Pictures of a mud bed for a small bathroom floor

[Rob Z]

Today we did a small mud bed for a bathroom we are remodeling. Here are some photos of the process for the younger guys that might not have done this type of work yet. This subfloor was out about 3/4" or so, and a mud bed was the only good way to get it ready for tile.


tilersforums.com | Tile Forums | Tiling Forum - Rob Z's Album: Small bathroom floor-lath and mortar

 

[Rob Z]

Hi Roger, No redwood here that is easy to find. For many years I used mahogany rips that a cabinet-maker friend of mine used to save for me. But he is gone now and even though I "lovingly" cared for the mahogany float strips...I finally had to toss them.

So we use pine lattice and sometimes flat metal stock.

That floor is spec'ed to get a crack isolation membrane so no wet-setting on that floor.

 

[Rob Z]

i done the first sand and cement job ive done in years a few months back these are reclaimed pamments.
these were from five different sources,sizes varied 12mm and thickness varied by 15mm,there was only about 30 spare tiles for the job
i quite enjoyed doing the job it made a nice change,and the builder gave me a labourer.
they were grouted with sand,white cement and lime this was to match the brickwork and to look authentic,it an extension on a big old manor house that sits in about 200+ acres.
this was labour only and fitted to the builders instructions this screed was 4+ inches thick in places.
okay this aint exactly tiling but it made a nice change,by doing this i went on to do all the bathrooms and kitchens on the refurb,i got paid with a coutts chq,the guy was a biggie in the military years ago and has just retired as an ambassador of some type around the world.

ive been trying to add pics via photobucket and trying to upload to album neither seem to happening.

Hi Old Git, we had a sunporch a few years ago that was like this. The slab was so far out of level that we went 4-6" deep in areas. The high side, the mud was only 1/2" to 1" deep. I think we went through two pallets of sand and about 12 bags of portland. A lot of work and I was happy once it was done.

 

[Rob Z]

i screed free hand then im from a plastering/screeding background .i tend to veiw screed rails as DIY if you have screeded miles like me you have a feel for it, if your not experienced i woul rec this meth good job rob

Hi Gooner, One thing that I wish to avoid here on a forum that is based in another country from my own is to state something and have it come across as "our way is the best way". So don't take this as anything other than my observations and work methods that are based on the way I was taught to do the work. BTW, Our TCNA (Tile Council of North America) is similar to the British Standards that I read being referenced here.

The TCNA has a world-class laboratory facilty in South Carolina, and one of the many tile and stone related methods and products that they have extensively studied and analyzed are the various methods of doing mud beds. The CV here is that the use of screed rails is superior because the installer can better compact the mud and strike it off, yielding a mud bed that is denser and stronger than the mud beds that are looser, less densely packed, and what we call "fluffier" -that are the result of floating the mud without rails. Many guys tell me that their way is good enough, but I have sat through many a class down at the TCNA and seen the lab results re: more densely compacted mud beds.

I'm not sure for myself because I have only done it the one way and I have never had any failures, but for all I know I might not have had problems doing it the other way, either. As it turns out, sending one of the men out on the floor with walkboards, to fill in the float strips, only takes at most 10 minutes or so for a floor of this size, so it really isn't a big labor issue for me.


I agree with you that using the rails would help a DIY'er with this, although at this point in my career I have done acres of this mud work and don't feel like a beginner anymore.

 

[oldgit]

Hi Old Git, we had a sunporch a few years ago that was like this. The slab was so far out of level that we went 4-6" deep in areas. The high side, the mud was only 1/2" to 1" deep. I think we went through two pallets of sand and about 12 bags of portland. A lot of work and I was happy once it was done.

i will stick some piccies up if someone tells me how,ive tried photbucket and ive tried uploading from my laptop to a file in my libary it just wont work.

 

[DHTiling]

i will stick some piccies up if someone tells me how,ive tried photbucket and ive tried uploading from my laptop to a file in my libary it just wont work.

The pic size needs to be no bigger than 2400 x 1200...if they are they need resizing first..

 

[oldgit]

i done the first sand and cement job ive done in years a few months back these are reclaimed pamments.
these were from five different sources,sizes varied 12mm and thickness varied by 15mm,there was only about 30 spare tiles for the job
i quite enjoyed doing the job it made a nice change,and the builder gave me a labourer.
they were grouted with sand,white cement and lime this was to match the brickwork and to look authentic,it an extension on a big old manor house that sits in about 200+ acres.
this was labour only and fitted to the builders instructions this screed was 4+ inches thick in places.
okay this aint exactly tiling but it made a nice change,by doing this i went on to do all the bathrooms and kitchens on the refurb,i got paid with a coutts chq,the guy was a biggie in the military years ago and has just retired as an ambassador of some type around the world.

ive been trying to add pics via photobucket and trying to upload to album neither seem to happening.

tilersforums.com | Tile Forums | Tiling Forum - oldgit's Album: pamments

 

[White Room]

Try again mate

 

[Rob Z]

Now you're good!

 

[White Room]

Worked that time

 

[hillhead]

Great demo of pics rob.well executed job.id like to tile that.lol.i had a big floor 2 wks ago and it was out 14mm over 8 feet! Had to level that.

 

[heavytrevy]

I hear what your saying ....but when the mud is alot wetter there really is no need to compact it, Also my screed is cement dense at 3:1 . my technique and I suspect Gooners are more like what concreter,s do every day.


Regards
Trev

Hi Gooner, One thing that I wish to avoid here on a forum that is based in another country from my own is to state something and have it come across as "our way is the best way". So don't take this as anything other than my observations and work methods that are based on the way I was taught to do the work. BTW, Our TCNA (Tile Council of North America) is similar to the British Standards that I read being referenced here.

The TCNA has a world-class laboratory facilty in South Carolina, and one of the many tile and stone related methods and products that they have extensively studied and analyzed are the various methods of doing mud beds. The CV here is that the use of screed rails is superior because the installer can better compact the mud and strike it off, yielding a mud bed that is denser and stronger than the mud beds that are looser, less densely packed, and what we call "fluffier" -that are the result of floating the mud without rails. Many guys tell me that their way is good enough, but I have sat through many a class down at the TCNA and seen the lab results re: more densely compacted mud beds.

I'm not sure for myself because I have only done it the one way and I have never had any failures, but for all I know I might not have had problems doing it the other way, either. As it turns out, sending one of the men out on the floor with walkboards, to fill in the float strips, only takes at most 10 minutes or so for a floor of this size, so it really isn't a big labor issue for me.


I agree with you that using the rails would help a DIY'er with this, although at this point in my career I have done acres of this mud work and don't feel like a beginner anymore.

 

[Rob Z]

I just remembered about this thread...I was at this job last week to measure for some more work, and snapped a few pics with my phone.

Someone earlier in the thread was wondering how the tub was going to fit into the design. The customer wanted a 'drop in" style tub used and we needed to do a bit of planning to get it all to work out.

My buddy Terry set all the tile. He had done other work in the house and when the owners asked for a full bath remodel we decided to work together on it because he stays strictly with setting tile and we handled the whole GC package for him (demo, framing, sub trades, plaster, painting, the built in cabinet, trims, hardware, and all prep for tile). He and I do a few joint projects a year and we work well together.

This tile was hand made from Pratt and Larson (based in Oregon). Terry installed Schluter Kerdi in all the wet areas and on the backsplash. The window got trimmed in tile which is really a rare thing for our area. I made extension jambs for the window and Terry ran to tile so that it just barely overlapped the edge of the jamb and thus was supported mostly on the wall.

Rob (Colour Republic) asked me once what the deal is with toilets here in the US...here is a good pic that shows how they are different from the ones used in the UK. The flange is typically roughed in 12" off of the finished wall.

 

[DHTiling]

Nice job there Rob.. cool feature on the shower back wall..

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

Nice job there Rob.. cool feature on the shower back wall..

I know this is an old thread, but it brought back memories. We used to fix that way, semi-dry screed. Still do when I have to, Rob Z pmed me today, and we discussed this method. Maybe he read Daves reply.

 

[Spud]

Excellent thread Rob,
The finished job looks superb the customer must be very pleased