Isoflex and floorboards

[Mowy]

Hi,

I rang couple of tiling places regarding tiling over floorboards and all of them except one, recommended that I use 2 part rubber based glue. It seems that isoflex from ardex fits the bill. It says on their website that it is specifically designed for timber floors.

I always thought that it was a no no to tile over timber. Has anyone used this product or something similar to tile over timber floors?

[jackruss]

First advise

USE GLOVES

This stuff never comes off your hands.

Ok that said, I have used it on cement sheet ( tile underlay) over squeeky t&g cypress pine floors.

First job was a kitchen about 8 years ago and it has worked perfectly, not a crack or a spread joint anywhere.

It was messy and hard to clean up but from my point of view, done once and done right.

l would recommend it and use it again.

JR

[Janeene Edwards]

Hi,

I rang couple of tiling places regarding tiling over floorboards and all of them except one, recommended that I use 2 part rubber based glue. It seems that isoflex from ardex fits the bill. It says on their website that it is specifically designed for timber floors.

I always thought that it was a no no to tile over timber. Has anyone used this product or something similar to tile over timber floors?

I have used Isoflex on my timber floors Isoflex was wonderful on the cement floor but the tiles on the timber floor seemed to still have movement which created cracking in the grout. Some of the tiles cracked if a heavy object was dropped on the tile.
I have just removed all the tiles from the floor after regrouting for the 3rd time in 3 years. The tiles on the timber didnt seem to adhere properly as about half of them just lifted with ease with a hammer and chisel (I had to use a Kanger jack to remove the tiles on the cement floor.) Maybe there was something on the floorboards that I was not aware of that prevented them from adhereing but I have since laid ceramic sheeting over the timber floors and have laid more tiles. So far so good.
See how I go this time.

[Mowy]

I read on their datasheet that you have to use a special notched trowel. Ideally, I would like to go with this system as there will be less height difference from the kitchen and lounge which will still be floorboards. How has others tackled this sort of situation?

[Mowy]

I read on their datasheet that you have to use a special notched trowel. Ideally, I would like to go with this system as there will be less height difference from the kitchen and lounge which will still be floorboards. How has others tackled this sort of situation?

[Rookie]

I've used Isoflex on floor boards to lay slate, but not ceramics. I had no problem with it but my base is quite thick compared to ceramics and of course the grout gaps are up to 1cm with slate, so it's much more forgiving. It does still retain some flex, and I made sure I sanded right back beforehand for the best adhesion. I had a pro come in and do about 20 sq.m. and I did about another 20 when I renovated a bit more, just following the way he did it previously. So far, it's all holding well.

[Mowy]

I am laying porcelain which is a bit thicker than ceramic. Would tile size have anything to do with its ability to take slight floor movement? I have 40x40cm tiles.

[samhorr]

I have just finished very successfully tiling a bathroom floor which was wooden.
It is essential to put down ceramic tile underlay boards (not to mention making the actual tiling so so much easier). In addition, use as flexible an adheisve as you can afford. It does not have to be 2 part. And use a flexible grout with grout booster.

I used 20cm tiles but larger tiles take less movement - the issue is that it does not really matter that much if the grout cracks (that's a big pain still) but you don't want the tiles to crack and the bigger the tile the more likely it is to crack due to floor movement (of boards) hence the ceramic underlay. It is worth the effort and not very expensive (given the cost of tiling)

[Mowy]

Just had a long chat with a tiler (He said he has tiled for 20yrs) and he said the absolute best thing to do is to screed the floor. That is to lay a chicken wire and cement base raising the floor about 25mm. Then he would use a flexible glue and grout. He has also said you could tile directly onto floorboards provided that you follow these steps:

1. Sand floor
2. Prime it
3. Skim coat of rubber glue. Let is dry for 48 hours
4. Fix tile using rubber glue
5. use flexible grout additive.

He quoted me $2500 for the screeding method. Perhaps I'll not DIY this one and let him do it. Didn't realise tiling was so complex.