Floor Tiling

[Hootsmon]

Hi All,

I'm under orders from SWMBO that the laundry is next on our hit list. It's a small area (see photo). We plan to remove the tub on the right and put a washing machine with dryer stacked on top. The missus wants tiles on the floor. Now I've done cork tiles before but never 'proper' tiles. The bloke at bunnies said to lay sheets of melamite, nail them down (Floorboards under lino), waterproof with some paint on stuff then lay tiles. I thought I'd get a second opinion from the forum before I start. Thoughts anyone?

[Hootsmon]

Forgot to attach photo

[pawnhead]

The bloke at bunnies is an idiot. Melamite is actually known as melamine, and it's used for shelving not for flooring.
Rip up the lino and nail down some CTU (Ceramic Tile Underlay). Waterproof it with a membrane, then use a flexible type tile adhesive to glue the tiles down. I believe that there are some adhesives that you can use to glue tiles directly to floorboards but I'm not sure, and I don't know if I'd trust it not to crack all over the place.
Alternatively you could rip up the floorboards as well and lay some wet area Structaflor, or if you've got the money, compressed cement sheet. You won't have to use a flexible adhesive with compressed and you won't have as big a step up without the CTU on top of the floor. You could also lay a cement bed on the compressed giving a fall to the floor waste, or to the doorway if you wanted, but I wouldn't bother since it would lead to a larger step up into the room as a tripping point.
Ideally you'd rip up the floor, drop the joists 50mm, install compressed cement sheets, install a floor waste and a cement bed with a fall to the waste. The tiles should then finish flush with the rest of the floors in the house, but that's a huge job unless you're incorporating it into a new construction (even then it's a pain in the rear).

[rick_rine]

I agree with pawnhead and these people at hardware stores who give such stupid advice should be made liable . If they dont know dont pretend to know , it can cost us handymen/women thousands in mistakes . idiots .
My winge for the day .

I just nail down tile underlay cement sheeting , 6mm thick I think but it is a specific product (and this is where Mitre 10 led me astray the first job I did sold me normal fibro . >>>>>was I mad afterward ......they should be sued ...., ) with lots of nails ( follow the nailing pattern that is painted on the fibro underlay ) paint on dribond liquid flash 2 or three coats . Then lay the tiles .
Rick

[Pulse]

Thats a great answer from John, just s note on the CTU it has the nail spacings marked, use ring shanked nails marked for that purpose. The problem with the advice is that this sort of job is too complicated if it is not written down!
Cheers
Pulse

[sol381]

Pawnhead is 100% correct. Who on earth would put mealmine under tiles. How do these idiots stay in a job.. My mate and i always laugh when we see a bunnings ad and they go on about expert advice. Bloody hell. Even if youre brain dead doesnt commen sense come into play. Just my little rant. Ive seen some insane advice but this one is a beauty.

[Pulse]

I believe the bloke at Bunnings said:

....lay sheets of melamite, nail them down (Floorboards under lino), waterproof with some paint on stuff then lay tiles

He didn't say to nail down melamine... he couldn't be that daft.. as I said the process is too complicated to simply be remembered with verbal instructions if you haven't done it before!

I reckon these blokes can be pretty helpful. A local sparky who has become a paraplegic works in Bunnings now, I think he as well as Bunnings should be recognised for giving him the chance to remain in the workforce, and him for wanting to keep working.

cheers
Pulse

[pawnhead]

I believe the bloke at Bunnings said:

....lay sheets of melamite, nail them down (Floorboards under lino), waterproof with some paint on stuff then lay tiles

He didn't say to nail down melamine... he couldn't be that daft.. as I said the process is too complicated to simply be remembered with verbal instructions if you haven't done it before!

A search for melamite brings up nothing but references to "Melamine" and other obscure stuff I've never heard of. I've been in the game for over 25 yrs and I've never heard of melamite.

The guy is a clown.

I reckon these blokes can be pretty helpful. A local sparky who has become a paraplegic works in Bunnings now, I think he as well as Bunnings should be recognised for giving him the chance to remain in the workforce, and him for wanting to keep working.

cheers
Pulse

I'm not trying to cast any aspersions on the company's benevolence or integrity, but some of the people they employ give advice beyond their experience and they should be advised against it if it's obvious that they are a clown. It could end up costing people like you a lot of grief and expense.

Nail down some Ceramic Tile Underlay, or lay down some 'melamite' if you want (whatever that is).

If you're going to use CTU then nail down an aluminum angle across the doorway before laying the CTU (with one flange underneath the CTU). Get one wide enough to reach the top of the tile allowing for glue thickness and position it against the door when closed then membrane up the inside of the angle to prevent water seeping into your hall. It should cover the edge of the tile and underlay. Membrane up the walls a bit as well and either plaster set over it or cover it with a timber or tile skirting. Use matting over the joints and corners and into the floor waste if there is one. It prevents water rotting your framework when you mop the floor, of if you get a leaky drain or have an overflow.

If you're going to use melamite, well, I don't know what that is so you can educate me on how the job goes and I might learn something.

[silentC]

He's probably referring to malthoid. Bit of an old-fashioned approach. I would just use tile underlay as suggested above.

[pawnhead]

He's probably referring to malthoid. Bit of an old-fashioned approach. I would just use tile underlay as suggested above.

It's pretty rare for anyone to use bitumen malthoid anymore except for repair work to existing membranes. I doubt they'd stock it at bunnies. He could be referring to magnesite but that's pretty rare as well and I doubt they'd stock that either. The best bet is that the dude at bunnies is a clown trying to flog off some melamine as flooring.

Another tip on laying the CTU is to make sure that you don't line up any joints along a join in the floorboards beneath. best to have adjacent sheets nailed into the same floorboard.

[pawnhead]

Hey Hootsmon. What store did you go to?
We should email them with a link to this thread, (or find out what melamite is) and try to stop this guy leading anyone astray.