Durabase underlay - Tile Advice

[GeorgeG]

Hi guys,

I really need your professional experience on a project e are currently doing.

We have just had an extension to the rear of the kitchen, so the new part is a concrete floor and the old part is a wooden suspended floor. The builders have told me that they are weary of putting down tiles as they are worried about cracking between the new area and the old, also the movement that is going on the wood floor at the moment.

They are going to brace the wood floor area so that should cure that hopefully.

What I wanted to know is that could we run Durabase through the whole are and use flexible adhesive to cure the cracking issue? Has anyone had any similar experience with this product? Has it been successful. I have seen details on the internet saying that there is 3mm tolerance in movement with this product.

We are going to be having electric underfloor heating as well.

I really do not want to put hardwood flooring down in this area as we have young kids and a dog, which I can see ruining it within a couple of years.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Cheers

George.

 

[J Sid]

you will have to treat each area, wood and concrete as two separate floors with expansion joint between them and ufh to each.

 

[Rich Midge]

The easiest and British Standard solution is to incorporate a movement joint between the two substrates. Personally, if this was my project I'd lay thermal insulation backer boards brickbond glued and screwed over the floor after having first strengthened the timber half. UHF over this, slc over the wires then the durabase before finally the tiles. I'd also run the two areas on different heaters.

 

[Spare Tool]

Same same, why two separate mats though? That's a question not a criticism

 

[Rich Midge]

Even with the backerboards I'd imagine heat up, cool down will be different where they're laid over the concrete and the timber. Just trying to minimise any risk of failure. Happy to be told different though.

 

[peteablard]

The easiest and British Standard solution is to incorporate a movement joint between the two substrates. Personally, if this was my project I'd lay thermal insulation backer boards brickbond glued and screwed over the floor after having first strengthened the timber half. UHF over this, slc over the wires then the durabase before finally the tiles. I'd also run the two areas on different heaters.

Same for me with an expansion joint running between the two

 

[GeorgeG]

Thank you soooo much guys, I think that would really work, just have to run it by the builders on Monday. Also what does "SLC over the wires" mean?

 

[J Sid]

self levelling compound
used to completely encapsulate the wire and give flat floor to take tiles

 

[On one]

Thank you soooo much guys, I think that would really work, just have to run it by the builders on Monday. Also what does "SLC over the wires" mean?

I do hope you're not entrusting your tiling to your builder........please say no!