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Tiling uneven wooden floors

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choco

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My wall tiling isn't bad but I haven't done that much floor tiling.

I've got a bathroom (1.7m x 1.9m) and a small cloakroom to do. It's an old house and the existing floor boards are all over the shop. Very uneven with gaps and corners missing, etc.

I am thinking of screwing down the boards as tight as possible, then putting down a sheet of ply (not sure what thickness, though?) and then using one of those floor leveling cement jobby things.

Am I going far wrong with that?
 
Rip up floor and replace with min 18mm WBP ply, then 6mm Hardiebacker glued and screwed then tile.

If existing boards were acceptable you could screw firmly down and the Hardiebacker on top.
 
If you secure your boards with well countersunk screws, and hire a profesisonal floor sander to level the boards with, you probably wouldn't need to do much more than lay exterior ply. Seal it up with varnish, and use a mastic sealer around the edges and on the seams.
 
Thanks all, particularly Phil.

I will take that advice. I notice that suppliers offer a hardwood or softwood WBP option. Which one should I go for? And any recommendations on the glue to stick the Hardibacker down with?
 
18mm WBP ply at around £30 for 8x4 sheet is what you want, screw to joists at 150mm spacings and have noggins bracing the joists together especially where board edges meet.

Prime the ply, with the relevent primer and get some bogstandard rapidset powered tile adhesive and set them down onto that using 6mm trowell. Screw them down while the adhesive is wet and be quick as some rapid sets go off really fast. Adhesive is there to fill voids and remain flexible, don't be temped to use cheaper dri wall adhesive for sand & cement and they will crack.

Tape joins in hardie backer and then tile.

Overkill? You bet, but the correct way to do it these days.
 
Phil said:
18mm WBP ply at around £30 for 8x4 sheet is what you want, screw to joists at 150mm spacings and have noggins bracing the joists together especially where board edges meet.

Prime the ply, with the relevent primer and get some bogstandard rapidset powered tile adhesive and set them down onto that using 6mm trowell. Screw them down while the adhesive is wet and be quick as some rapid sets go off really fast. Adhesive is there to fill voids and remain flexible, don't be temped to use cheaper dri wall adhesive for sand & cement and they will crack.

Tape joins in hardie backer and then tile.

Overkill? You bet, but the correct way to do it these days.
Click to expand...


If it's for an ordinary bathroom, it seems like massive overkill to me.

Personally, I would just lay strand-board over the top of the existing boards if substantially raising the height of the floor isn't a problem.

If the OP is renewing the suite, I would pull up the old boards and lay OSB strand board, which will maintain the floor height, be cheaper, and involve less messing about.
 
Don't get me wrong I'd happily do it the easy way and save myself a lot of hassle but I had a new tile floor fail on me after 6 months once, (12mm ply overlay) and sorting it out was such an expensive nightmare that every floor I tile now is done 100% solid.

Don't want anymore calls like that, nor do I want to worry if tiles are going to start cracking again.
 
strand board or stirling board as it is also called is not the correct sort of boarding to use in any tiling situation. if water were to penetrate it would swell like chipboard does. you need wbp ply and only sealed on the edges and bottom, not the top and certainly not with varnish! the tilers forum has loads more advice.
 
I'm a belt and bracers man myself Phil, but I'm wondering if the OP is prepared for removing the toilet pan and the basin, bearing in mind that what you describe will probably mean a rise on the overall floor level of at least 30m, probably more.

With a bit of luck and juggling, he can probably work around the bath, and cut a couple of inches off the doors (don't forget the "mind the step" sign), but to leave the pan and the pedestal embedded in the floor is pushing the "bathroom chic" image, imo.

So if the pan and pedestal are coming out, why not whip the bath out, rip up the old creaky uneven boards, and lay a nice new, highly water resistant and stable floor using OSB? Lay the tiles, replace the suite, all with the minimal increase in floor height. What you suggest sounds really solid, but I'm thinking it's only going to be as good as the foundation, in this case, creaking old floorboards.

There will be the issue of whether he should use copper or flexis when replacing the basin and cistern, and I wish him every luck on that forum thread!

If I were the OP, I'd be inclined to get a couple of free estimates from some flooring specialist firms, and see what they say - which can be seen as free advice if he decides to take the job on himself being fully aware of what is involved. Which is not to doubt Phil's advice, rather, if someone sees what is involved, they can advise on how far to go with the belt and the bracers.
 
steveb said:
strand board or stirling board as it is also called is not the correct sort of boarding to use in any tiling situation. if water were to penetrate it would swell like chipboard does. you need wbp ply and only sealed on the edges and bottom, not the top and certainly not with varnish! the tilers forum has loads more advice.
Click to expand...

Have a read here:-

What is OSB? OSB vs Plywood | JOSB Done

A builder who lives at the back of my place has built a workshop out of strand board, it's been there for years in all wind and weathers, he hasn't even painted or coated it, and it's as sound as when it went up.

Strand board is nothing like chipboard, and is used out of doors all the time with no problems at all, and is recognised as being more resistant to water than even exterior ply.
 
If floor boards can be screwed down and floor is deflection free just overboard with hardie. Bedded on SPF. Screwed with s/s screws
 
Excellent stuff, lads. What a cool forum. I've been on the Tilers forum and received some very useful (and similar) advice but they don't seem to have as many lurkers on there.

As an update, I've cleaned all the **** out of the bathroom this morning and the floor is in a lot better nick than I'd remembered it. The loose and uneven stuff is on the side which will be under the bath. The standing/walking areas are actually very well fastened with tongued and grooved boards.
 
Based on the questions you have needed to ask choco, I suggest you get an on-site opinion, apart from raising the floor, you will be putting a lot of extra weight on the joists.

Cheers for the snide remark btw.
 
choco said:
Excellent stuff, lads. What a cool forum. I've been on the Tilers forum and received some very useful (and similar) advice but they don't seem to have as many lurkers on there.

As an update, I've cleaned all the **** out of the bathroom this morning and the floor is in a lot better nick than I'd remembered it. The loose and uneven stuff is on the side which will be under the bath. The standing/walking areas are actually very well fastened with tongued and grooved boards.
Click to expand...


The tilers over there don't really like outsiders epecially plumbers who do their own tiling! It is a great forum though.
 
look up schluter ditra watched a tiler lay that over floor board and tile straight on top. we couldnt lift the floor as was a listed building and attatched to the underside of the floor board was the kitchen ceiling. the floor was all over the place to beging but by the end you couldnt tell he rekons it was better then ply. and used it on most jobs as it was unbelivebly time and cost effective
 
Ditra is an uncoupling membrane. It will prevent any lateral movement in the floor debonding the tiles. It will not strengthen the floor it will not get rid of deflection. Use it a lot with natural stone and ufh. never used it straight onto floor boards, but never used no more ply neither. doesn't fill me with confidence I like to use 18mm ply onto joists with uncoupling membrane or floor boads overboard with hardie glued and screwed! Just my opinion though.
 
If theres any deflection in the floor use ditra with mappei flexible adhesive I've used it a few times with no problems.
 
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