Restaurant floor

[willbones]

Hi all, happy new year. I've not been on here for a long time.

Tiling a restaurant kitchen floor. The fella doesn't have a clue about tiles, and he seems to think that those small brick red tiles are the way forward. I think the ones he wants are terracotta, not sure though - what are they likely to be? If you know the ones i mean.

If they are terractta, i've never laid it before. Its going onto wood floor that is a 20 mm thick maple dance floor screwed to floor boards.

Will normal flexi addy do the job? Does it need anything adding to it? What type of grout? Best way to cut them? Will they need sealing? SHould i seal them between laying and grouting?

So many questions - any answers at all would be very much appreciated.

Take care


Will

 

[davy_G]

T'cotta are a natural stone that 'breathes' if you like and will drink or absorb fluids like grout, cooking oil etc. The need sealing with linseed oil pre tiling.
I think your friend may be well advised to get a sealed porcelain tile, they are ealisy cleaned and wont absorb anything and very hard wearing. Should really be grouted with apoxy grout for commercial applications but should be Ok as its a floor with normal grout. Tiled commercial work surfaces need apoxy grout.
Probably cut them with a wet cutter and use 10mm plus grout lines depending on the regularity of the tiles.
If the floor is sound, free of movement and level then it should be Ok to lay with a flexible powder addy and grout. If not then ply it first. If you do go with t'cotta check with the tile supplier about their recommended addy & grout!

Good luck
Dave

 

[etc.tiling]

Hi there - that wooden dance floor: I bet it's been varnished about 700 times. You'll have a rough time trying to get something to stick to it!!! So, if it has been varnished then you ideally need to sand it down to bare wood, then make sure there are no protruding nails at all as these will seriously mess with the floor stability. Once you've done this, prime the floor to help adhession. Definitely only use a flexible adhesive (prefer BAL myself). If the tiles are terracotta you'll need to grade them by thickness and colour and seal them before laying them. If they are quarry tiles they should all be just about the same size but you should probably look at sealing them too - let one of the more experienced fellas answer that one but I'd do it because they'll still be porous. Some people advise you to soak quarry tiles before laying them because they are very porous and will suck the water out of your adhesive.

As for the grout - make sure you use a flexibe wide joint grout.

Hope this helps.

 

[etc.tiling]

Nice point from davy_g!! Epoxy grout is recommended for the catering trade but be warned in advance that it is not nice stuff to work with and can lead to very bad reactions. I know a very experienced tiler who broke out in a rash all over his body - a very bad rash! and felt like death for a week after using epoxy grout. But it is the recommended grout for the catering industry.

 

[Perry]

quarry tiles more likely

 

[Pawelzik]

Allthough willbones quetions was in March I would like to say that I have the same opinion as etctiling and Dave. Epoxy grout is often a must in business kitchens but bad to combine with t´cotta, therefore I also would recommend porcelain tiles. Here is something how my clients tile on wood, like the a.m. dance floor, and also on metal like e.g. in a lift. As "wood works, tile does not" they take a decoupling mate like the Panther IQ 200 from the german maker Oxiegen. This decoupling mate is special: it has a thickness of only 1,6 mm and is self-adhesive on the backside. Thereforte it can be laid and fixed to the wood directly, no waiting time needed, tile laying can start immediately after the decoupling is ready.
Best wishes from Germany, Martin

 

[GazTech]

Allthough willbones quetions was in March I would like to say that I have the same opinion as etctiling and Dave. Epoxy grout is often a must in business kitchens but bad to combine with t´cotta, therefore I also would recommend porcelain tiles. Here is something how my clients tile on wood, like the a.m. dance floor, and also on metal like e.g. in a lift. As "wood works, tile does not" they take a decoupling mate like the Panther IQ 200 from the german maker Oxiegen. This decoupling mate is special: it has a thickness of only 1,6 mm and is self-adhesive on the backside. Thereforte it can be laid and fixed to the wood directly, no waiting time needed, tile laying can start immediately after the decoupling is ready.
Best wishes from Germany, Martin

Martin Wills question was not in March.....March was when he joined the forum....Gaz
----

Hi all, happy new year. I've not been on here for a long time.

Tiling a restaurant kitchen floor. The fella doesn't have a clue about tiles, and he seems to think that those small brick red tiles are the way forward. I think the ones he wants are terracotta, not sure though - what are they likely to be? If you know the ones i mean.

If they are terractta, i've never laid it before. Its going onto wood floor that is a 20 mm thick maple dance floor screwed to floor boards.

Will normal flexi addy do the job? Does it need anything adding to it? What type of grout? Best way to cut them? Will they need sealing? SHould i seal them between laying and grouting?

So many questions - any answers at all would be very much appreciated.

Take care


Will

Personally I would remove the Maple and keep it for my house.,the Maple boards will be worth mega bucks.. overboard with backer boards and use standard flexi stuff... If this isn't possible, I would sand it down...prime with Bal APD acrylic primer and use 2 part flexible adhesives and wide joint grout with GT1 polymer added...there will be too much movement in maple boards for standard flexi adhesives......Gaz.

 

[Dan]

Personally I would remove the Maple and keep it for my house.,the Maple boards will be worth mega bucks

Get in! And you thought this job was going to be a bad one. 😉

Tell him you'll remove the 'rubbish' on this one

 

[GazTech]

Get in! And you thought this job was going to be a bad one. 😉

Tell him you'll remove the 'rubbish' on this one

pmsl....its the tinker in me lol

 

[willbones]

They are quarry tiles - how's best to lay these little bauties? I was gonna key the floor, prime with BAL primer, lay using BAL flexi, grout with W/J grout with GT1 admix in. Do the tiles nees sealing? If they do? Is it best to seal before I lay them, or between laying ang grouting? Will they cut on a flat bed dry cutter?

Many thanks guys, you are a fountain of knowledge as per usual

Will