Doh! Help

[Gary Lager]

Good afternoon tilers,

If only I had found website this BEFORE my tiles were laid.

I have some mosaic (travertine?) tiles laid on my bathroom floor. The house is a victorian terrace and I have been assured that the stirling board has been laid and screwed to the floorboards correctly and securly to provide a sound base for the tiling.

All well and good so far (I hope).

However, after purchasing some adhesive from a well know warehouse after brief advice from the one of their salesman and explanation of the above I bought the adhesive. All well and good

I have since discovered that the adhesive I was recommended is in fact for concrete floors and not for wooden ones!!! :sad_smile:

Now, at the time of fitting the tiler didn't point this out to me and proceeded to lay the floor with the concrete adhesive. The fact he didn't point this out to me is another argument for a later date. (After all he is the expert. I could take this point to the extreme in that he should have checked the adhesive to make sure it was suitable. If I placed a tub of custard in the bathroom to use as adhesive he would surely have informed me that was unsuitable!?)

Anyway, back to the point. Obviously given the expansion and contraction of timber should I expect the worst with my new tiled floor and the fact that he has used concrete adhesive? Will it crack in a short space of time?

 

[Varley]

Just because the adhesive wasn't flexible doesn't mean that the tiler has done it wrong, it all depends on which material he used to mix the adhesive with. If he has mixed it with water then your in trouble, the tiles will eventually come loose and grout will start cracking etc. But if he mixed it with a latex additive then everything is fine (as this would convert the concrete adhesive into a flexible adhesive suitable for wooden floors), maybe worth giving him a ring to find out.

I Hope this makes sense to you.

 

[Leatherface]

Would be an idea to ask the tiler exactly what he used - if not flexi or flexi additive then you are likely to have problems !!!:icon9:

 

[guy1976]

stirling board is not suitable for floors as there is to much movement and expasion when wet as it is basically just wood shavings compressed together

 

[Concept PHT]

Just because the adhesive wasn't flexible doesn't mean that the tiler has done it wrong, it all depends on which material he used to mix the adhesive with. If he has mixed it with water then your in trouble, the tiles will eventually come loose and grout will start cracking etc. But if he mixed it with a latex additive then everything is fine (as this would convert the concrete adhesive into a flexible adhesive suitable for wooden floors), maybe worth giving him a ring to find out.

I Hope this makes sense to you.

Well mentioned, and very true. 🙂

 

[Gary Lager]

Cheers, I have asked the tiler and he informs me that he did use a latex additive to use for the wooden floors.

As for the stirling board I am not happy with that, I was under the impression that Marine Plywood is the norm in such 'wet' areas. I raised that query with Topps Tiles and they surprisingly told me that although they have never had any problems with stirling board in bathrooms they recommend either.

 

[CON5933]

I was always under the impression that stirling board is unsuitable because of the resin used to hold it all together.