Tiling on a suspended floor

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

Hi Sukie, As Dave says above. Why should you incur any extra costs, this job does not conform to BS 5385. The builder should rectify bad code of practice faults ie. PVA dot and dab etc. I would pursue him through the courts if I were you. If he had adhered to the correct methods, you would not be in this position. Good luck, and let us know how you get on

 

[Sukie666]

So I can't reuse the current ply? No one has mentioned that before. That would complicates things enormously. There is a fair amount of flex in the floor. You see it bounce a bit if you are heavy footed when walking. Obviously it would be difficult to replace the ply without removing the kitchen. But with the kitchen stretching 7 meters long (L shape) with a composite worksurface and glass splashback throughout + a large island - impossible.

Does anyone else agree with this? Can I negate the effect of the PVA somehow?

Though not guaranteed, I was encouraged to hear Doug's thought on my option 2 with the ditra mat for extra support. Now I am very concerned again. As it stands, would anyone recommend lifting the tiles and replace it with an engineered wooden floor?

Dave & Phil, I know I shouldn't have to pay for any of this, but trying to get the builder back to do anything has been close to impossible. I have considered going down the legal route but having spoken to a number of friends and other people who has had problems with builders - the consensus is it's not worth the bother. No one i have spoken to has ever got anything money back from the courts.

What to do, what to do........my dream kitchen is now a nightmare.

 

[mikethetile]

if you can feel the deflection then any tiling job is going to fail, your builders should have gone through this with you at the time and resolve it before tiling

its a difficult one this, engineered wood is not the best in a kitchen as water ingress will damage it over time, tiles are the best option but will require a lot of prep now to put right.another option is Karndean

you chose and paid for a tiled floor and really you should get what you paid your builder for. problem is if you let your builder away with this you lose out and yet another builder gets away with it

we can help you through this

 

[doug boardley]

So I can't reuse the current ply? No one has mentioned that before. That would complicates things enormously. There is a fair amount of flex in the floor. You see it bounce a bit if you are heavy footed when walking. Obviously it would be difficult to replace the ply without removing the kitchen. But with the kitchen stretching 7 meters long (L shape) with a composite worksurface and glass splashback throughout + a large island - impossible.

Does anyone else agree with this? Can I negate the effect of the PVA somehow?

Though not guaranteed, I was encouraged to hear Doug's thought on my option 2 with the ditra mat for extra support. Now I am very concerned again. As it stands, would anyone recommend lifting the tiles and replace it with an engineered wooden floor?

Dave & Phil, I know I shouldn't have to pay for any of this, but trying to get the builder back to do anything has been close to impossible. I have considered going down the legal route but having spoken to a number of friends and other people who has had problems with builders - the consensus is it's not worth the bother. No one i have spoken to has ever got anything money back from the courts.

What to do, what to do........my dream kitchen is now a nightmare.

Sukie I said that ditra would help negate lateral deflection that is the sideways movements. Ditra will not add extra support for vertical deflection ie "bounce" and that if vertical deflection was present, even with ditra it would still lead to tiles debonding.

 

[Sukie666]

Doug, that was understood but thanks for the clarification. Just that, having some hope was just better than none.

I know this is a tiling forum and I guess most would suggest retiling properly. But if I don't want to take the kitchen up completely, is replacing the tiles with a wooden floor my best bet? Anyone please?

thanks
Sukie.

 

[mikethetile]

its entirely up to you

fitting a wood floor is viable

 

[Sukie666]

Mikethetile, you said Karndean is another option - I thought like Amtico it requires the floor to be perfectly level and stable? I would be happy to use Karndean/ Amtico if we don't have to go through the same level of pain as retiling. Please advice.
Thanks
Sukie

 

[mikethetile]

it needs to levelled but will still cope with a small amount of deflection, your floorlayer could assess the deflection in the floor for you

likewise with the tiling , if you pm Dave he could ask a member near you to do a report for you

 

[Sukie666]

Mike, thanks - i'll look into it. Will probably go with the retiling still as most of the tiles will be reuable and I like them. Have to see how we can best do this and if the builder will actually come back.

Dave - could you please recommend someone in the SW London area to do an inspection?

Many thanks
Sukie

 

[doug boardley]

Sukie, I'd be surprised if you managed to salvage a decent percentage of the tiles to be honest.Cement based adhesive will be very tough to get off the tile backs without damage to them.