T
Tile Shop
Tiling to Floating Floors
I have seen various threads on here on this subject. Some of you say tile it, some of you say don't.
I've been speaking to various companies today, and after a little cutting and pasting, this is what I've got.
One of the key things I will ask of customers from now on, is to measure the amount of deflection there is in a floor before starting, but take from this what you will.
I guess alot of you will know this already, but for those of you who don't, I recommend printing this off and taking the to the bathroom for when you find the opportunity for a spot of light reading. Hope it helps 🙂
Tiling to Floating Floors
FLOATING FLOORS
Tiling onto a floor of this type carries an element of risk as the floor should remain as rigid as possible when loaded therefore it is difficult to provide an adhesive and grout recommendation based on the current floor build. They can be exposed to excessive movement due to the assembly but when adding layers of undertile heating the issues can be exacerbated.
The information below represents the minimum requirement for a floating floor application and is as recommended by British Standards and found in the current codes of practice in The Tile Association Document - Tiling to Sheets and Boards below:
4.2.2.2 Floating Floors
• Direct fixing of rigid flooring such as ceramic tiles to floating timber floors entails an element of risk and where practicable, should be avoided by the use of a proprietary intermediate substrate.
• Ceramic floor tiles should never be installed on floating timber floors subject to heavy static, dynamic loadings.
• In areas of light foot trafficking, where this method of construction is most frequently used, precautions need to be taken to avoid tile or grout cracking and/or loss of adhesion.
• Where the floating floor is laid over a concrete sub-floor the concrete must have an even finish with no localised raised areas (fins, ridges) as these may cause uneven compression of the overlaying resilient insulating layer.
• The insulation layer should be of sufficient density to provide firm support to the overlaying timber boards, with minimum deflection under static and dynamic loads, expanded polystyrene foam is not a suitable underlayment for a floating floor which is to receive ceramic tiling.
• Any tongue and groove joints of boards must be fully located and bonded with a high quality wood adhesive.
• Where boards have to be cut, any butt joints must be supported from beneath with a nogging.
• Where a batten or timber bearer system is used the boards should be screwed to the supports at 300mm centres.
• Apply a proprietary intermediate substrate system designed specifically for use on floating timber sub-floors.
Tiling to Floating Floors
The guidance for timber floors in BS 5385: Part 3: 2014 outlines in clause 6.3.4.3 that there is an need for the floor to be able to carry the additional dead load of up to 0.8 kN/m², and the probable dynamic loading, without excessive movement or deflection. In terms of vertical deflection, additional guidance is also offered in the above standard also recommends that; “The floor should have minimal vertical deflection under load, typically for ceramic tiles, the floor should not deflect any more than 1/360 of the span of the structure or for natural stone tiles this is typically 1/720 of the span in the case of most natural stone”. (BS 5385😛art 3: 2014 clause 6.3.4.4 floating floors). Alternatively for additional rigidity and the best chance of success, two layers of plywood may be used with each layer being a minimum of 12mm thick and laid so that the joints on both layers do not coincide (cross bonded).
One solution would be to overboard the existing plywood, with a suitable cement based backer board of the recommended thickness from the manufacturer. These boards would be cross bonded and secured using screw fixings to ensure rigidity.
Once a suitable floor substrate is achieved then consideration can be given to use of an uncoupling matting i.e. Ditra, Durabase or BAL Rapid Mat.
Alternatively BAL Single Part Fastflex can be used to fix the tiles directly to the substrate.
Whichever of the two options are selected the a additional flexible additive will be required with a singlepart flexible grout.
Additional movement joints may also be required to help alleviate the likelihood of excessive movement observed within these types of floors.
I have seen various threads on here on this subject. Some of you say tile it, some of you say don't.
I've been speaking to various companies today, and after a little cutting and pasting, this is what I've got.
One of the key things I will ask of customers from now on, is to measure the amount of deflection there is in a floor before starting, but take from this what you will.
I guess alot of you will know this already, but for those of you who don't, I recommend printing this off and taking the to the bathroom for when you find the opportunity for a spot of light reading. Hope it helps 🙂
Tiling to Floating Floors
FLOATING FLOORS
Tiling onto a floor of this type carries an element of risk as the floor should remain as rigid as possible when loaded therefore it is difficult to provide an adhesive and grout recommendation based on the current floor build. They can be exposed to excessive movement due to the assembly but when adding layers of undertile heating the issues can be exacerbated.
The information below represents the minimum requirement for a floating floor application and is as recommended by British Standards and found in the current codes of practice in The Tile Association Document - Tiling to Sheets and Boards below:
4.2.2.2 Floating Floors
• Direct fixing of rigid flooring such as ceramic tiles to floating timber floors entails an element of risk and where practicable, should be avoided by the use of a proprietary intermediate substrate.
• Ceramic floor tiles should never be installed on floating timber floors subject to heavy static, dynamic loadings.
• In areas of light foot trafficking, where this method of construction is most frequently used, precautions need to be taken to avoid tile or grout cracking and/or loss of adhesion.
• Where the floating floor is laid over a concrete sub-floor the concrete must have an even finish with no localised raised areas (fins, ridges) as these may cause uneven compression of the overlaying resilient insulating layer.
• The insulation layer should be of sufficient density to provide firm support to the overlaying timber boards, with minimum deflection under static and dynamic loads, expanded polystyrene foam is not a suitable underlayment for a floating floor which is to receive ceramic tiling.
• Any tongue and groove joints of boards must be fully located and bonded with a high quality wood adhesive.
• Where boards have to be cut, any butt joints must be supported from beneath with a nogging.
• Where a batten or timber bearer system is used the boards should be screwed to the supports at 300mm centres.
• Apply a proprietary intermediate substrate system designed specifically for use on floating timber sub-floors.
Tiling to Floating Floors
The guidance for timber floors in BS 5385: Part 3: 2014 outlines in clause 6.3.4.3 that there is an need for the floor to be able to carry the additional dead load of up to 0.8 kN/m², and the probable dynamic loading, without excessive movement or deflection. In terms of vertical deflection, additional guidance is also offered in the above standard also recommends that; “The floor should have minimal vertical deflection under load, typically for ceramic tiles, the floor should not deflect any more than 1/360 of the span of the structure or for natural stone tiles this is typically 1/720 of the span in the case of most natural stone”. (BS 5385😛art 3: 2014 clause 6.3.4.4 floating floors). Alternatively for additional rigidity and the best chance of success, two layers of plywood may be used with each layer being a minimum of 12mm thick and laid so that the joints on both layers do not coincide (cross bonded).
One solution would be to overboard the existing plywood, with a suitable cement based backer board of the recommended thickness from the manufacturer. These boards would be cross bonded and secured using screw fixings to ensure rigidity.
Once a suitable floor substrate is achieved then consideration can be given to use of an uncoupling matting i.e. Ditra, Durabase or BAL Rapid Mat.
Alternatively BAL Single Part Fastflex can be used to fix the tiles directly to the substrate.
Whichever of the two options are selected the a additional flexible additive will be required with a singlepart flexible grout.
Additional movement joints may also be required to help alleviate the likelihood of excessive movement observed within these types of floors.
