Movement in tiled floor Advice and information on tiling and fixing tiles to a variety of surfaces

[jallen]

I recently have had my kitchen floor tiled. The floor was half floor boards and half chipboard. A plywood floor was laid over all of it. We have movement over the chipboard end and the grout is cracking. Is it the fault of the carpenter laying the plywood or should the tiler have checked the floor was solid and hence the tiler who is at fault? :oops:

[bobplum]

what size ply was laid down?
when it was screwed down what distance apart were the screws
if you going to blame anyone and seeking to have the work rectified you will need to take up some tiles and inspect the boards

[blackcat]

wooden floors need flexi adeshive and grout
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mflb

[Daniel Tester]

i think if the grout has crackd the tiling will lift too. I layed tiles on a floor of chipboard as the builder told me it would be ok. i used flexi glue , but the floor has still failed. the main problem was that there were hot water pipes under the boarding that was producing massive expansion movement.
as a tiler i have not found a good solution for tiling on to wooden surfaces, but would definately recommend that the floor boards are lifted and the joists are re fitted into the walls, extra joists are added where bathtubs etc are to sit and that cross noghgins are added. then add 3/4 " marine ply with screws every 30 cms. As adding tiles to this willl produce a new floor height of around 3-4cm higher than the original you can see that most people will suffer a small step whereas if you are resetting joists , then you can lower them to give a perfect final level!
although this gets expensive if the tiled floor is to be installe upstairs as the downstairs ceiling will have to be re plastered or even replasced!!

[marrtin]

Unfortunately, it's not unusual to see grout cracking when tiles are laid on a timber floor. The problem is in a domestic environment, it is almost impossible to keep traffic off a floor long enough for the adhesive and grout to dry thoroughly. The grout needs raking out and replacing. This is assuming of course the floor has been prepared and laid correctly in the first place!!