[detroitfd]

Hey guys-
New to the forum. I did some lurking but didn't see anything referencing my issue.
I have a home we built in 2012, and I want to use the porcelain tile that looks like wood throughout that main floor. Currently it's carpet and engineered (crap) wood. It's a great room, dining area, kitchen, 2 short hallways and a half bath. Ballpark probably about 500-600 sq ft. I've done tile jobs before, but never anything on this scale. I'm wondering if I can use cement board (w/ thinset under and between seams) or if I have to use self level cement on the whole thing? I've never done self level so I'd rather use cement board, but I also want to do it correctly. Please let me know what information you need to help me out.
Thanks in advance!
Jerry
Macomb Township, MI

 

[oh'mike]

If your floor structure (joists and subfloor) are strong enough for tile--then 1/4" Durrock will be fine----

Do check the flatness of the floor--the bigger the tile--the flatter the floor must be.

 

[JazMan]

Hi Jerry,

Mike is correct, you don't need nor want SLC if the floor is flat. A new house like yours should meet or be very close to min specs for large tiles which is: flat within ⅛" in 10 ft. and within 1/16" in 24" of plane". Use a long straight edge, 8-10 ft, not a 4' level.

Your joists system should also meet min. specs. Let us know their size, spacing and unsupported span. It'd be nice if you also knew the species and grade, any markings? What do you have for subfloor sheathing?

Jaz

 

[integrityfloors]

Laticrete 125 is a great product for setting any sized tile. It also is a sound and crack iso that saves time and money because it cuts out the extra step of having to purchase and install a membrane. You can get it from amazon.com

 

[detroitfd]

I'll check the info requested tomorrow morning. The reason I asked is that another neighbor in my sub had his done in the wood look tile, and was told that using cement as a bed was preferred over cement board due to the size of the area.

 

[JazMan]

The size of the area is immaterial but a properly done mud-job is almost always better than one using concrete backer board. The key is "properly done". However, I have found very few mud jobs meet any industry standards in our area. The main problem is that they don't/can't place enough thickness of concrete as the base cuz it'll create a step into the room, among other considerations such as weight.

Even good tile setters have settled for deck mud around ¾" or so thick, the industry min. recommendation is 1 ¼". And as I said that's the minimum. I can tell you a well compacted 1:5 mix 1" thick will work most of the time, if "most of the time" is good enough for you. You're taking a chance that the tile setter does everything else right and the house is solid to start. As you can see, a proper mud job will add about 1 ¾" once the tiles are set. Most houses can't handle that. Hence, concrete backer which lets many people to do it themselves.

Jaz