Natural Stone Flooring Advice - kitchen problem

[White Room]

it doesn't surprise me at all, builders are always saying floating floors are okay to tile onto (that's because they know no different), very few tilers with a decent knowledge of the trade would tile a floater.

:yikes::yikes::yikes:

 

[Ajax123]

putting in a screed would be a fairly straight forward job but it would put your program back a bit. The thinnest screed available to you at a reasonable cost would be a flowing calcium sulphate screed which you could put in at 35mm depth in that scenario. Alternatively you could go for a cement based screed (traditional type) which would need to be 65mm. You could look at things like underfloor heating as well if you wanted. There is a system called the Max4 Therm system which allows a 25mm screed but I am not sure if this is suitable to go on insulation. I can look into it for you if you wanted.

I can give you contacts for either option if you want them.

 

[doug boardley]

:yikes::yikes::yikes:

exactly Mark:lol::lol:

 

[DHTiling]

Hi and welcome..

To determine if you deffo have a floating floor, is there any fixings in the boards at the joints aprrox 400mm apart.?..i,e nails or screws.

 

[RRout]

The caberboard is 22mm thick so a 35mm screed wouldn't make a huge difference the floor height. I'm not sure about the underfloor heating - I'd love it but it all depends on whether it can sit directly on the insulation (which I presume a screed can?). How much total depth would the screed and underfloor heating add? I just wish (a) the kitchen firm had spotted this earlier (the old tiles were up when they measured up in late August) rather than three days before they're due to start and (b) I'd discovered this forum earlier. I'm tempted to tell the kitchen firm to sort the whole thing out or I'll pull the order (I've paid a large deposit though) - it was avoiding things like this that made me go to them in the first place.

Worst case scenario any suggestions on a ceramic or porcelain opus that would look similar to marble (although sadly it was the texture that drew me to it)? Although I'm guessing you'll say don't tile on the floating floor at all!

 

[RRout]

Thanks Dave - no screws or nails at all. Guess this is the nail in the coffin for my marble floor without starting from scratch with a screed?

 

[Ajax123]

to add underfloor heating to the 35mm screed option would involve increasing the screed depth to 45mm minimum 50mm noiminal assuming a 15mm pipe is used. You can plum this directly into the central heating using a return temperature limiting valve or you can put a single port manifold in with a thermostat. You can put the UFH pipes directly to the insulation (allbeit through a polythene membrane)

 

[DHTiling]

You could remove the boards and insulation.. then install a frame work and screw down to the floor at 300mm centres in both directions.. making sure you seal screw holes through the DPM if it is under the insulation but if it is in the base then it will be fine..

This frame will then make a secure base to fix the boards back down to ready for over boarding or you can replace the boards with 22mm ply and then un-couple with Dural Ci to take out the stress and then you have a perfect base to put those much wanted Marble tiles down..


Yes this will delay the job by a couple days but this will be your quickest method and still get it installed for xmas..

 

[chrisroe]

Floating Floor Karndean or Amtico

 

[RRout]

Thanks Ajax, so effectively I'd have a floor 28mm higher than it is now if I went with underfloor heating. Seems a loss worth making to me although ive never had a problem with heat in the room. Or 13mm higher without. I'd propose losing this height out of the gap between the worksurfaces and the wall units? I don't imagine it would really notice. This might be a silly question but: underfloor heating would mean I could have all the radiators taken out, right?

The next question is the big one - it's approximately a 46 square metre area, what are my chances of finding someone that could do it in the next week? Slim, I imagine. I'm keen to have a kitchen in place at Christmas - microwave meals get old very quickly! Oh and any idea of ball park cost, to the nearest £1,000 or so?

 

[RRout]

Thanks Dave, that may be the simplest solution. I'll talk to the kitchen firm first thing tomorrow - they should have a joiner or carpenter of some description who is capable of doing the work, I'd have hoped?

 

[DHTiling]

No probs, the thing is with floating floors is that they can compress especially at the edges etc and i n door ways, so you must get it solid and the quickest way is to frame it.. but if you do require a heated floor then the screed is an option but not a cheap one..

But if it is one that is wanted then it needs doing before the kitchen goes in but IMO i think it will cause major headache with your kitchen comp who are contracted to now..

 

[RRout]

I think you're right Dave - I've signed a contract with the kitchen firm (albeit a contract that specified a marble floor) and I'd probably lose the high ground if I start talking about adding things like underfloor heating which I'd never mentioned before and that would add to the delay. I'm going to try insisting they install a frame as per your instructions and threaten to walk away unless they find a way forward.

 

[DHTiling]

Just offer to pay for the extra work and then i think it will go smoothly.. after all you want a good job and hassle free..

most of all good luck.. and please do let us know what happens..

 

[Ajax123]

Thanks Ajax, so effectively I'd have a floor 28mm higher than it is now if I went with underfloor heating. Seems a loss worth making to me although ive never had a problem with heat in the room. Or 13mm higher without. I'd propose losing this height out of the gap between the worksurfaces and the wall units? I don't imagine it would really notice. This might be a silly question but: underfloor heating would mean I could have all the radiators taken out, right?

The next question is the big one - it's approximately a 46 square metre area, what are my chances of finding someone that could do it in the next week? Slim, I imagine. I'm keen to have a kitchen in place at Christmas - microwave meals get old very quickly! Oh and any idea of ball park cost, to the nearest £1,000 or so?

You would not have the kitchen back and tiled before Xmas with the screed route IMO. Cost would not be particularly high for a small job like this - maybe couple of grand for the screed and pipework assuming you went for the RTL valve option. A manifold system would add more to the cost as you would need a pump and thermostat etc. I did mine myself with a RTL valve and it works a treat and I did it for significantly less. Taking up the existing and replacing with a screed is quite a big job in terms of disruption. Yes UFH would get rid of rads on the walls. If your kitchen has adjustable feet then you might be able to lose some height there as well. Finding someone to do it quickly would not be difficult.

If you want it back and finished by Christmas then Daves Suggestion is probably the quickest and cheapest and it would still give you a very good floor. If you want UFH you could also go for an under tile heat mat system as well. This would probably not get rid of rads altogether but would certainly supplement them to give a cosy floor.