Second project - just checking I'm doing it right

[Futuregrout]

Hi all

I'm tiling my second kitchen, and just wanted to check in with you all that I'm doing it right. At my wife's insistence, we are having exactly the same tiles as we had in the last kitchen but as the surfaces I'm tiling on to are different this time, I want to make sure my approach is sound.

Wall tiles

Glass mosaics - like this:

http://www.wallsandfloors.co.uk/catrangetiles/mosaic-tiles/glass-brick-mosaics/blue-mix-6882/9673/

I'm doing the splashback and area between worktop and wall units - about 2.5m2 in total. Last time I cut the glass tiles with my (cheap) wet cutter. I absolutely hated doing it, I got shards of glass everywhere, it took forever and it was torture. I used BAL white star adhesive and I was tiling on to freshly plastered solid walls - I liked the adhesive. I used BAL Microflex grout, and that was fine too (I originally bought epoxy grout but chickened out of using it).

This time it's similar but walls are plasterboard, they've been skimmed and (irritatingly) painted. I plan to score the paint to help give me a key, and use BAL White Star and BAL Microflex again. But is there a different way to cut these things? I'll happily buy some new tools if it means avoiding cutting them on a wet cutter! There is lots of cutting to be done as I've got to go around 4 sockets and 4 FCUs.

Floor

I'm using black quartz starlight tiles (300x300). I'm only tiling the visible area of the floor - about 4.5m2 in total. Last time I used a wet tile cutter, but if there is a dry cutter that works Ok with these then please let me know. My subfloor this time is a suspended floor, but with a solid hearth area covering about one fifth of it. I've had to take up the floorboards (they were in terrible shape) and replaced them with 18mm exterior ply sheets. I then put down hardibacker (just screwed, no adhesive per the vendor's suggestion), primarily to bring the plywood section of the floor up to the level of the hearth area but also to give me a nice surface to tile on. However I'm a bit concerned that the floor still feels a bit springy - the tiler who did my bathroom wasn't too concerned but suggested I put down ditra mat if I was worried. So, this is what I plan to do: put ditra-mat over the hardibacker (which will give me a totally uniform surface), and tile on to that using Kerakwick grey flexible adhesive with a 10mm square notch trowel.

My questions for the floor are: Is it worth using the ditra mat? I've already bought it so it's a sunk cost. If I should use it, do I need latex additive for the adhesive (both for sticking the ditra mat down, and for tiling on to it). Can I do anything to test whether the floor is suitably solid for quartz tiles? Is there anything I can do to help if I'm concerned that the floor is a bit springy? e.g. a different adhesive? And - is there any tool other than a wet tile saw that I can use to cut 10mm quartz tiles?

Thanks for your help with this, I appreciate it.

 

[judge]

Hi futuregrout,You can use a manual cutter for most cuts on these tiles.Just lay something on the bed of the cutter first if its got springs ( ie .ply).Also for the finner cuts you will need a decent quality blade in the wet cutter.( ats diamond blades).Fixing to paint really isnt a good idea.Can it be removed ? If its emulsion and very few coats it could be sanded ?
You will need a quality blade in youre wet cutter for the quartz tiles too.The only way to cure the spring in the floor is to remove the Hardi and ply and get plenty of noggins in to strenghten thebeams.Then when replacing the Hardi onto the ply use non flexi addy before screwing Hardi down.:smilewinkgrin:

 

[Futuregrout]

Thanks, Judge - much appreciated. Sadly, taking up the floor is no longer possible - there is a kitchen installed on top of it now! When I took the floorboards up and looked down I did think of noggins, and then I thought "these beams are rock solid and on brick pillars already - it's going to be like a concrete floor!". Sadly, it turns out that this is not the case. It is by no means terrible and it might just be me being paranoid, but it was not as solid as, say, the bathroom floor that the builder "flooded with screws" ready for the tiler. I'm just really really reluctant to spend money and time lovingly laying the tiles if the subfloor is not really suitable. Far better to acknowledge that I didn't do the correct preparation and simply go with something a bit more forgiving - I imagine engineered wooden flooring would be OK on it, for example. Which is why I'm wondering if there is some simple test I can do; and/or whether the ditra mat will make any significant difference.

As regards the walls: on one side it's just a mist coat, I think I can probably wash it off. On the other side we painted it with kitchen paint (the original plan until my wife put her foot down and insisted on tiles) - sanding it is possible, I've got a half-sheet sander that will do it in no time without gouging the plaster.

 

[Sean SML Tiling]

Ditra is o ly designed for lateral movement not vertical. If it was me I would put a laser down and see how much the floor bounces before I do anything.

 

[Stef]

I wouldn't tile that floor if I turned up to the job, it's not the appropriate way to fix Hardie, it needs to be glued & screwed.

 

[Futuregrout]

Thanks all. I'm a bit miffed about the hardie. It was very cheap, but I did ask the shop how to fix it and they said just screw it down with the special screws - they specifically told me not to use adhesive. I'm not sure it makes much difference though, I'm thinking that the best thing to do here is to lay engineered wood flooring instead as I have no way of knowing whether the floor is suitably solid for tiles. Given that I didn't put noggins in and used the wrong method for installing the cement board, I suspect that it is not. My main concern is that the tiles will span the join between the solid hearth floor, and the suspended floor. If there is any movement at all at that point, I imagine I'm in real trouble.