The BS allows for a deviation of +or- 3mm over 2m for the flatness of floors and that floor appears to be adequate. Rather than use a straight edge it is easier to use a laser level to provide spot height measurements that will identify a more complex picture than a simple dish. Normally, levelling the floor is only done for carpet/vinyl finishes because tile finishes can accommodate floor level variations by adjusting the bed thickness, which good tilers are able to do. I had one supermarket job where the floor was so out of level that the minimum bed of 25mm for the terrazzo was at only one spot and the bed thickness had to increase up to 140mm(!) to accommodate the low points. I now specify Schluter Ditra matting underlay to tile surfaces as this maintains the bod of the tiles and spans over possible movement in the slab. Tiles cannot accept any movement of the substrate because there will be reflective cracking and debonding. This is most important on construction joints.
Finding a good tiler is really hard, I have been teaching it for 20 years, the good ones are really busy, never out of work and make a lot of money, most people think tiling is easy but there is a lot to it and when the untrained try it they find out quickly that they are out of their depths and pack in
Yes Jack, the better you are taught the better you will become, The last 2 tilers of the year have been trained by myself, so many people end up with bad techniques or no training at all, resulting in poor installations
I have an old 1970s house where the wall separation from the kitchen / dining area was knocked down. Under the ceramic tiles the kitchen floor is cement and the dining area has wooden joists. The previous owner put porcelain tiles over the whole floor that wasn’t leveled off. The tiles break regularly for obvious reasons. Any any idea how to fix this problem where the two floor areas are cement in one area and the other area wooden joists. How on earth can I fix this. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
This is a movement joint where there is expansion of the wood but not the concrete so when a tile bridges this joint they fail, there should have been a decoupling membrane put down over the whole floor prior to tiling. If its only the tiles above this joint failing and if your just wanting to replace the ones that keep breaking, then you could try a product called BAL Fast Flex, it is a highly modified powdered adhesive which is better that a normal adhesive, also try adding silicone to the joint colour matched to the grout so this can add stress relief if any movement occurs, its not the best solution as this would be to replace the whole floor with the correct products to stop this happening, but its worth a try for a repair to the problem your having if the tiles are just breaking over the joint, hope this helps
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The BS allows for a deviation of +or- 3mm over 2m for the flatness of floors and that floor appears to be adequate. Rather than use a straight edge it is easier to use a laser level to provide spot height measurements that will identify a more complex picture than a simple dish.
Normally, levelling the floor is only done for carpet/vinyl finishes because tile finishes can accommodate floor level variations by adjusting the bed thickness, which good tilers are able to do. I had one supermarket job where the floor was so out of level that the minimum bed of 25mm for the terrazzo was at only one spot and the bed thickness had to increase up to 140mm(!) to accommodate the low points. I now specify Schluter Ditra matting underlay to tile surfaces as this maintains the bod of the tiles and spans over possible movement in the slab. Tiles cannot accept any movement of the substrate because there will be reflective cracking and debonding. This is most important on construction joints.
Thanks for the reply, good information there
👍
Thanks
Really good video, good tradesman are really hard too find now days. Do you think tiling is a dying trade?
Finding a good tiler is really hard, I have been teaching it for 20 years, the good ones are really busy, never out of work and make a lot of money, most people think tiling is easy but there is a lot to it and when the untrained try it they find out quickly that they are out of their depths and pack in
@ukprotilingtraining676 no I agree with you mate. You are only as good as your trainer would you agree darren
Yes Jack, the better you are taught the better you will become, The last 2 tilers of the year have been trained by myself, so many people end up with bad techniques or no training at all, resulting in poor installations
I have an old 1970s house where the wall separation from the kitchen / dining area was knocked down. Under the ceramic tiles the kitchen floor is cement and the dining area has wooden joists.
The previous owner put porcelain tiles over the whole floor that wasn’t leveled off. The tiles break regularly for obvious reasons. Any any idea how to fix this problem where the two floor areas are cement in one area and the other area wooden joists. How on earth can I fix this. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
This is a movement joint where there is expansion of the wood but not the concrete so when a tile bridges this joint they fail, there should have been a decoupling membrane put down over the whole floor prior to tiling. If its only the tiles above this joint failing and if your just wanting to replace the ones that keep breaking, then you could try a product called BAL Fast Flex, it is a highly modified powdered adhesive which is better that a normal adhesive, also try adding silicone to the joint colour matched to the grout so this can add stress relief if any movement occurs, its not the best solution as this would be to replace the whole floor with the correct products to stop this happening, but its worth a try for a repair to the problem your having if the tiles are just breaking over the joint, hope this helps
That’s very kind of you to respond. It’s much appreciated.