Tiling Bathroom...Advice Appreciated

[umar299]

Hi everyone,

I am tiling my bathroom and have been reading a lot of great advice on here. I will be starting soon and had a few questions to ask, since this will be my first attempt at this sort of work.

I have floorboards that I will be tiling onto, would it be sufficient to use 12mm WBP plywood and then 6mm insulation board, as I don't really want to raise the height of the floor? or would you recommend using 18mm plywood with 10mm insulation board? (considering there is little movement in the floorboards).

Would it be okay to use Wickes flexible rapid set tile adhesive or will Mapei/Bal adhesive make life so much easier? Also what is the difference in the colour of the adhesive, does it matter which one I use?

I going to be laying beige ceramic tiles and am still not entirely sure which colour grout to use on the floor and wall? I plan on using anti-bacterial and flexible grout, which brand would you approve?
In addition, where should I purchase both the grout and tile adhesive from? I live in West London, Hayes.

I will be laying Under Floor Heating mat and confused what brand would be suitable for bathroom heating? At the moment am looking to purchase Warmup Heating mat, do you advise otherwise? and where shall I purchase this from?
I would like to confirm after laying the UFH mat do I need to apply Tile adhesive on top and then SLC or can I just apply SLC on top and then Tile adhesive and tile, to save on the cost?

Thanks for reading, I really appreciate any help.

Umar

 

[Qwerty]

It would be far better to replace boards with 18mm WBP ply and then overboard this (6mm board will suffice). Make sure there is no deflection (bounce) in the floor.
I would personally recommend you use Mapei adhesive & grout and you can find these in any local Tile Giant.
As for the UFH, warmup is good stuff and I use it 99% of the time, but give Uheat a go (forum sponsor) as the mats they sell are excellent too. SLC over the mat to encapsulate it all and then tile on top of this.
Good luck!

 

[Qwerty]

As for colours..... You state light tikes, so use white adhesive. Grout colour is a personal choice really, but beige2000, jasmine or vanilla will look best (jasmine is most popular)

Welcome by the way & make sure you introduce yourself in the new members thread.

 

[umar299]

It would be far better to replace boards with 18mm WBP ply and then overboard this (6mm board will suffice). Make sure there is no deflection (bounce) in the floor.
I would personally recommend you use Mapei adhesive & grout and you can find these in any local Tile Giant.
As for the UFH, warmup is good stuff and I use it 99% of the time, but give Uheat a go (forum sponsor) as the mats they sell are excellent too. SLC over the mat to encapsulate it all and then tile on top of this.
Good luck!

Hi,
Thanks for your advice. I am unsure as to when you say 'replace boards' do you mean to remove the floorboards and screw in plywood to the joists? Also I understand I need to apply SLC on top of the heating mat, but do I need to apply tile adhesive and then SLC or am I okay to just apply SLC?
Apologies for asking so many questions is just that I have looked at a few videos and they all differ, therefore am trying to make sure I do use the correct methods.

Thanks your help is very much appreciated.

Umar

 

[Martyn Leeds]

Welcome, Have we had any quotes from any local tilers ? There might be a top notch tiler available in your area, who, fingers crossed might be able to do it all for a decent price, maybe.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Not sure why removing floorboards with little deflection will be of financial benefit just to replace with 18mm plywood.
Overboarding is required either way.

 

[Qwerty]

Most people take up boards to replace or renew plumbing, or end up with a patchwork quilt of boards. I prefer to remove all as they are usually warped, damaged, badly fixed and I like to know what the plumbing is like underneath before I put my name to it. I then replace with nice new Wbp ply. Just a thought, and John is right..... Either way needs over boarding

 

[Rookery]

My standard way would be:
1. Screw boards to joists, replacing any dodgy ones.
2. Glue and screw 10mm Marmox. Mapei Keraquick grey.
3. Lay UFH mat/loose cable using duct tape.
4. Flood mat/cable with SLC. Weber Floorflex.
5. Fix tiles, 3mm joint. Mapei Keraquick grey.
6. Grout, similar colour to tiles. Mapei UCP.
Obviously you need to satisfy yourself that the subfloor is sound.
The UFH needs to be conditioned correctly or you risk undoing all your hard work and more expense.

 

[umar299]

Thanks all for the advice.
Finding a tiler is out of the question, as I wanted to attempt it myself and learn.

"Not sure why removing floorboards with little deflection will be of financial benefit just to replace with 18mm plywood. Overboarding is required either way." this is exactly what I was thinking, assuming my floorboards are in good condition would I get away with 12mm plywood?
Excuse my vocabulary but when you say 'overboarding' what does it mean?

Bloco, I understand what you mean when you say "I'd like to know what the plumbing is like underneath before I put my name to it,' I will be making sure all floorboards are attached properly.

Rookery, I do not understand how 10mm marmox board will be effective. Also when you say 'the UFH needs to be conditioned' what do you mean.

Thanks again all, for the help.

 

[Martyn Leeds]

Hence my question of entertaining quotes from local tilers

 

[AtlasTony]

if you are going to purchase warmup for your UFH - i always recommend to my customers that they purchase the Warmup insulation boards too, they may be a little costly - but it will not only warm the tiles up almost 60% faster than without - but they generally pay for themselves within 2 and a half years.

 

[AliGage]

I believe warm up require insulation boards to validate their warranty. But i would use marmox. Better and cheaper than warmups own.

 

[Qwerty]

I'm with aligage on that