Any builders around for advice please?

[Mikey]

Thanks AIC...I always tend to over research stuff, but I'm really keen on at least trying to conserve some heat in the kitchen floor without heating an underwater stream!!

Micky...is this the sort of thing you are talking about??
Insulating Paint and Ceramic Paint Additive Q & A

it says 35% less heat loss which would be incredible!

Yes I think thats the link I attached to my last post...

I've used a similar product on a number of occasions with electric cable and its very effective at retaining heat. If you add the additive to PVA as opposed to paint it will seal the floor and aide bonding for the next course of tiles.

Its true tiling is an art form, what tiles have you chosen Nicos. I quite like the pillowed limestone or travertine tiles at the moment, I think when laid in a random effect pattern they look great with older styled properties. The important factors to consider when tiling a floor is adhesive choice if you have plenty of time and don't have to walk on it a standard set is fine but having a bag of rapid set is always useful for doorways that need to go off quickly to be capable of being walked on.

If you are using natural tiles make sure you use a white adhesive not a grey one as the grey can permeate through to the surface and that is not a stain you can remove. Again if it is a natural tile make sure you treat with a product like lithofin stain stop prior to laying as if you don't you'll find that a wet cloth used to wipe off excess adhesive with leave stains or drip marks on the surface which will only appear after you finally seal them. Not nice.... (this is also important if tiling with a quarry tile)

I like the effect of a matching grout colour to the tiles these days, grey is a bit too dark in my humble opinion when used with a light coloured tile, though you can get a silver grey which is really light when dry.

[Nicos]

sorry- hadn't spotted the 'here' link on scanning through!

PVA???...great..thanks for that!


ceramic tiles..I'll see if I can find a link tomorrow

Thanks for that...I'm thinking I can just apply that in the walk area and not under the floor cupboards as the thickness should be the same???


How good is PVA glue with floor tiles?..am I still OK to use waterproof grout between the tiles??

[mr tiler]

i have never heard of or used any type of thermal screeds or levellers and i would never use this as a form of insulation as it will more than likely be useless.

now to be honest bitumen is no good for tiling in my opinion because when using it you become very limited and it is near impossible to make a watertight seal when using it. I could never suggest tiling onto tiles especially a kitchen floor with a lot of foot traffic you are better off ripping it out and doing it properly as adhesives are made to fix to certain substrates i.e cement, screeds, boarding etc
if you do it properly you do it once and lets face it tiles are not cheap are they.

but if you want my opinion because i sense you will be doing it anyway, i would be using the correct type of ''cement based'' adhesive for the tiles i plan to lay. if the tiles that are already down are stone then use an acrylic based primer (not p.v.a) to create a good bond to the tiles and remove any dust... if the tiles already down are not stone then don't use anything other than a damp sponge as you go along clearing any dust from the surface because if you use a primer on a none porous tile it will simply create a skin on the surface and your adhesive will have not bond at all.
but saying all this i would need to be standing in your kitchen giving you this advise as i don't actually know anything about the job lol.

and back to your other post i wasn't having a dig at anyone personally i was just stating that most people think tiling is very easy and in some cases it can be but most cases, it isn't and you have to have a lot of knowledge under your belt to be able to do some of the things we do lol all the best on your venture some before and after shots would be nice unless you fancy getting me and my family a plane ticket to come over and do it haha! CHEERS

[mr tiler]

noooooooo don't use p.v.a! lol. p.v.a is different to an acrylic bonding agent what it does is basically creates a skin on the substrate for a plasterer to PLASTER the surface, the crystals in cement based tile adhesive are not able to penetrate this surface so no physical bond is created when serating the walls/floors... your simply relying on the key that you form with your trowel which in a lot of cases will not be sufficient.

[mr tiler]

No that was the bathroom WALLS that had cushion flooring Floor was commercial grade flooring tiles onto 3/4" ply, well ventilated through the bilge.

Although I did also once help a mate with some wonderful porthole surrounds to the bow of a barge (compound curvature). He'd made the portholes from washing machine doors facing inwards, and supplied me with a pile of salvaged timber. My tools consisted of adhesive, a few screws, a cordless jigsaw, a cordless drill, and an 8" bowie knife for detailing, rebating and finishing. That was about 12 years ago, and they're still in place today

any pics mate? that sounds very interesting lol

[Nicos]

..thanks for that...much appreciated mr tiler..I realised blind advice is always the most difficult/almost impossible!

We have a superbly neat French tiler here but he's never heard of any other product other than what is available in the French DIY stores...I was hoping I could import something different and more appropriate to what I was hoping for.
The ideal of comfort/cosy is almost unknown here. ( would you sit watching TV from a dining room chair rather than sit on a sofa provided?? is a good eg...as are 100w bulbs dangling from a central cable rather than mood lighting! * sigh)

Oh gosh..not tiling on top of old tiles???..no matter how secure they are??...oh dear...now that becomes a worry.
We dug down 2 feet in the room next door to finally waterproof it...yet this room is already waterproof.
Is nothing EVER simple???* sigh

....* wanders off to have a quick sob.

[mr tiler]

do you know how thick the cement underneath the tiles is?

[Nicos]

I think from what we dug up in the adjacent room tyhe concrete is about 10-15cmdeep... beneath that is a plastic membrane ..and below that are 6" granite round stones ( called hedgehogs cos they are like a rolled up hedgehog).... then there are gravel stones between them.
Below that are large stone flags which fit together at the top but are tapered underneath to a point between which water flows.

In the room next door it was just a concrete floor which got damp, but the kitchen one doesn't cos of the plastic membrane below the concrete.

I realise these very old houses are a speciality and am very reluctant to disturb what is clearly waterproof at the moment by digging it up.
(The tiles on the surface are ceramic from the 1980s and don't let any damp through and are pointed with a waterproof product....but have no non slip surface and are dangerous in the kitchen!...plus flippin freezing! )

[mr tiler]

100-150mm is more than sufficient for tiling rip it up, im sure you will be able to purchase a tanking solution (waterproofing kit) if not import one from over here... then tile away lol.

[Nicos]

OK...that's really reassuring!...thanks for that

...but.... what about the heat insulation aspect beneath the tiles??????

[Nicos]

Am I being so unrealistic???

Perhaps you could patent a thermal insulating screed ...and then invite me and my family to your private island in the tropics??? :P

[mr tiler]

hey be my guest and test it lol, why dount you just go for the underfloor heating if it is not a huge floor that is, its really good price wise and practically it doesn't just heat up your floor it heats the room too much more cost effective

[Nicos]

OK...will have a think about that- thanks..much appreciated !

* wanders off to find a new bikini....

[bearded bloke]

Nicos,if you go for pulling up part depth of the old flooring allow 75mm for the new screed & make up the balance with Celotex beneath then tile on the screed.

[Nicos]

Oh gosh....OH's head almost touches the ceiling as it is
I think it's pen to paper to work out final heights here isn't it...and then work back to see what fits in

Alternatively I could replace my OH with someone smaller???...thing is he's so handy about the house...and rather yummy ...hmmm...heated floor or replacement OH??...hmmmm....