When you embark on a floor tiling project yourself it is important that you seek some tiling advice and tips on floor tiling techniques.

Perhaps you have a travertine floor you want to lay with some beautiful travertine tiles.  Here is some advice and tips you may find useful:

General

The floor that you are going to tile needs to be clean, free from dust, grease, plaster droppings, dirt, paint and any other kind of barrier material.  It is essential that all the surfaces that you are going to tile to are true and straight to avoid any lipping or tile surfaces that are uneven.  Spending time at this stage will help you to avoid the risk of having a costly tiling failure.

Sand and Cement Screed

Any cement or sand creed should be at least three weeks old and checked for any hollow or weak areas, which need to be cut out and then repaired.  Any surfaces that are overly dry or dusty need to be primed.  You need to check that the floor is true and straight and perhaps apply a suitable underlay to smooth the floor out if needed.

Concrete Floors

Concrete floors need to be at least six weeks old for any shrinkage to have occurred.  The concrete needs to be checked for any hollow or weak areas that need to be cut out and repaired.  Concrete that is overly dusty and dry should be primed.  You need to check that the floor is true and straight and apply a suitable smoothing underlay if necessary.

Existing Ceramic or Natural Stone Tiles

Any existing tiles need to be firmly bonded and in a clean and sound condition.  You must clean the floor thoroughly, paying attention to terracotta or quarry tiles, as any waxes on tiles will need cleaning more intensively.

Tongue and groove floorboards

The tongue and groove floorboards must be dry and free from any paints, waxes and varnishes, and be fixed securely with non-rusting screws to all the joists.  Any fixings that there are should not be protruding and the floor needs to be free from deflection.  Tiling can be done direct to tongue and groove floorboards by using specific primers and adhesives.  If your floor still has some deflection you can overlay it with Marmox tile backer board.  In some extreme cases the floorboards need to be lifted and additional noggins put in between the joists and then the floor re-laid.

Timber Based Boards

You need to ensure that your board are dry and free from paints, varnish and waxes, and are securely fastened with non-rusting screws.  Your fixings shouldn’t be protruding and the floor should be free from deflection.  You can tile direct to the floorboards by using specific primers and adhesives.  If you use WBP plywood as an overlay it needs to be acclimatised to its surroundings for 48 hours, the backs and edges need to be painted with a polyurethane paint and then it needs to be screwed at 300mm centres using non-rusting screws.  Tiling to MDF, green chipboard, hardboard or any ply, with the exception of WBP quality, is not to be recommended.  These all need to be removed or you need to use Marmox tile backer board as overlay. 

Vinyl Sheet and Tiles

Lino, cushioned vinyl or thermoplastic tiles and any adhesive needs to be removed.  Alternatively you can check the tiles or the sheet is firmly stuck to the base and then remove any brittle or loose material, polishes and wax.  You should then repair it with a smoothing compound.