Plywood floored shower room on 3rd floor/loft room - Tile Advice

[gobby]

Got a job to see tonight, fire earth ceramics onto plywood about 2m sq apparently, lady tells me small job, quality ply blah blah. It's not local but the guy who put me forward told she's good for referrals and more work with her contacts. Said I'd view first and see if suitable but what would you guys be thinking already,, I can supply ady and grout if I want to, go around tray sink and toilet unless easy to get out, house is built within last 7 years. Bit apprehensive about ply having read the forum a bit but it's a small area however I've not yet seen it, opinions welcomed, Mark

 

[Stef]

Got a job to see tonight, fire earth ceramics onto plywood about 2m sq apparently, lady tells me small job, quality ply blah blah. It's not local but the guy who put me forward told she's good for referrals and more work with her contacts. Said I'd view first and see if suitable but what would you guys be thinking already,, I can supply ady and grout if I want to, go around tray sink and toilet unless easy to get out, house is built within last 7 years. Bit apprehensive about ply having read the forum a bit but it's a small area however I've not yet seen it, opinions welcomed, Mark

Depends on ply thickness, if it's solid & no bounce & provided it's not 6 or 9mm then I would tile straight onto it.
I'm not a great fan of tiling direct to ply now, I would always try & overboard 1st as I feel you get a better bond with using something like Hardie etc.
I also don't tile round sinks or toilets, the time spent cutting them in perfect then you are far quicker taking them out, if you can't do it yourself then tell client to organise a plumber.

 

[beanz]

I don't know about getting a better bond, not using ply.. I ripped a bathroom out the other week, and it was fully ply'd. Walls & floor!! Hardest rip-out I've ever done! The tiles came of in little 1 inch pieces.... It took 2 days to rip that blasted (for want of a better word) bathroom out!

 

[gobby]

If it's springy then I'll suggest taking her tiles back and fit vinyl tiles! (I can do them too) if it's patchwork ply then a 6mm cement tile backer board could be the way forward? Glued and screwed, i'd read not to use flexi adhesive with hardie but is that right? I used flexi rapid with 10mm marmox and ufh recently. I prefer and am capable of removing toilets and sinks etc but it depends on boxings & pipe heights and lengths, connections etc as to how much extra that is though as you say if I can't then her plumber can! You know it's going to be a pain when someone tries telling you its a tiny job and 'it''ll only take you half a day' and when you say I'll come in an evening to 'see' it they say 'do you mean to do it?' you have to explain no I need to see it first because if your tiles come up in 3 weeks time you wont be best pleased! Mark

 

[Stef]

I always fit Hardie with a flexi adhesive although they say you don't need a flexi as it's only there as a gap filler.
I've ripped Hardie up after I've fitted it & I can tell you it's more than a gap filler.
Oh how I hate jobs like that where the client tells you how it is, the joys.

 

[Qwerty]

Up to you what you are happy to work with with regards to removal of items. I would whip them out if it were me, but either way backer boards would be down over the ply before I tiled!

 

[charlie1]

I always fit Hardie with a flexi adhesive although they say you don't need a flexi as it's only there as a gap filler.
I've ripped Hardie up after I've fitted it & I can tell you it's more than a gap filler. 
Oh how I hate jobs like that where the client tells you how it is, the joys. 

i love over it when a customer tells you how long the job will take you... (Instant hatred!!)

 

[gobby]

and she said it in a very well spoken voice lol.

To be fair she might have been trying to convince me to do it rather than tell me how as she perhaps thinks it's not worth my while and it isnt local but she hasn't seen my price yet lol

Do you all screw hardie down as well as use adhesive, if so do you all use genuine Hardie screws (30mm) or others with 6mm, I was concerned they could protrude into a pipe or cable under the floor. I'm getting ahead of myself and I haven't been there yet but was thinking I'd offer her the choice and the risk and stick a disclaimer on it. Mark

 

[Stef]

and she said it in a very well spoken voice lol.

To be fair she might have been trying to convince me to do it rather than tell me how as she perhaps thinks it's not worth my while and it isnt local but she hasn't seen my price yet lol

Do you all screw hardie down as well as use adhesive, if so do you all use genuine Hardie screws (30mm) or others with 6mm, I was concerned they could protrude into a pipe or cable under the floor. I'm getting ahead of myself and I haven't been there yet but was thinking I'd offer her the choice and the risk and stick a disclaimer on it. Mark

Glue & screw your Hardie, I always make my adhesive a little thinner when putting Hardie down, walk over the top of it to bond it to the floor then use 25mm turbo golds from ScrewFix to secure it to the floor.
Them screws will bite in tight & the heads will never snap off them, I use an impact driver & you can batter through the boards.
The Hardie has a grid pattern on the face, just look for the circles & that's your guides for the screws.

 

[gobby]

Well it was a very tiny, triangle shaped ensuite in the corner of a loft room with a triangular shower in a 4 bed semi town house style new build with more angles than an angle finder could find, green chipboard floor and a concealed cistern with pan siliconed to the wall tiles. Didn't know where to start really and didn't bother measuring it but explained it would need hardie first then more cuts than a self harmer could muster and take all day including running up and down two flights of stairs on cuts. Suggested karndean wood plank vinyl tiles which I'm going to quote instead, nice lady that doesn't want to spend any money on it, I doubt I'll get it but nice part of the Cotswolds to drive around. Mark

 

[gamma38]

I have a job to go and look at, very posh lady (sounded posh anyway) much like your job she told me it's only 3sq mtrs. I said is it a splashback, no it's between a bathroom and an en-suite she said. Another tiler has done most of the work and it is just the awkward bits left, it will only take you about half a day she said, as that's what the tiler told her. I asked why he didn't finish and he she told me he felt ill. There is no way i am going to finish it but i am going to go and have a look, just to be nosey. i will try and take some pics if she leaves me alone.

 

[gobby]

Wonder why he felt ill, the awkwardness of the cuts? lol. I ask to take pictures, reminds me when I'm quoting but I didn't on that one. Small local jobs are fine but an hour round trip then you've got to get everything out and set up then later clean up and pack away on a domestic it adds time, half a day if your already onsite for a few days then maybe it is half a days work.

Funnily enough I saw a mate at weekend whose recent house move had him an ensuite with floor tiles that had risen due to a tiny leak from the shower door sneaking under the trays frame and got into the chipboard floor. Tiles were directly adhered (i use that term loosely!) to the green chipboard. Had been little used spare room by the previous owner but while redecorating he was using it frequently so found the problem.
Mark

 

[gamma38]

So i went to see said posh lady today. Basically it is wood chip wall paper on top of flaking plaster. I said i wouldn't tile onto it without prep. She said don't worry i'll scribe it for you so they stick, they are only small tiles. I still said no. The other guy didn't have a problem tiling onto it she said, well get him back to bodge even more tiling for you i said but i'm still not going to do it. I had to start getting a bit short with her as she just kept going on and on. I'm sure she will find a cowboy to do it for her.

 

[TJ Smiler]

So i went to see said posh lady today. Basically it is wood chip wall paper on top of flaking plaster. I said i wouldn't tile onto it without prep. She said don't worry i'll scribe it for you so they stick, they are only small tiles. I still said no. The other guy didn't have a problem tiling onto it she said, well get him back to bodge even more tiling for you i said but i'm still not going to do it. I had to start getting a bit short with her as she just kept going on and on. I'm sure she will find a cowboy to do it for her.

Sounds like your better off out of it anyway mate, some people just don't want to listen