Tiled floor help!

[JacqueslePeacock]

I was planning to tile my hall floor (currently rather scrappy floorboards) with Victorian-style patterned ceramic tiles, but the tiler who came to quote this morning said that he doesn't recommend it since the boards will move and the tiles will crack. He said he could put down a layer of board over the floorboards, but it still won't look great and will be v expensive. He suggested looking at alternatives to tiles.

I'm now a bit stymied. Are there are any alternatives to tiles that would like like a Victorian-style floor? The rubber/vinyl ones I've looked at all look like...well...rubber! I looked at Karndean too but they seem more like wood or like large flags - not the look I wanted at all in my tiny hall.

I'd stick with the original plan but get another tiler. If you screw the boards down well and use a product such as cement board cut to fit the space and also screwed into the floor, I think it should be fine. People tile over wooden floors all the time.

Thanks! I was a bit mystified as I presume the hall was probably originally tiled.

The tiler said that screwing boards and putting board over would be v v expensive (he didn't seem willing to quote for it). Has anyone has this done? I'd love to know roughly how much it might be.

Screwing down boards you can do yourself - you just have to know where the joists are (the nails in the boards should tell you this) and avoid any potential pipes or wires. The cement board is about £15 for a 1200mm long panel. If you have an electric circular saw you can cut it yourself (don't try hand-sawing it ) but, honestly, it isn't a difficult job and any professional should be able to do it very quickly.

Oh no, a second handyman has just been to quote for the job and told us the exact same thing!

He said that after about 5 years, because it's in a place with a lot of through traffic (the hall), the tiles will crack, even with a cement board underneath. He also refused to quote. Do I need a more specialist tiler??

Dunno. Maybe there is something special about your hall? I know lots of people who have the original Victorian tiles in their hallways and they still look pretty good so I don't know why they will only give yours a five-year lifespan. Where did you buy the tiles? Perhaps you could ask for advice there?

I haven't bought the tiles yet (thank goodness) as I wanted to wait for the quotations. Not sure what to do now at all.

It's just a normal narrow Victorian terrace hall. I really don't want to put down Marmoleum, which is what the second bloke recommended, as I think it would look all wrong. But if no one will do the job, I might be a bit stuck!

Speak to a tile shop that sells these tiles, explain what you have been told, ask it will be problem and whether they know any tilers who work regularly for them who can come and advise?

Get another tiler!!

My bathrooms are both tiled on top of Georgian scrappy floor boards.

A layer of marine ply and then Ditra matting and then adhesive and tile.

The Ditra provides non flexing strength without adding thickness. It sort of absorbs the bounce in the wood subfloor.

Phone Mandarin Stone or Stone Vale who both supply tiling and Ditra matting.

Laying the marine ply and Ditra matting is a days work. Perhaps two if the area is very large. A couple of hundred quid extra at the most.

Seriously avoid that tiler he sounds crap and uninformed.

Oh and you do need an adhesive between the marine ply and the Ditra. Can't recall name but ask supplier.

Thanks v much. The area is tiny - less than 3 square metres so I can't imagine it could be too expensive, but the two failed tilers have scared me. I will call the tile shop tomorrow.

I'd be cautious if two have said the same.

I know a lot of Victorian floors were tiled but I don't think they were necessarily tiled on top of boards iyswim?

I have also tiled a bathroom floor - well I got someone in to do it as the tiles were too large for my cutter, but I usually do floors myself and did my kitchen totally alone.

I had to screw down 12mm marine (or WBT grade - bit cheaper and does the job) ply all over it, and every about 3 inches at least all over the surface. Seriously - it took a few days as it's an awkward shape.

Oh and I had to do it twice as the first time I used 9mm and the tiler refused to lay them over it till I added another layer of 3mm...sob

anyway then he did it,

it is a tiny area but only about 3 whole tiles, (40cm ones) the rest were funny cuts. It gets very little traffic, and he still said, it may still crack.

It hasn't so far but I get what he's saying.

I would trust your tilers and plan something else tbh. Sorry. Boards can look lovely stained dark?

also might it mean the floor is rather higher - I mean, are they saying that it will be too high and look silly with the wood underneath too?

I have a small step of probably 3cm up to my bathroom floor now - had to take a bit off the bottom of the door, etc. This would be an issue in a hall with carious doors leading off.

various

Hmmm.....thank you Rooners, lots of food for thought there. I hadn't thought about the height thing. Bugger. I really wanted tiles. The floorboards are not really nice enough to be on display.

You could have the boards replaced with new ones - I mean nice, proper, engineered ones that will look beautiful.

I feel your pain though as I adore old tiles.

I could do, but I'm not sure it would be worth it for such a small area, especially with the cost. It would also show up our (only slightly nicer) floorboards in the other rooms off the hall! It looks like I may be stuck with the vinyl tiles then...

OP. there is no issue with tiles! Just finding a decent tiler.
Now that is hard!

I fully refurb and refitted two bathrooms and kitchen last year.

I interviewed (as in got the around to do quotes and chat) 4 seperate outfits for the bathroom installation and tiling. And some of the crap a couple of them talked!!! It was unreal. Two of the companies were clueless. Absolutely not a clue.

And yes one of them told me I couldn't have tiles because of the Georgian wood floors! And that I should get vinyl!!!
Erm no not when you have ordered bespoke fabricated Limestone shower trays with matching limestone tiles, solid brushed stainless steel shower fittings bath filler and taps and a polished cast iron bath. Oh and bespoke teak wash stands.

Vinyl doesn't really fit in there.

The ones I hired were fab. And the job they did was amazing!!

And yes, in the large family bathroom (20ft by 15ft), we had to have two layers of marine ply to even it out. And then Ditra matting on top.

It took less than a day to lay the marine ply two layers and the adhesive and Ditra on top. So your hall will be at day at worst.

Once you have evened out the floor with the marine ply, the Ditra absorbs bounce as you walk on the floor. Here
www.schluter.co.uk/produkt.aspx?doc=6-1-ditra.xml&pg=funktion

It also serves to waterproof if you're using it in a bathroom but obv that isn't relevant to you.

There are other systems available if you google.

OP. don't get vinyl!!

You don't have to!

Any tiler/tradesman who says you can't have tiles over old floor boards isn't a good tradesman.

Don't get vinyl because you will still have to have the floor evened out with marine ply underneath.

And you'll be left with cheap looking horrible vinyl which will detract value from your property. Don't.

There must be a way round it. Vinyl is awful.

I would get a couple more quotes.

Actually our first tiler was so dreadful that we sacked him and I ended up stripping off the tiles he'd done, and doing the whole room myself.

It did take me ages as I was new to it but still, I did a far better job. He was shockingly bad.

The one that did the floor was much better I think - still not as exact as I'd have liked, but he did it properly.

They do vary enormously.

H is a tiler - he will not tile directly onto floorboards but uses, as Mrs Florrick says, Ditra Mat - I think you also have to use a flexible grouting or it will crack (a decent tile shop would give you advice regarding this...and I dont mean a namby pamby designer store I mean a tile supplier)

I'm pretty sure H often doesnt get tiling jobs because he includes this matting...I cant feel any sympathy for the clients who ignore his advice regarding this and end up with wonky tiles with cracked grout from a cheaper installer.

I would have thought if you put down 12mm ply tiles would be fine on it. that's we we done in both our bathrooms (coming up for 5 yrs now), never had a problem with broken tiles or cracked grout - we didn't use ditra mat. make sure you get he ply nailed every 3 inches though either way - your floorboards will be about 27mm thick so nails for ply shouldn't go through - just fix to the floorboards don't worry about finding joists.

I see what you mean, but the height thing has worried me now. We have bare floorboards in the rooms off the hall, and I wouldn't want the hall floor to be an inch higher than those as it would look very odd. I will try talking to the tile shop, but I am worried it's not going to work

wow Peggy you are going to have fun if you ever need to access anything under your floorboards!

The other thing is Jaques you could ask your tile shop if they could recommend any tilers - H is often recommended by one of our local shops and no he doesnt pay for the service they just know he is reliable and knows what he is doing.

Tbh this is why I dislike tiling over boards - in the kitchen, it was a cement floor (which sloped) and had nothing under it to worry about. So I could tile over that without any worries.

But the bathroom had a whole heap of pipework and so on some of which was leaking, and it all needed fixing up before we did the floor.

If anything does go wrong with it then we'll have to take it up again...the cellar ceiling collapsed once after the bath drained into it! yikes.

I think your options are something thin like marmo or vinyl, or replacing the boards or painting them up/repairing them as best you can.

What's wrong with them? Gaps, splinters, warping..?

The boards are a strange mix of old (Victorian) and new, and are different widths and lengths. The old ones run straight through the doors into the rooms off the hall, but the new ones stop at the hall wall. Plus they are horizontal across the hall, not vertical down it, which seems to make the already very narrow hall feel even narrower.

On the other hand, if it's boards vs vinyl I think I would go with the boards...