Choosing the right products for tiling my concrete floor

[stevemuzz7]

I am about to lay floor tiles in 3 rooms in my ground floor flat which has a concrete floor. The tiles have already been ordered and are sitting pretty in my store room waiting to be used. But with 26m2 of 600x210mm ceramic tiles to lay I want to be 100% sure I am using the best and most suitable products for the job.

I've gathered from the forums I've read that Bal are the leading brand in tile adhesion so I am confident in using their products. However I must confess that this will be my first attempt at floor tiling. I'm a joiner to trade so I'm no stranger to the construction industry but still, I want to get this right first time.

So I need answers for the fo following:-

• Should I prime my concrete floor with Bal SBR, Bal ADP or simply Bal primer? (the floor is painted with masonry paint in some areas)
• Which brand of self leveling compound should I then use to screed the floor with? (the floor is currently not level and too rough)
• Should I then prime the top of the self level screed before proceeding to the tiling?
• Will Bal Rapid Set really be suitable for my circumstances? I understand flexible grout is not required for a solid floor. Is this true?
• Which of Bal's grout range should I then use for my particular circumstances?
• Which product should I use to seal the grout on completion of tiling?

Hope I'm not too demanding people!

Best regards
Steve

 

[Aston]

if you want to get it right first time as you suggested then i'd get a tiler in to do the job. why pay all that money for your tiles and adhesives etc and then take the risk of a poor finish.

 

[stevemuzz7]

A) I don't have enough money to get a tiler on the job.
B) As an experienced tradesman, I'm confident I can do the job well myself with the right research and advice.
C) I will enjoy the learning experience.

 

[Rookery]

I'm not a regular BAL user though they make quality products, if a little pricey. I daresay you dont have much choice where you are. Mechanically remove as much of the floor paint as possible. Prime the concrete base with BAL Bond/SBR or APD thinned according to the bottle and how porous your base is. Then SLC with BAL Rapidbase. Fix tiles with Rapidset and grout with Widejoint. Any penetrating sealer will help keep the grout from staining but wont prevent it entirely. You could save money by using Weber equivalent products. In saying the above, I'm assuming the floor isnt heated and the tiles arent porcelain.

 

[Mark S]

Couple of questions,
How old/wet is the concrete?
In my experience you cannot over prime. You will need to mechanically remove as much of the old floor paint as possible
If the concrete is dry, the priming will prevent too fast drying and cracking of your levelling screed.
So, I'd prime concrete, apply leveling screed, prime again when dry and ready, then tile.
Also if you can use primer, leveling screed, adhesive and grout all from the same manufacturer, avoids any compatibility issues
hope this helps

 

[stevemuzz7]

I don't really have a massive ammount of choice where I am no, but Topps tiles base in Inverness supply most of Bals products so I'm probably just going to with them regardless of the price. At least I know I'm getting a quality product. So does it not matter whether I use SBR or ADP? I've been trying to find out what the difference is.. or more importantly which one is better and more suited to what I'm going to do?

 

[stevemuzz7]

Couple of questions,
How old/wet is the concrete?
In my experience you cannot over prime. You will need to mechanically remove as much of the old floor paint as possible
If the concrete is dry, the priming will prevent too fast drying and cracking of your levelling screed.
So, I'd prime concrete, apply leveling screed, prime again when dry and ready, then tile.
Also if you can use primer, leveling screed, adhesive and grout all from the same manufacturer, avoids any compatibility issues
hope this helps

Thanks yes that does help. But what kind of machine would I use to mechanically remove all that paint? The have concrete floor must be about 40 years old as the house was built in the 70s. It seems dry to me.

 

[cam_low]

First time tiling a whole ground floor, get someone in pal. Tiling is not something to just pick instantly especially on a 26m2 floor !!!

If you insist then go for it with standard set adhesive, it will save you a lot of time.

 

[stevemuzz7]

First time tiling a whole ground floor, get someone in pal. Tiling is not something to just pick instantly especially on a 26m2 floor !!!

If you insist then go for it with standard set adhesive, it will save you a lot of time.

I appreciate your concerns but yeah I'm going for it. How would standard set save me a lot of time?

 

[Ian]

I appreciate your concerns but yeah I'm going for it. How would standard set save me a lot of time?

I think he means it will give you more time and allow you to work at your own pace. If you can avoid walking on what you have laid for 24 hours, it's definitely the way to go if you're work speed is quite slow.

 

[cam_low]

yeah thats what I meant, should have explained it.

get some ufh heating whacked down since your saving on the fitting

 

[Mark S]

To remove the floor paint, you will need something like an STR Orbital sander, available to hire from a number of outlets, but not sure where you are what availability is like

 

[stevemuzz7]

yeah thats what I meant, should have explained it.

get some ufh heating whacked down since your saving on the fitting

haha, oh I wish I could but I've survived this long in my flat (3 years) without it and I plan to build my own house in a few years so think I'll pass on the extra expense! Before all I had was plywood with lino on top and it didn't seem too bad at all, it's actually quite a warm pad I've got. I know are cold but surely it can't be any worse than it was before? i'll soon find out i suppose!

 

[stevemuzz7]

To remove the floor paint, you will need something like an STR Orbital sander, available to hire from a number of outlets, but not sure where you are what availability is like

Wow you guys must thinks Stornoway is like something out of those old Western movies with tumbleweed blowing about and just a few people standing about waiting for a train in the middle of nowhere! haha. well actually it's a rather ls large town with a buzzing construction industry and believe it or not, plenty of places to buy or hire orbital sanders! awesome

 

[cam_low]

just remember to wear your slippers !!!

Can I ask how the ply was fixed to the concrete for the lino to lay on it ?

 

[stevemuzz7]

just remember to wear your slippers !!!

Can I ask how the ply was fixed to the concrete for the lino to lay on it ?

Aye it was glued down with pro-stick silicon which hasn't been any fun pulling up and trying to get all the adhesive off the concrete slab. Should have been hammer fixed down and then maybe i could have tiled on top of it. Having said that, it was only 6mm ply which probably wouldn't have been thick enough.

 

[stevemuzz7]

Next question.

With regards to the tile adhesive bed, what thickness of bed should I be looking to use? 10mm? More than that? And would I be right in assuming the best trowel to use would be a 20mm round notched?

 

[Mark S]

We get tumbleweed in Washington when the wind is in the wrong direction

 

[beanz]

I love that because you're a chippy, you think you'll be able to tile... Not a real trade after all lol!
Best of luck buddy

 

[stevemuzz7]

I love that because you're a chippy, you think you'll be able to tile... Not a real trade after all lol!
Best of luck buddy

haha, not at all bud, I have a lot of respect for tilers, it's very skilled work. I'm putting an enormous amount of research into this and going to be doing it over a period of weeks and probably months so I'll probably be on here asking for advice now and then. Going to do the bathroom first. Will be a painful job getting all the paint off the concrete slab (that's the first step) but going to use some kind of paint stripper and probably a sand blaster to get it off as it seems the cheapest option. Next step is to prime and then self level the floor in the bathroom. Then be onto tiling the bathroom. I'll be sure to upload some photos of the finished bathroom when I'm done so you all can have a laugh! Need a 600mm manual cutter, looking at the Rubi Practic 60 but I don't like buying things that are too basic so should I go for the TS60 plus instead? Bear in mind I'll probably be using it on other jobs too when I get good, hehe!

 

[Rookery]

Next question.

With regards to the tile adhesive bed, what thickness of bed should I be looking to use? 10mm? More than that? And would I be right in assuming the best trowel to use would be a 20mm round notched?

Use a 20 x 10 round notch trowel, also called a thick bed, solid bed trowel. Back skim the tiles as well as combing the adhesive on the floor. Dont forget to leave a perimeter movement joint.