i was hoping somebody could advise on this?

i am redoing my mates bathroom from top to bottom, and the final part will be a new floor finish...

he does want lino (understandable lol) or laminate floor. so i suggested tiling to floor.
weve seen some really nice blue tiles, they are 333mm x 333mm and about say 8-10mm thick.

his dad said dont be daft they will be too heavy for the floor. i thought the floor will hold plenty of weight.

however, i know the weight is spread and not a point load, but holding a box of 9 tiles (1m2 cover, we need 7 boxes to cover the 7m2 floor area) and they are bl**dy heavy!!!

i know its hard to answer, but what do you think, any ideas, or are me and his dad just being daft and can it easy hold the weight?

the house is circa 1890's victorian with think stone walls. the floor joists look strong, but not sure how they are fixed to the walls, did they use galv wall hangers in that time?

ian :)

how much does a tile weigh?

even at 2KG a tile you are only talking 130 KG including adhesive and grout, which is about the same weight as two small people.

Tiled my upstairs bathroom no problems at all. Spread over the floor area the weight would be far less per square inch than a person and tiles look beter than lino, IMO.

Everyone I spoke to recommended 10mm boarding and then tiles. Went to Topps tiles who suggested using their flexible adhesive and grout, staight onto the floor boards and it's still perfect 8 months later.

Always lay 1/2 inch marine ply down first and screw at 12 inch centers.

Mog

Mog,

That is the recommendation from most people, but I have had no cracks at all using Topps flexible adhesive system.

So long as the floorboards are stable and relatively flat, I don't think there is any need to lay ply first. I did screw down the boards every 3 inches though, along the joists. Obviously if they are just nailed every 12 inches, they may be some movement!

Dan

cool,

will deffo lay them then, lino is mingin lol :D

i have already layed sheet wood onto the floorboards in advance, plenty of nails. floor is perfectly flat and solid now.

each tile: would guess by holding about 1-2kgs each yes, so not much in reality spread over the floor is it.

just wanted to check though!

thanks for the help, ian :)

DJ140..what you have to remember is that if you use a flexible adhesive straight on the floorboards and the tiles are quite large, the tile will probably crack as the tile is not flexible.

Mog

Ian,
the joists would be built into the walls as they are on most new houses now, if they've lasted that long, they should be ok, however, if you don't want to put thick ply down, just put 3mm weatherproof stuff, at least you won't wreck the floor boards when the tiles need to come up!!

yeah i think its just 6mm plywood, nothin special, does the trick though :)

You could use hardboard as a liner - put the grainy side up - much easier to cut and shape than heavy ply, doesn't expand or shrink and you can get rid of it if you ever get bored with the tiles. Only suitable if your floor if even to start with, and you should nail it at 6 inch centres. You should always use flex adhesive unless you are laying on a concrete floor anyway

A bit numptie I'm sure, but where do you get half inch marine ply, and why specifically that (I've read it a couple of times on here).

Cringing as I ask the next one, but what does 'screw at 12" centres' mean.

Be gentle....please

hi mate,

you should be able to get the wood from any type of builders merchant, i got it from the local one near where i live.

as for the screw at 12" centres, what that means is put a first screw in, then the next one 12" away from the first, then the third a further 12" away etc etc. its only rough, doesnt need measuring perfectly.

hope this helps
ian :)

Marine ply handles water splashes better than ordinary plywood. Your requirement is for bathroom use. Gentlemen don't always hit the target ;)

Doug

Cheers for the info guys.