Into the fire..

[PaulD]

Our tiler (despite being the most expensive quote !!) did not turn up (apparently had his arm twisted by some one that he does a lot of work for who had a tight deadline). :mad2: Not enough time to line anyone else up (kitchen going in a week on Monday). I thought that I'd have a go myself..... :yikes:

It is a new extension (screed down over 6 months). Nice & flat screed. There is a 8x4M kitchen/dining area and a 2x2.5M utility room. No radiator pipes to worry about even, just a couple of patio door openings, so all straight/corner cuts.

We are using a large format unpolished porcelain tile (600x600). I have checked a fair sample of them and they all measure bang on 600, so they
seem well regularised.

I plan to use the Lash Clip system (not cheap, but hopefully will simplify things a bit) - I have done a couple of small floors before and half a dozen bathroom walls, but these 600's looked a bit daunting, hence we had opted to get a professional in.

I had a really helpful and useful chat with David from tradetiler - gave him the order for most of the tools that I'll need that I didn't already have.

One of the things that the Boss wants is tile skirting... about 60mm high. These could do with being cut really accurately. Are there places to get tiles cut, ideally leaving a good edge or is it a case of careful cutting and some diamond abrasives ?

The natural edges of the tiles are pretty good, and with the layout, most of the skirting should come off the 100mm offcuts from the walls. I may have to cut those with a wet saw (I had to get one to be able to cut some 400mm porcelanosa tiles that I put down in a small loo (1 x 1.5M) a few months ago.

I plan to use a 5-6 mm bed. I don't want to go too thin with the lash clips and I want to make sure that I am getting a good solid bed.
I also plan to use a standard set (overnight) adhesive so that I am not rushing and to hopefully cut down on waste adhesive.

The tiles are off white (fully opaque). The Boss reckons to use a white adhesive as she wants the option to put a light coloured grout in and that may make it easier).

It is a beam floor and there is some heating, so I am going for a flexible adhesive. BAL SP Flex seems to be a good option. Looks like that will take me about 15 bags at just over £30 inc a pop. There is a "local" deal on Biscem Stoneflex that also seems to be suitable. I'd need 20 bags of that, but it is still under half the total cost. Is BAL easier to use/better etc to justify the extra £250 ?

Any tips to avoid slumping of the edge tiles overnight or is this unlikely to happen ?

Anyone any idea approx how long it is liable to take me to a) get the tiles down and b) do the grouting (current plan is to use Mapei grout and seal it). I have 6 long 12 hour days set aside for this and I am hoping that will be more then ample.... I just hope my back holds out :smilewinkgrin:. The kids and the Boss can help with the mixing/tile lugging.

Any thoughts, tips or advice, comments etc would be much appreciated.

- Paul.

 

[Dan]

Welcome to tilersforums.com | Tile Forums | Tiling Forum!

Hi PaulD and welcome to tilersforums.com!

 

[mikethetile]

I think you have pretty much thought it all through

no , theres no advantage to spending the extra on bal, some have to use it as thet cant get an alternative

lash clips are time consuming but help avoid slump, cant give a time but dont worry just take your time and do it right

and ask plenty of questions when it comes to laying the room out

 

[mikethetile]

dont forget to seal the tiles

 

[suave]

:welcome:

 

[david campbell]

:welcome:to the forum
you have jumped in really at the deep end....:smilewinkgrin:
you may well need an expansion joint if the floor is running in at 5m both directions

 

[White Room]

Hi and welcome

 

[Dan]

If the tiles are opaque, you need to make sure you're 'back-buttering' them. Which basically means use the back of the trowel to skim over adhesive to ensure you get a really good coverage. Needs to be 100% on any floor, but on the odd tile if you didn't manage to fully get 100% coverage, you'd notice where there wasn't adhesive once the job is complete and everything has dried out.

Also, as above, you'll probably need to seal them.

The lash things look cool but I've never used them. Seen a couple of video's of them being used (sad, I know) and they look smart. But on a really flat existing floor, and with a brand new trowel, I can't see you going wrong without them. That's left with you though.

And adhesive. BAL is one of the most expensive out there, and retail in Topps, OUCH! I'd definitely consider the alternative. You looked at Mapei anywhere? The world's largest manufacturer of adhesives and sealants. And at a really fair price too.

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

Hi and :welcome: When you say a beam floor, is this block and beam? also you mention heating, is this underfoor?. As David says you might need to consider expansion joint, if you have under-floor heating, you might want to consider a de-coupling membrane. As mentioned above you are jumping in at the deep end. Good luck

 

[DHTiling]

:welcome::welcome:

Sounds like a interesting job for a first go at these.. just take your time and keep them flat..

When using the lash clips make the adhesive slightly wetter to ensure they pull down easier with the clips.

 

[faithhealer]

good luck paul

 

[Scott]

Hi and welcome, 600x600 are pretty unforgiving, have you considered trying to get someone from the forum? There maybe someone that Dave can recommend in your area that could come and do it?

 

[PaulD]

...

And adhesive. BAL is one of the most expensive out there, and retail in Topps, OUCH! I'd definitely consider the alternative. You looked at Mapei anywhere? The world's largest manufacturer of adhesives and sealants. And at a really fair price too.

I looked at Mapei, and even allowing for the greater coverage rates it was expensive (at least for what I can get it for). I would like to have tried it as I have heard good things. From the coverage rates I guess it must be
less dense and lighter to lug around. I liked how the Mapei and Biscem websites had standard coverage numbers (kg/m2/mm thickness). Bal was really mixed... sometimes specifying coverage per bag, but without specifying the thickness -- you can guess, but ..)

I picked up the Biscem this morning.

Access to getting good prices can be frustrating and erratic. I had the same issue getting hold of some Celotex. The £600 worth that I ordered early this year was good. Went back for the final batch (another £600) and the price was near double (over £1000), so I ordered online and got a comparable price to the 1st time.

 

[PaulD]

:welcome::welcome:

Sounds like a interesting job for a first go at these.. just take your time and keep them flat..

When using the lash clips make the adhesive slightly wetter to ensure they pull down easier with the clips.

Thanks for the tip. Yes, interesting may be a good word for it.

 

[PaulD]

Hi and welcome, 600x600 are pretty unforgiving, have you considered trying to get someone from the forum? There maybe someone that Dave can recommend in your area that could come and do it?

This may end up being plan B. I'll give laying it a bash :lol: The tiles are nice & flat and seem to be well rectified. If it is looking OK, then great. If not, then I'll take them up, postpone the kitchen (I'm doing that too and I have a week of holiday booked off). No problems with kitchens - done plenty :smilewinkgrin:. The Boss has her heart set on having the kitchen in this August, so to achieve that, the tiles need to be done next week.