Tiling in different materials

[dtrack]

Hi,

I've got a problem. I've just lifted the old laminate wooden flooring in my kitchen and have found that the floor is made up of two parts. One parts is made of cement and the other part is made up normal wooden floor planks. The separation of the two is made up of the cement portion shaped into an 'L' shape, while the middle part is made of the wooden plank flooring.

Having only tiled a few times (bathroom and shower walls in my house) I'm stuck as to what to do. I know I've got to put some sort of material down on the wooden planks e.g. plywood or cement board (not sure how thick it should be, would like advice on this), but this then causes the middle of the kitchen to become raised above the cement part, how then do I compensate for this before I lay down the floor tiles?

I do have a bag of Wickes latex to spread if that would be of any use?

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Many thanks
Dan

 

[Richard C]

Having two dissimilar floors complicates maters somewhat; for over boarding you need to use at least 12mm WBP & you will need an uncoupling membrane or the floor will most likely crack due to differential expansion where the two different substrates meet. In your case your best bet would be to overboard a membrane with a decent tile backer board but it depends on your timber floor construction; what is the joist size/pitch/span? What sort of sq/m are we talking about here, “L” shape can be a problem & you may also need an expansion joint? What size/type of tiles will you be laying?

I would advise you read the Tiling Sticky & Forum Archive posts before doing any more work or buying materials, it could prevent you making disastrous & potentially expensive mistakes. There are many things to catch you out particularly if you intend tiling a suspended timber floor.