Self Levelling Advice On Sunken Quarry Tiles

[Steggy]

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping someone could give me some advice for how I can get some floor tiles in my kitchen.

I'm in the process of refitting it with help from my father in law. The original floor was vinyl, on top of a mostly crumbled self levelling cement on top of some very unlevel quarry tiles.

So far we've removed the vinyl and the cement, finding mould underneath the vinyl and in a bid to try and level the floor we found that the quarry tiles were sitting on sand.

My original plan was to use some mapei self levelling compound.

https://www.NoLinksToThis/p/mapei-ultraplan-3240-self-levelling-compound-25kg/4959f

And then this matting from topps tiles.

Durabase CI Matting 1m2 | Topps Tiles - https://www.**********.co.uk/tprod8778/durabase-ci-matting-1m2.html

And then some ceramic floor tiles from b&q.

But I've just tried to measure the height difference and one corner is about 45mm below the level of the highest point. And I'm worried that I'm going to be spending a lot of money trying to bring the floor level enough to tile on. It's not a huge kitchen 6.5m2 but it looks like I might need at least 10 sacks at £20 a pop, just for the levelling compound.

I'm also a little unsure about what primer I can use on the quarry tiles before putting the levelling compound down.

Can anyone give me some advice on what I should do, or what products I could use? Or even if there is a better solution, or something I've not considered.

 

[Ajax123]

Are they old quarry tiles?

 

[Steggy]

Yes it looks like they are original tiles, it's a Victorian End Terrace house.

 

[Andy Allen]

You probably don't have a damp course, which is why they use quarry tiles.
Covering them without addressing the damp course issue is a bad idea.

 

[Steggy]

I've kind of lost faith in damp courses as the owner before me had spent thousands putting one in (not sure if it went as far as the kitchen). And we still had problems with damp in our living room.

I'm pretty sure I saw some drill holes in a row in the wall of the kitchen the other day. I can't confirm now as we've covered the walls with a waterproof membrane. But that's what I've always assumed was a chemical DPC.

Anyway, I was hoping that the matting I mentioned in my original post would help to tackle damp issues. Would I be better off putting something else down before self levelling compound?

 

[Ajax123]

Yes it looks like they are original tiles, it's a Victorian End Terrace house.

Take them up and sell them... my local reclaim yard charges £1 a tile. That should cover the cost of putting in a new polythene DPM and a new screed. You should not level or tile directly over them as there will be damp. As no underfloor DPM is present a liquid DPM is not a sensible option.

 

[Steggy]

We managed to remove some of the quarry tiles. But very few tiles came up fully intact. Would there be any harm in putting a polythene DPM on top of the tiles rather than the sand underneath them?

What product would you recommend for screed? Just bog standard cement?

 

[GoneGuy]

Once you have remedied the damp issues I would recommend porcelain tiles for the floor, you’ll find the b&q ceramic tiles too thin and fragile for use on floors

 

[Steggy]

Once you have remedied the damp issues I would recommend porcelain tiles for the floor, you’ll find the b&q ceramic tiles too thin and fragile for use on floors

Annoyingly B&Q have stopped doing the tiles we picked out, these are the closest ones they do now.

Cirque Black Stone effect Ceramic Floor tile, Pack of 9, (L)333mm (W)333mm | DIY at B&Q - https://www.diy.com/departments/cirque-black-stone-effect-ceramic-floor-tile-pack-of-9-l-333mm-w-333mm/161765_BQ.prd

Are these likely to be too thin?

 

[Dumbo]

We managed to remove some of the quarry tiles. But very few tiles came up fully intact. Would there be any harm in putting a polythene DPM on top of the tiles rather than the sand underneath them?

What product would you recommend for screed? Just bog standard cement?

If you put a polythene Dpm down you would have to blind the floor first with sand to make sure you have no sharp edges from damaged tiles and then a minimum of three inches of screed on top of the dpm. I'm no builder so check what I have said .

 

[Ajax123]

You could put down the DPM and then apply a thin screed. 15mm liquid screed (gypsol ts15) is fine for this type of application if you have space...

 

[Steggy]

You could put down the DPM and then apply a thin screed. 15mm liquid screed (gypsol ts15) is fine for this type of application if you have space...

Thanks Ajax123, I think I might be able to get away with 15mm, any more than that and the step into the kitchen will be a bit too high. I couldn't find any retail shops that sell gypsol ts15, so I've tried to get in contact with some suppliers.

 

[GoneGuy]

Annoyingly B&Q have stopped doing the tiles we picked out, these are the closest ones they do now.

Cirque Black Stone effect Ceramic Floor tile, Pack of 9, (L)333mm (W)333mm | DIY at B&Q - https://www.diy.com/departments/cirque-black-stone-effect-ceramic-floor-tile-pack-of-9-l-333mm-w-333mm/161765_BQ.prd

Are these likely to be too thin?

Being only 7.6mm thick and ceramic I wouldn’t use them on floors especially in a high traffic area such as a kitchen

 

[Steggy]

So at the moment time is my biggest enemy. If I was to dig up the tiles, is there any screed I could put on top of a DPM that would dry enough within a week?

I've got 3 weeks booked off work starting the week after next. And I really don't want to spend the first week watching screed drying.

Worst comes to worst I could reschedule with work I guess.

 

[Albert]

So at the moment time is my biggest enemy. If I was to dig up the tiles, is there any screed I could put on top of a DPM that would dry enough within a week?

I've got 3 weeks booked off work starting the week after next. And I really don't want to spend the first week watching screed drying.

Worst comes to worst I could reschedule with work I guess.

There is Ball rapid cement, takes the place of ordinary cement and can be tiled after 24 hours