Laying slate flooring

[baggielad]

I'm planning on laying a slate floor in a house built in 1968, but the original floor covering is some type of vinyl tile laid on a concrete base. Some of the tiles are loose so I plan to get them all up. They are fairly brittle and are quite easy to get up.

However, they appear to have been stuck down with glue which looks a bit like bitumen and my question is will it be ok to lay the tiles with the usual slate cement/adhesive on this.

Thanks for any replies.

 

[StonellDesignConsultant1]

Hiya,

I work for a natual stone flooring company and we always strongly recomend you either make sure all the bitumen is removed or better still use a de-coupling membrane before laying adhesive and tiles. Bitumen can often react with the adhesive which can lead to bleeding up through the tiles and of course you will be sealing them so you wont be able to remove anything that bleeds up through the tile. Bitumen is a fickle beast! It is best to err on the side of caution.

Schlutter are a good make but there are others.

Regards

Abbi

 

[mac391]

Bitumen should be romoved by shot blasting if possible. I've tried getting info on the de-coupling membrane but only find instances of it being used on underfloor heating for latteral movement.

I'm sure design consultant1 is right but there are a few that argue for and against it from the forums i've found, hopefully he'll come back with some good links.

Anyway, as cost is always important, it is possible to remove as much bitumen as you can then use a neoprene primer and acrylic screed to level, then fit your slate in the usual way.

Must say though, that this isn't industry standard, it's just a cheaper way to do it that you might get away with, i have a few times but only at the customers request to save money..

You spend or take your chances!!

 

[baggielad]

Bitumen should be romoved by shot blasting if possible. I've tried getting info on the de-coupling membrane but only find instances of it being used on underfloor heating for latteral movement.

Anyway, as cost is always important, it is possible to remove as much bitumen as you can then use a neoprene primer and acrylic screed to level, then fit your slate in the usual way.

You spend or take your chances!!

Thanks to you and design consultant for your replies. However as I am doing the whole of the ground floor is there any possibility that you can either:

1) Leave the tiles down if they are still firmly attached to the floor and tile over them and just treat the areas where the tiles are loose, or

2) the bitumen is a relatively thin layer and and is not tacky and therefore still tile over it without any of the of the preparation referred to in the replies.

Thanks again.

 

[mac391]

In reply to

1, No you can't just lay slate straight over vinyl tiles i'm afraid. Those brittle tiles are likely to be thermo-plastic or linoleum (made from oil of the lineum tree), so it's wise to sreed.

2, No, prep the floor first or waste your money, your water based tile adhesive will not adhere to bitumen.

For a neoprene primer and screed you are looking at about £8 per square metre to buy. Much less than taking your slate up and doing it right in a few weeks time!!

 

[StonellDesignConsultant1]

I'm affraid the problem with Bitumen is that it can be reactivated by the adhesive, despite it looking harmless enough now and so you must either get rid of it or prime it with something to seal it before using the adhesive and tiles. www.weberbuildingsolutions.co.uk is a good source of advice from the people that sell the priming and adhesive products. They will have good advice for you. The de-coupling membrane will be a very expensive option for a large area.

Good luck

 

[baggielad]

Thanks again for the replies. I'll just have to get a suitable primer.

It's a rare thing a straightforward DIY job