New Tilers Support - 2

[marbleman]

Hi all
just finished a job floor tiling over 15mm ply.
Trouble is the theres a small bit of movement in the floor and the grout is starting to crack.

I'm not sure that the grout was flexible.

What can i do to solve this problem.

TIA

Mike

Hi how long has the the floor been down, what materials where used to tile to the timber floor, did you seal floor, was the floor screwed down properly, if so then the grout has to be cut out and replaced as it will just keep cracking sorry mate,
regards
marbleman

 

[Jules]

New here, and was just having a bit of trouble... when I'm cutting tiles with an angle grinder, I'm getting a lot of cracked tiles (particularly tiles that have a lot of fiddly cuts in them). Any suggestions what I might be doing wrong?

 

[poynton phil]

Re: which blade???

got to get a new blade for my rui dw 200 n, as the one supplied dont cut porcelain, as well as being bent. just wondering which would be best a marcrist 850, or a rubi??? could really do with a quick response on this as i need it asasp thanks a million if you can help.:huh2:

 

[Brindle]

Re: which blade???

Don't know myself, but saw this in relation to the cutter.....The diamond wheel that is supplied with this machine is suitable for general ceramics. If you are cutting porcelain, granite marble and travertine etc then the Marcrist CK850 diamond wheel is highly recomended

 

[r&k]

i had a kitchen which was 4m2 wall tiles (ceramic) and 13m2 (porcelin) it took me 6 days as was my first job. there were a few cuts but not too many.

am i very slow??

 

[doit4u]

I sympathise with the old problem of time/cost. I have been at it for a couple of years initially part-time and now full time but I still don't seem to get it right some of the time. I shy away from giving a fixed price and will only give estimates and tell the cutomer the hourly rate then if you hit problems and explain them I find most people are OK.

I do decorating and other small DIY type jobs as well as tiling and I found with fixed prices the customer will often add in extra bits "could you just do this while your here" and then seem surprised when the bill comes to more than the quote.

I also struggled with pricing for a while and as I live in a rural area thought the fairest way to charge was time on the job plus mileage as I was asked to travel up to 20+ miles to a job, but quite a few people commented that others didn't charge for travelling. You have got to cover the costs/ time somehow so I finally decided with advise from Business Eye {Welsh business advisory service} to increase my hourly rate a bit and not charge travelling within a 10 mile radius. I f people want me after that I explain the extra costs and then its up to them. I never say I won't go the distance but receently suggested to a potential customer that it might be cheaper to look for someone more loacal as they were 35 miles away.

Chris

 

[slimhoare]

i wanna tile my kitchen. I am installing 24x12 porcellan tile. everybody talks about 5/8 plywood as a minimum subfloor. my question is: I have 3/4" waferboard and on top of that i have 1/4 plywood, on top of the plywood i have linoleum flooring. Is it possible to tile over the current waferboard/plywood if i screw the current floor better and using ditra after removing the old linoleum stuff?????

 

[DHTiling]

i wanna tile my kitchen. I am installing 24x12 porcellan tile. everybody talks about 5/8 plywood as a minimum subfloor. my question is: I have 3/4" waferboard and on top of that i have 1/4 plywood, on top of the plywood i have linoleum flooring. Is it possible to tile over the current waferboard/plywood if i screw the current floor better and using ditra after removing the old linoleum stuff?????

You will need to check what your deflection in the subfloor is like first
...Ditra is not designed to strengthen a timber floor.......

 

[slimhoare]

Thanks Dave, My floor is pretty solid. There isn't any movement that I have noticed. My house is only 4 years old. They used the typical manufactured floor joists spaced 16" apart. If the floor is solid/no deflection, do some people tile over it using ditra? I've only helped my Dad tile his floor. His was a new house being built with the 5/8 tongue and groove ply. he still put ditra down. I'm just wondering what people do in my case. Let me know if you have any other helpful tips. take care

 

[DHTiling]

What tile are you installing.....the ditra will cope with lateral movement ( expansion of the timber floor) no problem.....
Now i believe with your terminolgy ( lol ) that your are usa based.....
so you have different standards with ditra to the uk.......

You will need to stick the ditra down with modified adhesive and then tile on top with standard set...but i do belive you can get Ditra set in the usa...if location is wrong then i will tell you the uk way...

As for the subfloor then you need to make sure it is well screwed down and no movement......always follow the adhesive manufactures guidelines of subfloor preperation for tiling ( i.e. priming )........