[Phyedguy98]

Hey,

I'd like to lay stone tile in my kitchen. The challenge is I have this floor grate I need to work into somehow...any suggestions on how to go about this? Thanks for any feedback.

Rick

 

[oh'mike]

 

[oh'mike]

You have two choices---over lay the grate on top of the tile--drill holes for the screws--and pray that the holes don't crack the tiles---

Or---use an aluminum tile edging to protect and finish the opening--and set the grate flush to the face of the tile----Schluter makes a wide variety---

 

[Phyedguy98]

You have two choices---over lay the grate on top of the tile--drill holes for the screws--and pray that the holes don't crack the tiles---

Or---use an aluminum tile edging to protect and finish the opening--and set the grate flush to the face of the tile----Schluter makes a wide variety---

Thanks for the info and the website, appreciate it!

 

[JazMan]

Rick,

I can see you very meticulously installed an underlayment, so you now have at least 2 layers of plywood. What's the total thickness? How about the joists system? Marble tiles require a much stiffer subfloor than ceramic. What are you gonna use as a tile backer over this ply, and thinset etc?

Jaz

 

[Phyedguy98]

Rick,

I can see you very meticulously installed an underlayment, so you now have at least 2 layers of plywood. What's the total thickness? How about the joists system? Marble tiles require a much stiffer subfloor than ceramic. What are you gonna use as a tile backer over this ply, and thinset etc?

Jaz

Hi JazMan, I do have 2 layers of plywood. Never done this before so I'm sure I've made a few mistakes, but tried to correct a very un level kitchen floor. There was almost 2 inches difference from one end of kitchen to the other. I used 3/4 inch plywood for the subfloor, glued down, and screwed into all the sister joists and cross supports. I laid down 1/2 inch plywood on top of that (no glue) and screwed down with decking screws every 6 inches. So far I'm at 1 1/4 and was thinking I would put 1/4 inch tile backer, something as strong as I could find...not sure what that should be yet? Any suggestions on tile backer and thinset? Here's a picture of how I leveled the floor before putting subfloor down. (It needed to be leveled in all directions).

 

[JazMan]

Sure looks like you're doing a good job. I can see the old framing was way off, what happened? Your subfloor should be sturdy enough for marble. You joists should be much stiffer than before if you sistered them all. I don't know of a way to calculate that though.

!/4" backer set into fresh thinset and fastened per directions will give you a good tile-friendly base. I prefer Ditra, but either will work well. Just follow all the directions.

Jaz