To Tile floor or bamboo?

[pody]

I'm about to start replacing the downstairs bathroom and unsure what to put on the floor. I recently got the upstairs bathroom done and tiled by a pro. Looked a bit of work as it was a chipboard floor with ply on top. The grout lines are badly cracking 7 months on and one or two tiles feel a bit loose.

For the downstairs bathroom(4m2)(chipboard again) I'm unsure to tile again or put in solid bamboo flooring. Total price for bamboo floor/skirts is around £170.

If I tile (diy) I will remove chipboard and put down 25mm ply (£120!!) Use Bal flexible adhesive (£30-50?) Bal grout (£15?) noggins (£15)
This works out around £200 before the tiles, and about £260 with tiles.

I'm a it weary of tiling as I've seen the problems upstairs, with the 25mm ply and Bal stuff get rid of any issues?
Confused looking at the different types of BAL adhesive, what stuff do I want to put direct onto ply? I don't want rapidset as I would like some time as its my first major tiling job, and what's the difference between 2 part and one part?

Many Thanks

 

[stephenf8542]

I've got bamboo down it looks great but,I wouldn't recomend it for bathrooms from experience

 

[Richard C]

I recently got the upstairs bathroom done and tiled by a pro. Looked a bit of work as it was a chipboard floor with ply on top. The grout lines are badly cracking 7 months on and one or two tiles feel a bit loose.

He wasn’t a very good “pro” then was he; unfortunately this is all too common & is due to insufficient or incorrect preparation & poor quality materials; I always take up crapboard given the choice but if forced to overboard, use 12mm; what did your pro use? Problem is 12mm ply creates a huge step at the threshold which is why I prefer to take it up & start again

For the downstairs bathroom(4m2)(chipboard again) I'm unsure to tile again or put in solid bamboo flooring. Total price for bamboo floor/skirts is around £170.

One solution, depends if you like bamboo; but I would say don’t be put off tiling by your bad experience, done properly it looks good & should last at least 10 years – 20 or even longer.

If I tile (diy) I will remove chipboard and put down 25mm ply (£120!!)

Good; in most cases you can get away with 18mm WBP but it depends on the span & section of the joists & each job has to be assessed independently. How big is the room, £120 seems rather a lot?

Use Bal flexible adhesive (£30-50?) Bal grout (£15?) noggins (£15)
This works out around £200 before the tiles, and about £260 with tiles.

BAL are the only products I will use, they don’t come cheap but you tend to get what you pay for with this stuff. Shop around you can get it cheaper than that but you may have to bully for a discount; Topps are notorious for overpricing BAL products.

I'm a it weary of tiling as I've seen the problems upstairs, with the 25mm ply and Bal stuff get rid of any issues?

If done correctly, yes; 25mm should be fine but it’s impossible to guarantee without seeing the job; each one is different & some floors require more pre work than others in order to stiffen them up

Confused looking at the different types of BAL adhesive, what stuff do I want to put direct onto ply? I don't want rapidset as I would like some time as its my first major tiling job, and what's the difference between 2 part and one part?

Rapidset flexible is the best one to use, just don’t mix up more than you can use in ½ hour. For grouting use Superflex wide joint.

2 part is a latex based adhesive & will withstand more flexing & vibration; it's ideal for mosaics but it is rather expensive & overkill for your needs; the pot life is also less at 20 mins!

 

[pody]

Thanks for the reply Richard.

I recently got the upstairs bathroom done and tiled by a pro. Looked a bit of work as it was a chipboard floor with ply on top. The grout lines are badly cracking 7 months on and one or two tiles feel a bit loose.

He wasn’t a very good “pro” then was he; unfortunately this is all too common & is due to insufficient or incorrect preparation & poor quality materials; I always take up crapboard given the choice but if forced to overboard, use 12mm; what did your pro use? Problem is 12mm ply creates a huge step at the threshold which is why I prefer to take it up & start again

Tiler said it was easier/cheaper for me to fit the ply for him and was happy for me to do so, think it was 9 or 12mm, screwed every 10cm. I told him the floor would still not be level after putting the ply down but said it was fine and he could pack it out with adhesive. The tiles are 600x500 and some are sitting on about an inch of adhesive, you should see the size of step in after ply,adhesive and tile! He did come back about three weeks ago after I complained, said the grout couldbe cracking due to the gaps underneath not holding it, still not arrange a time to fix,

For the downstairs bathroom(4m2)(chipboard again) I'm unsure to tile again or put in solid bamboo flooring. Total price for bamboo floor/skirts is around £170.

One solution, depends if you like bamboo; but I would say don’t be put off tiling by your bad experience, done properly it looks good & should last at least 10 years – 20 or even longer. [/quote]

Got some samples of the bamboo and it looks good, but more expensive than i thought, maybe worth the same extra ammount for tiles. Only plan on being in the house for another 2 years (5bed bachelor pad)

If I tile (diy) I will remove chipboard and put down 25mm ply (£120!!)

Good; in most cases you can get away with 18mm WBP but it depends on the span & section of the joists & each job has to be assessed independently. How big is the room, £120 seems rather a lot?[/quote]

25mm wbp looks to be arount £60 for a 2440x1220mm sheet, bathroom is 2.6x1.6m so require two, cheaper elsewhere?

Use Bal flexible adhesive (£30-50?) Bal grout (£15?) noggins (£15)
This works out around £200 before the tiles, and about £260 with tiles.

BAL are the only products I will use, they don’t come cheap but you tend to get what you pay for with this stuff. Shop around you can get it cheaper than that but you may have to bully for a discount; Topps are notorious for overpricing BAL products.

I'm a it weary of tiling as I've seen the problems upstairs, with the 25mm ply and Bal stuff get rid of any issues?

If done correctly, yes; 25mm should be fine but it’s impossible to guarantee without seeing the job; each one is different & some floors require more pre work than others in order to stiffen them up[/quote]

On what im reading 25mm ply plus extra noggins and supporting the joins should hopfully be enough.

Confused looking at the different types of BAL adhesive, what stuff do I want to put direct onto ply? I don't want rapidset as I would like some time as its my first major tiling job, and what's the difference between 2 part and one part?

Rapidset flexible is the best one to use, just don’t mix up more than you can use in ½ hour. For grouting use Superflex wide joint.

2 part is a latex based adhesive & will withstand more flexing & vibration; it's ideal for mosaics but it is rather expensive & overkill for your needs; the pot life is also less at 20 mins![/quote][/quote]

Rapidset flexible it is then.

I forgot to ask about tanking, all walls are solid, what sore of taking is required in shower?

 

[Richard C]

Tiler said it was easier/cheaper for me to fit the ply for him and was happy for me to do so, think it was 9 or 12mm, screwed every 10cm.

I prefer to do all my own preparation work both tiling & plastering as it’s the only way of knowing its done properly; if it all goes T/U, then it can only be my fault! As the customer, if you do any of the prep work, it automatically gives him a cop out if things get tricky & would go against you if it all ended up in court.

I told him the floor would still not be level after putting the ply down but said it was fine and he could pack it out with adhesive. The tiles are 600x500 and some are sitting on about an inch of adhesive, you should see the size of step in after ply,adhesive and tile! He did come back about three weeks ago after I complained, said the grout couldbe cracking due to the gaps underneath not holding it, still not arrange a time to fix,

Well it obviously wasn’t OK was it; you must get the base as flat & level as possible, packing out with adhesive is acceptable within reason to take up any minor differences but as for sitting tiles on a inch of adhesive, he’s avin total larf . I’ve never heard of such a total bodge; he’s no tiller.

Got some samples of the bamboo and it looks good, but more expensive than i thought, maybe worth the same extra ammount for tiles. Only plan on being in the house for another 2 years (5bed bachelor pad)

Personally, I would not use timber flooring in a bathroom; but if it’s only for 2 years then make your choice & let the next owner pick up the tab.

25mm wbp looks to be arount £60 for a 2440x1220mm sheet, bathroom is 2.6x1.6m so require two, cheaper elsewhere?

I mainly use 18mm WBP as it’s usually sufficient & even at B&Q, that can be had for around £25; the price for 25mm WBP jumps disproportionably but you should still be able to get it for around £40 or so.

On what im reading 25mm ply plus extra noggins and supporting the joins should hopfully be enough.

As I said, very probably but every job is different.

I forgot to ask about tanking, all walls are solid, what sore of taking is required in shower?

Tell me what you have & what you’re doing & I’ll tell you what you need to do.

 

[pody]

Thanks again Richard. 1200x700 shower tray is in corner of room against two solid block walls, glass screen/door on other two sides.
Plan to tile inside shower from top to bottom and halfway up for the rest of the room.

My mate (getting us the parts, works in a plumbers) is having difficulties getting a 1200x700 tray with upstands or riser kit. I assume no upstand isn't a biggie as I can just tile to the bottom of the tray and seal with mastic/silicon later. But what about no riser kit for easy plumbing? There is a large void under the floorboards that's accessible, will the plumber get down there to attach waste? And how will the tray be fixed to the floor if no access to attach from above?

 

[Richard C]

If they are block, walls with conventional plaster then no real need to tank, just tile straight onto it.

A tile upstand is not essential, in fact I prefer not to have them. Position the tray against the wall so the tiles will come down over the edge; leave a small gap (around 2mm) between the top of the tray & the bottom of the tile; using a quality sanitary silicone & an uncut nozzle, inject silicone (don’t use mastic) between the top of the tray & the underside of the tiles & wipe off any excess; cut the nozzle to the size of external bead you require & apply another bead between the edge of the tray & the bottom of the tile, smooth off as normal. Run a bead of silicone down the internal wall corner rather than grout, also run a bead down the internal edges where the screen & door meet the wall & between the bottom of the tray & the floor tiles.

If you have access to the underside, it’s perfectly feasible to plumb the waste from below as long as he can physically reach it; I’ve also done it by accessing through the ceiling below. For fixing the tray to the floor, stone resin are quiet brittle & require the underside to be fully supported; most specify bedding on a weak mortar mix. GRP trays can be fixed on a Silicone bed but always follow the manufacturer’s instructions as it’s usually a condition of the warranty. I removed a tray recently that was simply slapped onto double sided tape; it was only this, the trap & the silicone beads holding it in place.

As with floor tiles, use only quality trade adhesive & grout, not the cheapo DIY shed stuff.

 

[jefoss]

will you marry me richard?

 

[Richard C]

Oohh Jefoss you are awful ; you’ll make GC jealous

 

[jefoss]

what he doesnt know wont hurt him