to do this again, I would've have probably started with a 3.6m plywood.. then the cement board with screws all the way through
- I used dark anthracite grout, and when everything was completely black, I panicked a bit and started cleaning too early. Which removed too much grouting, so now the grouting lines look a little sunken in
- keep some spare grout on the side (in an airtight container so it does not dry too fast). While you are sponging the tiles, you will eventually discover (or create) more holes and gaps, which you then can re-fill straight away
- work with lots of masking tape!

Anyway, it is done now and an acceptable result. I will still need to put some flex gap filler between the metal trim and the floor.



p.s. cleaning buckets and tools of adhesive and grouting is a real pain!

 

[Odds]

That's a thing of beauty.