Tiling bathroom floor - bitten off more than I can chew?

[Andrew F]

Morning all,
I'm at a bit of a crossroads tiling my upstairs bathroom floor:
I've taken up 2/3rds of the tiles already there and they're leaving a lot of adhesive behind on the 12mm ply they were laid on. So - once I've finished with the old tiles - I would prefer to take the ply up as well and start completely from scratch. I believe the ply is screwed into floorboards underneath. The room is about 2.3m square.
I'm wondering what my options are for what to put down, working up from the floorboards, to make the surface to tile on. I've read around the forum boards and there's mention of 6mm and 12mm ply and Hardibacker sheets, too (which I recall seeing in Topps Tiles when we got the stuff we're using).
In case it makes any difference, the tiles I'm using are Zamora Brown 30x30 for the floor and at the same time we got those we also got Bal single part flex adhesive and Bal superflex w/j grout. The walls are being done too, but hopefully they won't require as much thought when I get to them...
BTW this isn't my day job! I'm just a weekend DIYer but have been well-pleased with tiling I've done in the past, but those projects required much less thought than this...
Any guidance appreciated! Thanks!!
Andrew

 

[Dan]

Welcome to tilersforums.com | Tile Forums | Tiling Forum!

Welcome to tilersforums.com Andrew F. Thanks for introducing yourself.

 

[jimbob]

:welcome::welcome:

 

[marke]

:welcome:hi mate i think your along the right lines IMO take the ply up and replace with same but does somewhat depend on which tiles you are laying , providing there is no movement in the floor you can just prime the floor and tile away ( i personally always like to use 2 part flexi in reboarded upstairs bathrooms) , but that can be considered a bit belt and braces although is security against even the smallest of movement.

good luck

 

[Andrew F]

Thanks guys!

So: replace the ply and prime it, and don't be distracted by Hardibacker - the ply will be enough (it certainly seems to be the case based on what's already there - no cracks at all).

Just to be sure: what's the difference between 2 part and single part? And what do I need to apply to the ply to prime it?

Thanks again for the quick response. This site is an absolute godsend - very friendly and informative.

 

[garretridge]

hello and welcomre to the forum!

 

[Rad2474]

12mm ply screwed down with 250mm centres providing your floorboards are sercure will be ok for you. Make sure you prime the top and sides of the ply with sbr primer.I use 25mm turbosharp screws which give a good grip and your not going to go through the floorboards and hit a pipe of something plus they drive into the ply really easy.

 

[DHTiling]

Hello and welcome...

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

hi :welcome:

 

[White Room]

Hi and welcome

 

[Colour Republic]

Hi Andrew, if the floor is already solid (and the previous tiles/grout showed no sign cracking) on I would be tempted to put a self levelling compound over the lot to give you something nice to tile on. If they have indeed screwed the ply down (which they should have) you won't find it very easy to lift and could make a mess of the floor boards below. If you wanted to go the whole hog then by all means go for it and start afresh but SLCing over the lot would be completely acceptable IMO, quicker, cheaper and easier

 

[Bartlett]

:welcome: Hi and welcome.

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

:welcome: I agree with my learned colleague colour republic,if ply is secure, leveling compound should be the answer, try googleing Levelflex.I have used it recently, and was very impressed.