Porcelain floor tiles

[Aston]

there will be times when you have to fix tiles onto ply. as beam say's plumbers AND builders always ssem to go for it. mostly down to unintentional ignorance and being set in their ways imho..

it doesnt really matter if you used 100mm thick ply (if they made it ) and screwed it every 50mm, its still has all the concerns that dylante listed. as i wrote yesterday, we need to be progressing forward if we can and that means educating our clients, builders and in some instances, other tilers.....as i said at the begining, sometimes you'll have no choice but always explain why, ply is not a stable substrate in the same way as a tile backer board is.....

 

[Aston]

Hi
thanks for the feedback, quick update I did use marine ply (exterior) then gave it 2 coats of waterproof pva, so hope this works!!

waterproof pva??

 

[Rich]

The OP has already laid the ply (18mm, which is thicker than most people seem to use, 12mm generally appears to be an acceptable minimum).
I must have read hundreds of posts regarding tiling onto ply and, maybe I'm wrong but, on the contrary, it seems totally acceptable as being suitable to tile onto. I'd be interested to hear other tilers views on this??:bigear:

We all Have to tile onto ply if we want to stay in business. My point was if he could have over boarded with a backer board than I would advise it. As he cant, it doesnt matter. Ply is not an ideal substrate to tile onto for the reasons I have listed above and another thousand that the guys on here could add. We only tile on to the stuff because builders, plumbers, customers and
(unfortunatley) some tilers dont know any better. Brilliant post by Diamond, I couldnt agree more. It is down to us (professional tilers) to tell people what needs to be done to ensure a sound installation.

 

[Rich]

Hmmm...PVA??

 

[aflemi]

We all Have to tile onto ply if we want to stay in business. My point was if he could have over boarded with a backer board than I would advise it. As he cant, it doesnt matter. Ply is not an ideal substrate to tile onto for the reasons I have listed above and another thousand that the guys on here could add. We only tile on to the stuff because builders, plumbers, customers and
(unfortunatley) some tilers dont know any better. Brilliant post by Diamond, I couldnt agree more. It is down to us (professional tilers) to tell people what needs to be done to ensure a sound installation.

Sorry, I can't see Diamond's post on this thread? I am always willing to learn from more experienced tilers and am very interested in your views. It's just that I can't remember reading anywhere previously that ply was regarded in such a negative way. That's why I'm interested to get a broad coverage of input if I'm to change my practices.
Do people have floor tiling failures because of ply being used that they can identify? I must admit I thought the main advantage of BB over ply on floors was the thickness. I don't think even Hardiebacker make a big point of this inherent weakness in ply compared to BB in their publicity.
Still interested to hear others experience of this??

 

[Rich]

Oops!! I meant Aston, Sorry

Its not just the thickness (although that is a big advantage). I spent months putting right an entire site on two different occasions. The first time was 32 5 bed houses, every single kitchen floor (ply) lifted and I had to put it all right. I didnt tile it in the first place so I cant be sure if it was done correctly. The second time was another site of 19 4-5 bed houses, same thing but all the bathrooms (ply). Same again, I wasnt there when the floors were layed so cant say that they were dont correctly but has made me very unsure of ply floors. Why dont you put a new thread up and get some feed back on other guys views?

 

[Ken Bruty]

Hi

I always worry about tiling onto ply, I'm always expecting the dreaded phone call with a problem. If I have to do it, I always advise my customer that there is a risk involved with doing so, and the product I use is Weber Rapid plus adhesive mixed neat with Weber AD250 primer, it's absolutely unbelievable how strong the bond is, you never ever get a full tile lifted after it's stuck and cured. I always use hardie or ditra matting if possible.

All the best

Ken

 

[Scott]

I've always used ply and never had a problem or a call back, (Ultra primer and ultra 2 par flex)

However as mentioned its all down to education and i will be using more hardie now

 

[TrumpersUnited]

Hi

I always worry about tiling onto ply, I'm always expecting the dreaded phone call with a problem. If I have to do it, I always advise my customer that there is a risk involved with doing so, and the product I use is Weber Rapid plus adhesive mixed neat with Weber AD250 primer, it's absolutely unbelievable how strong the bond is, you never ever get a full tile lifted after it's stuck and cured. I always use hardie or ditra matting if possible.

All the best

Ken

As long as the 18mm plywood is screwed down every 200 or 300mm to the joists then weber rapid plus and ad250 would be my choice. If the joists span are bigger you'll have to put in extra noggins.

 

[Richard Edwards]

As stated previously - Ply does and can have it uses and ultimately its down to you as a fellow professional. Installed correctly and tiled with the best 2 pack adhesives it will be fine. I've probably overlayed 50 bathroom floors with this system and the 'Correct' ady. I've also chosen to use Wedi or Lux boards and sometimes Hardie if the application would be better suited to the latter. Never had a recall on any floor whatsoever. The only issues is when I am called in to sort out remedial problems caused by other tilers and when you start to lift the tiles - it is nearly always due to either (a) poor installation techique or (b) inappropiate ady for the substate / stability etc.

Ply if want to - Paul McCarty !