Kitchen Floor - Large Format? - Tile Advice

[Steve335]

Hi - this looks like a really great forum and I’m hoping I can get some advice.

We have a kitchen extension to refloor - at the time it was built we just got a cheap laminate put down. I’m thinking tiles will be a good option now.

1. It’s ~ 7.5 x 3.5m but take the footprint of the units out the equation and 25m2 of tiling should cover it.
2. It needs levelling - it’s on the **** in several directions thanks to the builders who I haven’t seen since they untied their horses and rode off into the sunset...
3. We are thinking large format tiles 800 x 800 would look nice. We like modular but they seem to be two to three times the price!

My questions if anyone has 5 mins to help.

1. Should the levelling be competed by the tiler or a separate trade?
2. Are large format tiles straightforward to fit? I’m assuming less labour intensive than say the modular tiles and less grout lines will be better for my eye.
3. If there’s not much difference in the labour can anyone recommend a good value modular tile? I like the fact that the lines are not uniform but I haven’t seen many at reasonable prices - the large format tiles can be sourced for around £22m. We want something simple like the attached. Thanks in advance.
   

 

[Dave]

Yes your tiler should he able to SLC no problem and imo bigger tiles are not easier to install as the base needs to be spot on. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Steve335]

Yes your tiler should he able to SLC no problem and imo bigger tiles are not easier to install as the base needs to be spot on. Let us know how you get on.

Thanks Dave - appreciate the response. I’m getting some quotes in this week for levelling and tiling.

 

[Bond]

Preferably the tiler should do the levelling as well. Personally l would insist on doing the levelling, because the quality of the overall finish is in the preparation.

 

[Perfect Tiling]

As above....tiler should be able to do it all. Just remember though that if your large format tile in a kitchen gets damaged by a falling plate...pan etc....it can be a buggar to replace. I've had a couple of them to remove and replace and trying to take the damaged tile out without damaging a neighbouring one or the decoupling mat took ages.

 

[Steve335]

Thanks for the advice. Just by way of an update I didn’t get this project completed. The tilers who quoted recommended 600 x 600 tiles as a max, which is fine. However the big issue was the floor, because 1/3 of the kitchen is on quarry tiles.

Option 1: Dig out the quarry and start again - starts getting expensive.

Option 2: Paint a DPM over the top of the quarry tiles. Level and tile, but no guarantee against subsequent movement.

Has anyone ever gone for option 2 and had issues at all?

Thanks
Steve