Bathroom flooring

Lex Luthor

I'm planning to cover the tongue&groove boards in my ensuite with what I've seen on TV are called laminate tiles. Should I first put down a very thin sheet of hardborad on the boards (pre soaked) and screwed to the boards to stop any movement of the boards shifting the tiles?

Any suggestions?

Any idea where these type of tile can be got? I checked B&Q but couldn't find them.

pipers

use plywood, fixed every 100mm

slave1

use marine ply, should be about 30 yo yo for a 8x4 foot x 9mm board

Lex Luthor

I'm told to presoak the plywood before fixing so it has already done it's shrinking/expanding...???

Borzoi

Wetting the wood allows it to expand. When you nail it down it will dry out and tend to contract, but this will be offset by the tendancy of the floor to re-expand with people walking on it. TBH plywood doesn't expand or contract much thanks to the layering of the grains at right angles. Unlike hardboard or chip/mdf.

I'm surprised B&Q don't have the type of tile you're looking for, but I've never looked for 'laminite' tiles.:)

pipers

Dont nail it down, it will pop the slab nails through the ceiling slab below.

Use spax screws, just the depth of the plywood and the original floor boards. This way you will not puncture any pipework or cables.

No need to soak if it is fixed every 100mm. it will never move. For a professional finish remove the WC & WHB and refit when the floor is completed.

joto

The only material you need to pre-soak is hardboard.
But as pipers said, use WBP plywood, 6mm or 9mm thick, screwed to floor boards, WBP ply is waterproof. Marine ply is very expensive. Hardboard is no good for the job.
Why use laminate tiles? A full piece of laminate would be neater & more waterproof.

Lex Luthor

I would like to remove the WC & WHB for a better finish but then I would have to raise both the sink and mess about with pipes to allow for the increase in height from the ply & tiles.

I also have another question: the bathroom is tiled from floor to ceiling apart from the skirting boards with tiles we both hate. I know there are tile primer paints available but I don't like the shape of them either. I'm contimplating tiling over them, removing the skirting and going straight to the floor with the new tiles. Apart from staggering the grout lines from the existing to the new tiles, is there any other precautions I need to take? I'm planning on using mosaic tiles.

Victor

Wall tiles tend to have only a little adhesive behind them and come off easily. Use a hammer on one and a flat screw driver on the rest, I did a kitchen in half an hour. Putting the extra weight on might mean you could be dealing with loose tiles down the line.

Sleipnir

Tiling over existing tiles is not recommended and spells trouble in the long run.
Some of the new ones might start dropping off.
Obviously it depends on things like the texture of the existing tiles i.e. if they're smooth and shiny then the adhesive will have nothing to adhere to.

Plus it'll make the room smaller!

Lex Luthor

The wall was tiled when the house was only a few weeks old so the plaster was still new. I'm afraid if I start knocking the tiles off the wall, a lot of the plaster will come with it.

Victor

If you take off the plaster in taking off the tiles, you have big problems. Try with a few in a corner or hidden spot (say behind WC).

Quatre Mains

- sorry to deviate a wee bit from the wall tile problem, but going back to the floor tiles, I saw some adhesive in B+Q claiming to be 'flexi' or whatever - can you get away with not putting down plywood if you use this stuff?

Cheers
Neil

Victor

Use the ply anyway, stop leaks, cracks and gives a more level surface.