Ceramic Tile
I am rehabbing a SFH to keep as a rental. I want to install ceramic tile myselt. Any tips would be appreciated. What type of tile would work the best, I only want to do this once? There is one layer of plywood over the original wood floor, is this adequate?Thanks in advance.
It is adequate if it doesn't have any deflection to it. If it does you need to address that first. Deflection of the floor will cause your grout to crack at the least and at the worst to pop out and your tiles to crack. Your finished job is only going to be as good as the surface you start with.
You will need to lay down a 1/4 inch hardi backer cement board, fixed to the plywood with the proper screws and a layer of thinset.
A tile size such as 12x12 or 13x13 would be best, priced in the $3-$5 per square foot range. Use 1/8 or smaller grout lines and use a grout with the darkest color you can stand. Seal the grout at least 2 times with Tilelab tile sealer.
Check out Schluter Ditra, I have not used cement backer boards, durock etc.....for about 3 years now.
The schluter ditra is a plastic waffle looking membrane that comes in about 320 square feet to the roll. It cost about $1.00 a square foot however it is lighter, easier, quicker and a better product then your backer boards.
Since it's profile is about 1/8 inch or so.....it makes it an easier transition with other floors.
Application is a matter of making your mud wet, using a 1/8 V-notch trowel and applying it onto your substrate (osb / plywood....not luan though).
There is no nailing, screwing or taping.
You can start laying tile as fast as you lay it out.
As Rehab was stating.......watch out for deflection (bounce) in your floor......if you have a 3/4 inch subfloor you should be ok as long as your floor joist do not exceed 14 feet from girder to girder.
There are various type of stronger thinsets (mud) that I will use at times when dealing with any joist more then 16 inches on center. Flexbond, permabond, Sturdiflex.....etc.......they are stronger and can help with the deflection problem to a certain point however as Rehab said........this needs to be addressed first.
Sanded grout vs. unsanded......
I like sanded grout myself, unsanded is should not be used when grout lines are more then 1/8 inch.
Grout sealers are a must, however do not expect that it will keep the grout clean...........it may help it clean better but you should still clean the floor as needed.
I can not think of the sealer I get from my supplier but it cost me about $100.00 per gallon. I have never had a problem with it......you can get less expensive stuff...probably about $30.00 a gallon.
Mist your floor down for about a week after grouting..........then seal it.
Have plenty of rinse buckets when using a darker grout. It shows less dirt but I think its a pain in the rear cleaning the grout. You can apply a tile sealer PRIOR to grouting that can make the cleaning easier.
I like to cut my pieces and dry lay them when working in small areas.
With christmas coming up.......use this as an excuse to get a laser level or equivolent. I love using mine for such projects.
Rehab; are you doing the 1/8 grout lines because of cleaning of the grout lines........I typically will do 3/16 - 1/4 inch lines on floors.
NC
I prefer smaller grout lines because they help mask the problem of grout getting dirty. Installation goes faster, grouting goes faster...
I haven't put in a 1/4 wide grout line in the last 3000 sq feet of tile and probably will never again as long as I can help it.
Using the darkest grout line you can stand is even more helpful.
For example a white tile floor with white grout lines = dirty looking grout in a few weeks.
Black tile with black grout lines = clean looking grout lines just about forever.