Travetine stone onto floorboards

[itaylort]

Hi all, ive been on the wetroom site getting some great info of grumpygrouter and i have swapped forums now for possiblities on general floor tiling.

I am about to buy some travertine stone tiles for the bathroom floor.

I have read some of the other threads that some say 6mm ply some 12, and even 18 i think.

The floor is floorboards onto joists.

Many Thanks for any help

ian

 

[grumpygrouter]

How big is te floor you wish to tile? Travertine is heavy stuff and you will probably find you need to brace your floor to eliminate "bounce". 18mm ply would be best for this IMO.

 

[itaylort]

Grumpygrouter you are everywhere:yes:

The floor is 3m x 3m

 

[DHTiling]

Also once you have the floor strengthened i would use a product like ditra to prevent any lateral cracking of the stone from thermal stress associated with timber floors......

 

[grumpygrouter]

Grumpygrouter you are everywhere:yes:

The floor is 3m x 3m

You had better believe it

 

[itaylort]

Grumpy grouter,
Thanks again for your help, i have been digesting the previous info and looking at if how when why etc

The floor is made up of 3m joists which are at 16 inch centres.
The joists are 8 x 2 1/2 inch in size.
The floor boards are 6 x 1

Is this a normal make up?

Ian

 

[grumpygrouter]

Seems pretty normal to me Ian.

 

[itaylort]

Thanks,
Again to confirm that the floor is strong enough to support the travetine physically, but the weight of the tiles would create excessive bounce which would mean cracking grout problems?

Ian

 

[grumpygrouter]

if it was me Ian, I would be 1)ensuring the current boards are securely fixed to the joists 2)lay self leveling compound (if required) 3)screw 18mm WBP ply down to the boards a no more than 300mm centres, only screw INTO not THROUGH the floorboards and 4) lay Ditra/durabase decoupling membrane 5) lay the tiles!

Sounds a lot of work I know but Travertine, like most stone is expensive stuff so it is a shame not to do it right and have it crack and need replacing!

 

[White Room]

The thing that amazes me people spend vasts amount of money on natural stone then try and penny pinch when looking for quotes to get them laid:huh2:

 

[itaylort]

Grumpygrouter,

SOunds good to me. Ive just looked at the website and it quotes,

Before installation, the durabase ci mats are cut to the required dimensions. The thin-bed mortar or flex mortar is applied to the substrate by means of a 4mm serrated trowel. The mats is pressed, (using the smooth side of the serrated trowel), into the previously applied mortar so that it binds with the entire fleeced surface

What is the mortar its refering to?

Ian

 

[White Room]

Adhesive, Single part flexible

 

[itaylort]

Can the same stability be gained by using a cement based board over the floorboards?
Just looking at options

 

[grumpygrouter]

Cement based boards do not add strength to a floor Ian. 1 company - No More Ply - claim it does as long as you use their own expensive adhesive but no one has produced data confirming so.Are you a bit worried about the finished height of the floor?

 

[itaylort]

Not really, i imagined about 30 mm rise for the floor. I am really just trying to get it straight so that i can move on and get the floor done:8:
i wouldnt want it to fail and start cracking tiles. The durabase seems the more flexible option and with the addition of being waterproof s i think i will gor for that. A bit steep at £165 tho.