Quartz tiles fixing to plyboard in bathroom

[chrislew]

Hi Guys and Girls
I ve got to lay some quartz tiles onto a bathroom floor on plyboard any ideas what type of adhesive(make) to use and any possible snags please?:smilewinkgrin:

 

[swanman]

I would use ultimate flex adhesive by gran fixgran fix

 

[Ian]

Hi Guys and Girls
I ve got to lay some quartz tiles onto a bathroom floor on plyboard any ideas what type of adhesive(make) to use and any possible snags please?:smilewinkgrin:

Is it a ply floor or a ply overlay? Can you use a cement board instead of ply/over the ply?

 

[chrislew]

Its a ply floor:smilewinkgrin:

 

[Sean SML Tiling]

Over board using a cement board or theres a good chance you will be replacing it a few months down the line.

 

[Martyn Leeds]

Definitely over-board.
Non-negotiable for me.

 

[beanz]

How big is the floor? How thick is the ply? Is the ply directly on the joists? Is it free of deflection?

 

[chrislew]

the ply is 12mm thick and the ply is on the joists

 

[beanz]

I don't think 12mm is even close to being enough..

 

[cam_low]

18mm minimum ply then overboard with 6/10mm tile backer board glued and screwed.

 

[Stef]

the ply is 12mm thick and the ply is on the joists

That will fail!! Nowhere near thick enough especially over the joists,
As stated above min 18mm then overboard with 6mm Hardie.
If your down at joist level then put in extra dwangs, noggins to strengthen up the floor.

 

[Brian the Tile]

no problem with ply ,most on here say no you must not use it,well i have laid tiles on ply for years with no problems ,ply to be as thick as you can screwed every 4 inch square so there is no movement,ask at your tile store for the best flexible adhesive and grout you can buy, make sure yo seal the ply and you should have no problems ,but better still get a tiler in to do it for you who isnt afraid to tile on ply

 

[Mr Tiler]

How can you fix the ply down at 4 inch centres if it is sitting on top of bare joists? Not a sarcastic question mate cheers

 

[J Sid]

Why take the chance on tiling on ply. Put some detra on it and it will not fail, and is a small extra cost.

 

[Brian the Tile]

hi mr tea bag ,you dont come across many ply floors onto joists ,i presume the ply was onto floorboards,maybe the poster will let us know

 

[Brian the Tile]

Julian can you give me a reason as to why not tile onto ply apart from you have been told not to or you have had a problem? also why pay extra when you dont need too

 

[Mr Tiler]

hi mr tea bag ,you dont come across many ply floors onto joists ,i presume the ply was onto floorboards,maybe the poster will let us know

its 12mm ply straight onto joists mate. that is why I asked I got a bit confused thinking you would have to have noggins every 4 inches lol

 

[Gazzer]

Just 12mm ply onto joists ? not 12mm ply overlaying the original boards ? Far too thin.

 

[J Sid]

Brian, i have seen many floors and wall's which have failed on ply.
The tile often cracks over the joint in the ply if a good adhesive is used and the tile remains stuck to the wood.
The tile pops of the wood if the wrong adhesive is used.
If you are going to use Ardex adhesive, for instance, they say two layers of ply should be laid over each other with joints staggered and the backs and edges seal with polyurethane varnish.
Ply is not water proof and moves due to damp in building.
If ply is down and can not be replaced for, say, hardie board, that's why i use detra over the top.
A couple of pics of cracks in ply when tiles were stuck well to the wood, and what can happen when moisture gets into the ply, even with detra.

 

[Brian the Tile]

sorry mr tea bag i didnt see that bi ,if so a deffinate no no no

 

[Mr Tiler]

Just 12mm ply onto joists ? not 12mm ply overlaying the original boards ? Far too thin.

I know surely with a mans weight on it it would be bouncing when walked on

 

[Brian the Tile]

Julian ,the jobs that you have seen cant have been done right in the first place then can they ,the adhesives that i use say on the bags ,if tiling onto ply you must ......etc are they wrong also? i have no problem with people using hardie backer boards or other boards ,what i do have a problem with is folk telling people that you can not use ply

 

[J Sid]

Brain i would not tell you you can't tile onto ply, i wouldn't do it as i think there are better ways.
Just because it says it is suitable on the bag of adhesive to fix to ply, people should look at how the ply is fixed and follow the instructions on the adhesive manufacture's data sheet, who does.
Check out Ardex data sheet for fixing to ply.

 

[Brian the Tile]

i dont use Ardex so wont be looking at no data sheet and neither will i be telling people not to tile onto ply we wll have to beg to differ

 

[J Sid]

Ok Brian. What adhesive do you use?

 

[Martyn Leeds]

I've got to lay some quartz tiles onto a bathroom floor on plyboard any ideas what type of adhesive(make) to use and any possible snags please?

The original question was regarding what adhesive to use and a general 'any tips please' type of post.

I'd assume that the poster was happy to proceed on 12mm ply on joists.

My advice would be to politely tell the client/builder/whoever, that its a little out of your comfort zone and to get an experienced tiler in to do the work.

 

[Brian the Tile]

i use mainly bal but also use granfix and would ue tilemaster if i could get hold of it, good stuff imo

 

[J Sid]

Hi Brain, just been having a quick look on internet on adhesive manufacturers site to see what they say you should be doing when fixing to ply.
Looked at bal, weber and ardex so far, and all have different ways to deal with this surface.
This is why i stick to using Detra over ply.
When i get the call to tile a floor the ply is all ready down, so unless i want to unscrew it ( and probably remove shower) lift and fit as recommended so it can be tiled, that's why I use detra.

 

[Brian the Tile]

hope he hasnt laid on that ,or trouble i forsee

 

[Brian the Tile]

thats no problem Julian do what you think is right in your own mind then you wont trip up will you, ( only when going into the room you have just tiled lol) keep on trucking i dont need to look things up experience counts and i dont want to argue on a public forum so you do it your way and all that ,whats an improver in the tiling game by the way ?

 

[Andy Tiler]

Hi Brain, just been having a quick look on internet on adhesive manufacturers site to see what they say you should be doing when fixing to ply.
Looked at bal, weber and ardex so far, and all have different ways to deal with this surface.
This is why i stick to using Detra over ply.
When i get the call to tile a floor the ply is all ready down, so unless i want to unscrew it ( and probably remove shower) lift and fit as recommended so it can be tiled, that's why I use detra.

It's Ditra by the way