Flooded floor advice please

[rj1884]

Good morning. Just after a bit of advise please if possible. I went to a guys house the other day and they had a radiator leak in there downstairs toilet. The water leak under the laminate and went from the toilet through the entrance hall and into the kitchen and now sits between the substrate which I'm almost certain is screed and the laminate floor. I've told the guy to take up the laminate and remove the excess water and allow the screed to dry. My questions is, is there a specific amount of time to let screed dry out even though it's been down about 20 years or does the drying time just apply to freshly laid screed. Thank you in advance.

 

[steve187]

are you going to tile when screed is dry

 

[rj1884]

Hi, yes I plan to lay ditra first then tile. I'm going to pop back to see whether its cracked or not. Would you ditra either way depending on size of cracks.

 

[ian158]

Is it par for the course to lay ditra even if the screed is mature and in good condition ?

 

[DHTiling]

Is it par for the course to lay ditra even if the screed is mature and in good condition ?

Is it.. ?

 

[Stef]

Depends what tile you are going to lay..

If its stone then it's a must,
If porcs/ceramic then it's down to personal preference.

 

[DHTiling]

Hi, yes I plan to lay ditra first then tile. I'm going to pop back to see whether its cracked or not. Would you ditra either way depending on size of cracks.

If the cracks are not exceeding 3mm then ye you can ditra to stop them transferring to the tiled installation, bigger cracks will need to be pin stitched first..

 

[ian158]

Cheers stef...so what was used prior to ditra then..I've seen tiles laid on a bed of sand but wondered what was used prior to these products.

 

[ian158]

Is it.. ?

Ffs !

 

[Stef]

I looked at a job on Monday that we had tiled a year & a half ago.

Limestone is parting like the Red Sea.

I advised the builder to lay ditra but they said it would be ok.
I've now got 30 tiles to rip up & re-lay & it's going to be an ongoing saga..

On the plus side I get paid an hourly rate to sort this issue..

 

[rj1884]

Thanks for your replies, much appreciated. What time period would you give for the screed to dry out once the excess water has been removed.

 

[DHTiling]

Get a dehumidifier in the room to aid drying.. it will not take that long to dry out,,

 

[rj1884]

Cheers Dave. I'll have a chat to the bloke. If he doesn't use a dehumidifier would you guess 2-3 weeks to dry naturally.

 

[DHTiling]

Cheers Dave. I'll have a chat to the bloke. If he doesn't use a dehumidifier would you guess 2-3 weeks to dry naturally.

It depends on the amount of saturation , but ye that would be fine in a worst case..

 

[Stef]

It depends on the amount of saturation , but ye that would be fine in a worst case..

Dave, could you classify this as a "green screed" again & modify your adhesive accordingly?

 

[DHTiling]

Nah the screed is cured, just damp from wetting.. so no shrinkage or curling to occur.

 

[kilty55]

de humidistat in the rooms after removing laminate for me on this one