Mftr says do not prime wooden floor....

[dummer]

Hi......I am about to take up some loose ceramic floor tiles in a property that I rent out. The previous owner laid floor tiles onto chipboard flooring in the kitchen and five or six of them have become loose and 'rock' slightly, cracking the grout (and one or two of the tiles).
I have bought some 'Toppflex' flexible floor tile adhesive from Topps Tiles and the instructions say 'Do not prime wooden surface'. I had planned on painting a sealing solution of pva glue onto the chipboard, but now I don't know what to do.
I would welcome your views. I know that I should just follow the instructions, but it just seems peculiar not to seal the floor and give a good bond for the adhesive to bind to.
Thanks.

 

[Richard C]

Never use standard PVA to prime before tiling, far from improve the adhesive bond it will adversely affect it; that's why the adhesive manufacturer says not to prime. If you need to prime use an acrylic or SBR primer but do not prime unless the adhesive manufacturer recommends you do so.

I appreciate your attempting to repair what’s already there but chipboard is the worst possible surface you can tile onto. The floor must be completely rigid & the reason for the tile failure may well be due to poor tile surface or cheap/incorrect adhesive/grout or a combination of both; I suspect the tiles will in all probability fail again before too long.

 

[dummer]

Thanks Richard. I think that you are right in saying that the tiles might fail again, but I just need to keep the tenant as happy as possible at the moment. The kitchen base units are all standing on the floor tiles, and so it would not be an easy job to replace the entire tiled area. I am hoping that, because some of the tiles seem to 'rock' from side to side, it is the adhesive that has lost adhesion to the floor combined with the adhesive not being applied correctly and evenly in the first place. Maybe I'm just an optimist!! Thanks for your very swift reply.