tiling on 18mm ply???

[silenttiler]

hello,could anyone offer me some advice on tiling on marine ply?is it best to screw the ply dirctly onto the floorboards or remove existing floorboards then screw down ply onto joists?just abit worried about the height of the floor against the door.the room 6sqm.any advice please???

 

[DevonR]

Maybe it's too early in my tiling experience to offer advise but from my teachings this is how I'd go about it:

Secure any loose floor boards before laying the ply. First off prime the 18mm exterior ply, an 8x4 sheet is equivalent to 3 sqm. Lay the ply on top (coat the back in liquid nails), stagger them and leave a 2mm expansion gap between the boards and the walls (edges). Now screw the boards down with a maximum of 300mm centres (be careful to avoid pipework - perhaps try a turbo gold screw 25mm long with a 4.5 head and make sure there counter sunk).
Adhesive will be dependent on weather your using ceramic , porcelain or stone tiles. To finish the floor at the door way you can get finishing edges that will take the height of the tiling back down to the carpet level (try Dural). You may obviously need to shave the door down or advise the customer of this requirement as part of the quote if you do it or before strating the job if not.

Hopefully that's all present and correct and more than that - helpfull.

 

[L & R CERAMICS]

why are you using 18mm ply ,if the floor is steady and as devo says make sure floorboards are fixed you could use 6mm with a flexi rapid set adhesive and flexi grout then you wont have a step and you wont have to cut an inch off the door depending on thickness of tiles used

 

[DevonR]

The reason for 18mm is it's British Standards recommended to make the floor rigid. Sure you could use thinner but that's at your discretion and if it goes **** up it's also your problem to re-do as well.
What if he's using natural stone? Will 6mm ply support the weight? Again you could up the thickness but on stone even 12mm may struggle to support the weight and not recess. Just my thoughts.
Definately go with the flexi adhesive and grout though.

 

[L & R CERAMICS]

Good Point ,depending On How Big The Area Is And If The Floor Isnt Springy Id Use 6mm ,its Not As If Hes Putting Ten M2 Boxes In The Middle On Top Of Each Other,ive Never Used 18mm Ply In 16 Years And I Give A Callback Guarantee ,ive Never Had Any Probs

 

[DevonR]

Cool, I'm not trying to say I know better all I was doing is given advice based on what I have been taught (BS standards). I'm sure others adapt the thickness to what suits them as well such as 12mm for ceramics for instance. All I was trying to do was explain why 18mm and the reasons behind.

 

[L & R CERAMICS]

well what can i say ,32, tuarus, goodfellas, i think well get on fine,tell rotty i said hi ,you busy then

 

[Concept PHT]

18mil is the standard, but the customer never wants the step so explain potential outcomes if using thinner wood. Then tile as normal.

 

[DevonR]

well what can i say ,32, tuarus, goodfellas, i think well get on fine,tell rotty i said hi ,you busy then

???
Not sure I'm following.

 

[L & R CERAMICS]

???
Not sure I'm following.

ive just been looking at your website ,found what you do to be quite interesting, how long you been doing that for

 

[DevonR]

I've been in the print/graphics trade for 17 year in some shape or form, unfortunately the prospects in the North East are limited hence why I am looking at a move in direction. Saying that my experience will come in handy when creating an identity or website for my new direction once it is up and running.

 

[UKTT Darren]

18 mm is the only gaurentee you will have if anything goes wrong and you have to get an independant assessor out, if you are using a grands worth of natural stone tiles, are you going to take the risk, granted it does throw off a lot of height and is a bit impractical for a lot of domestic situations, I personaly use 12mm ply for most ceramic jobs screwed down well, i would never recommend anything less as problems can occur especially with grout cracking or tiles comming loose in time.