advice please for laying travantine tiles

[ssharpe]

got a job coming up guys that involve these travintine tiles(if thats how you spell it) i know ive got one house thats concrete floors so thats ok but the other is chipboard flooring.will i need 12mm + ply or is it a no go on wood,there are loads of weakness in these tiles as you know, where the veins run in the stone,i was just a bit sceptical on laying them.would a rapid flex be ok as adhesive aswell?

cheers scott

 

[brian c]

are the tiles honed and filled?

what about using a decoupling membrane?

its really all down to how much the customer wants to spend'use white flexi adhesive if you decide to ply it or a 2 part adhesive.How big an area is it?Expansion joints every 5m.They will also need sealed.

 

[ssharpe]

not seen the tile yet brian,im going up to see then next week on the site,its in dunblane.
im hoping there filled,dont think there sealed tho.
excuse my ignorance but whats a decoupling membrane,never used one?
gonna use white flrxi,been using it on other jobs for this firm with their porc.tiles but im no very experieced in the trav.

 

[brian c]

on the chipboard...overply with 9mm or 6mm hardi backerboard then lay ditra matting(DECOUPLING MEMBRANE,i will send u a link)then tile.Those tiles are very brittle and you need to handle them with care.Wet cut every cut aswell.

I once did a job for a customer who bought travertine tiles from COSTCO and they werent honed or filled..job took ages but good end result.

 

[ssharpe]

ive used them before on concrete and know there a btc h to use and they werent filled or honed.thanks for the info . might be needing a guy like yourself for future work if interested mate if my prices are ok haha

 

[Richardk]

You are right to be concerned cos travertine can crack easily. The floor joists should be braced with cross noggins and overboarded with min 15mm wbp ply, screw fixed at 300mm c/s. Alternatively, you could use a tile backerboard instead of ply. An uncoupling membrane is a good idea too. Check out Ditra on the web for more details. Whichever way you do it, you must use flexible adhesive. Mapei Keraquick with latex additive would be a good choice. The holes in the back of the tiles should be filled with adhesive by back skimming as you lay them. Seal min 2 coats with a penetrating sealer.

 

[brian c]

no probs just drop me a line by message.

 

[brian c]

have a look here Schluter-DITRA - Schluter-Systems http://www.schluter.co.uk/2797.aspx
http://www.schluter.co.uk/2800.aspx

this one is for movement joints....http://www.schluter.co.uk/2719.aspx

 

[ssharpe]

on the chipboard...overply with 9mm or 6mm hardi backerboard then lay ditra matting(DECOUPLING MEMBRANE,i will send u a link)then tile.Those tiles are very brittle and you need to handle them with care.Wet cut every cut aswell.

I once did a job for a customer who bought travertine tiles from COSTCO and they werent honed or filled..job took ages but good end result.

cheer brian,ill look into that and give client the info