first tile and its travertine french pattern 62m2 OMG

[luke-e-boy]

hello every body.
I have already used lots of the great hints and tips on your site to get me started. Bought a diamond blade wet cutter from screw fix.

Have my grout chosen and the adhesive on order. So far i have laid 8 tiles, just enough to get the boiler down so the underfloor heating can go on.

The concrete floor slab has been down for months but up here in Shetland the house has never dried out properly.

The travertine is sharp edged and the joint spacing is already a problem when i lay the pattern:mad2::mad2::mad2:

Looking forward to speaking with some of you soon

Regards Luke

 

[jolly fix]

HI and welcome,underfloor heating in other rooms?not in the room to be tiled?if in room to be tiled has it been coverd with slc?if tiling on top of u f h then best to leave u f h off for 2wks ,then turn on bit at a time over a period of time.when pattern set out did you find that the small tile had very tight joints,what size spacer are you going to use?you say the house has never dried out properly,but what about the floor?dont forget about expansion joints...some more details on tiling areas please....

 

[luke-e-boy]

Thanks for the fast response. The whole area has water underfloor heating in a concrete reinforced screed. The weather is so cold that we need to warm the house up just to check the slab is not going to contract to much. The few tiles i have laid are mostly going to be hidden under the boiler and kitchen units.

I have primed the concrete with dilute PvA to reduce dust. the problem with the spacing when you have two tiles with with joint laid next to one without a joint is currently my biggest issue. I was hoping to have a 4mm joint but its going to be very hard over such large areas not to go off line.

Not sure if i should cut every other small one down by 4mm or just learn to tile freehand ( have never learned to tile yet so its all pretty scary)

I phoned travertine direct and they said they had never had this problem before.

Regards Luke

 

[nybor62]

welcome to the forum

pva is not a suitable primer for tiling, uncoupling matt is essential imo,
i think you should get help from a pro to be honest , this is not a job for a novice , sorry to be blunt

 

[steve187]

Hi and welcome

I think you need to slow down a bit, the best way to get honest advice from the forum is to fully explain the job, you need to explain room sizes, with some pictures if possible, materials to be used, complete details of floor, how long laid, how thick etc. explain the job so that someone who hasn't seen it can picture it.

You seem to have made some basic mistakes already, Tiling a floor with expensive materials is a big under taking, and costly mistakes can be made.

Nyboy62 has made a valid point in his post, rethink the diy side of the job.

all the best.

 

[luke-e-boy]

Off to work just now, but will reply with some more details soon.

I have experience laying slabs in natural stone and concrete outside. I also build hundreds of meters of drystone wall and features such as stone steps. Am no stranger to the spirit level and the kneepads.

Not sure if this experience will be relevant

Regards Luke

 

[SandyFloor]

I'm going to be blunt too. It's an awkward pattern, it's quite a technical job, stone has to be really level (not very forgiving) and there's a lot of it. My first floor tile job was a bathroom floor in ceramics and that took me hours but it was a walk in the park compared to what you're planning. I really think you might get into trouble here.

 

[Max@ableskills]

Welcome to the forum. Excellent advice already given on this thread but good luck anyway

 

[luke-e-boy]

Thanks for all the posts

Yeh I know its a Big Ask but financially I am not in a position to employ a tiler. The tiling is across 4 rooms. roughly a 1.5x 2.0m utiliy leading to a 3x4m kitchen then7x4 dining room into a 3x0.9 hall then a 2x3 bathroom. (sizes are very rough as plans are at home).
I suppose I will have to take some before and after shots and let Tile Forum members decide when its finished. (gulp)

If I can complete the utility room then i will attempt to complete the rest. If I cant do utiliy then I will employ a tiler.

regards luke

 

[nybor62]

if you could post a picture of the floor layout , that would help . starting in a small utill room , is not a good idea imo, as every thing will come of that,

 

[DHTiling]

Hello Luke and welcome, Good advice above..

Also the problem you say with joints, that will be the small 200x200 tiles that will do that sometimes... they can just be trimmed to keep the pattern square..

 

[Ajax123]

as suggested in post number 2 "I think" don't forget expansion joints in the tile face. I too would recommend an uncoulping membrane with this type of tile on this type of floor. also has the underfloor heating been run through its full comissioning cycle. This is essential before you lay the tiles. PVA is not suitable and should be removed and replaces with a proper primer.....

 

[White Room]

Hi and welcome

 

[luke-e-boy]

There will be no more tiling till the underfloor heating is commissioned. I think i am going to use a self leveling compound on the concrete floor because (despite the builders claims) it is pretty 'wavy' in places.

I am feeling pretty negative at the moment, but i want these tiles to last my family a lifetime and am willing to put in the hours to get it right. The prospect of cutting 4mm off the side of every other 8" tile is a little annoying, but I hate lines that are not straight.

Would it be possible to have straight line expansion joints across the doorways. There will be room for lateral expansion under the skirtings?

I would attach a copy of the floor plan but not sure how??

 

[Ajax123]

the expansion joints would be best straight across the door thresholds. Question though - has the screed got joints in it?