[ZZZZZ]

OK, I have procrastinated long enough! Tomorrow I actually start tiling the kitchen/foyer/mudroom!

Well, I mean before actually tiling I am putting down Hardiebacker.

They give you the option of using 1 1/4" roofing nails or the specialty wafer-head screws.

Obviously the roofing nails are a lot less expensive than the screws, but is there much of a difference in how quickly the install goes, and how well the nails hold vs screws?

I've got about 200 sf of backer to put down over 3/4" T&G OSB, in good shape. If I can save some time and money with nails, I will, but is the extra time and cost of screws worth it?

 

[joecaption]

Nails will work fine just make sure there galvinized nails.
I've had a terrible time trying to use screws and getting the heads to set even with the surface even using an impact driver.

 

[JazMan]

Definitely, I'd use roofing nails, all the roofing nails I've seen are galvanized and rust resistant. Be sure to set boards into thinset mortar and you tape the seams. Do you know how to install?

I presume you're installing ceramic tiles and the framing meets specs and in good shape.

Jaz

there, their, they're, dare.... it's all the same here, hear........

 

[ZZZZZ]

Definitely, I'd use roofing nails, all the roofing nails I've seen are galvanized and rust resistant. Be sure to set boards into thinset mortar and you tape the seams. Do you know how to install?

I presume you're installing ceramic tiles and the framing meets specs and in good shape.

Jaz

I completed about half of the Hardi backer install today. I used the roofing nails. Man, that was a lot of nails to pound. I cannot imagine how much longer it would have taken to use screws - days...

Yes, I taped and mudded the seams.

I've posted the info on this tile install in another thread, but I can't find it now.

Anyway, I'm doing slate and I've already added a support beam and some sistered joists to beef it up. Span is now only 6 feet, and it's rock solid.

I will post some photos in a week or so, after I've put down the tile, grout and sealer.

 

[JazMan]

Oh no....slate? On a single layer subfloor? Not a good thing.

Jaz

Is this the thread? http://www.diychatroom.com/f5/hardwood-floor-height-adjustment-373577/

 

[joecaption]

It's also porous, and brittle.

 

[JazMan]

Hello.....hello, ZZZZZ are you still here? I thought you would have replied to my last post above by now. Aren't you concerned by my surprise that you're installing slate over that floor?

Jaz

 

[oh'mike]

Did you put down a layer of fresh thinset under that backer?

Hardi is set like one big tile--then nailed---if you didn't do that--you made a mistake that might cost you your floor.

Hardi is as stiff as a sheet of spring steel (exaggerating) --any hollow voids will flex--leading to cracked or loose tiles. I've seen the hardi pull nails loose when nailing over a low spot---

 

[JazMan]

That's all true Mike, but that's not what I meant. He's installing slate tiles, (un gauged at that), and as we all know natural stone tiles require a double layer subfloor. His subfloor is only a single ¾" OSB. That'l work for ceramic, but does not meet specs for natural stone.

I think he got confused with the joists' deflection and doesn't know about subfloor deflection. He should know better since he's been around this site a long enough to rack up over 1k posts.

Jaz

 

[oh'mike]

I knew you were concerned with the subfloor flexing---That's why I did not bring it up again---

That Hardibacker needs to be mud set--I was trying to drive home the point.

 

[ZZZZZ]

Did you put down a layer of fresh thinset under that backer?

Hardi is set like one big tile--then nailed---if you didn't do that--you made a mistake that might cost you your floor.

Hardi is as stiff as a sheet of spring steel (exaggerating) --any hollow voids will flex--leading to cracked or loose tiles. I've seen the hardi pull nails loose when nailing over a low spot---

Yes, I applied thinset and nails to affix the Hardi backer.

 

[ZZZZZ]

Jaz & Mike, I appreciate your help and concerns.

First, the T&G sub-floor in this 30 year old house is about 15/16" thick. I don't know what the original spec was, but that's what it actually measures. I checked it at 3 points at the floor registers. And last year I replaced part of a sheet of the sub-floor that had mold damage due to a leaky dishwasher from the previous owner. The 3/4" T&G sheet I replaced it with is almost 1/4" shorter than the neighboring sheets.

As I mentioned elsewhere, this is not a standard tile install where I am covering a whole 15'x15' rectangular room or whatever. This is an open floor plan and most of the area being tiled is only 42" wide (the aisle down the middle of the kitchen, between the cabinets and the islands.)

I have screwed down the entire subfloor to the joists every 8" or so, and it is now rock solid.

The tile will butt up against hardwood in 4 places and the way it is now, the two will be almost perfectly flush. I really did not want to increase the height of the tile and deal with floor transitions.

Yes, I understand the risk that some of the tiles and/or grout may at some point crack in the future. Fine. I'll deal with that if it happens, A cracked and repaired slate tile is much less noticeable than a standard piece of white ceramic or whatever. I repaired several slate tiles in another house I lived in, and it was barely noticeable.

 

[JazMan]

Ok then, as long as you know you may have some failures in the future.

How are you going to deal with installing the slate since it is ungauged? Which thinset will you be using?

Jaz