Flooring Tile - tiling on uneven cement board
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Garden Girl
08-08-04, 10:23 AM
Our contractor laid cement board (Durock) over our kitchen subfloor, however it is not level. while dry running the tile placement, we found "see-saw" tiles. will this level our with our adhesive? If not what should we do? Note: this is our first time tiling a floor. :confused:
joneq
08-08-04, 12:30 PM
The durock should be flat. If the inconsistency is like 1/16 or less it might be ok. When you use thinset there should be about 1/8 " between the bottom of the tile and the top of the durock so theoretically it should be ok. Personally I like to get what I pay for so I would get the dude back and ask him to fix it. If it has been set in thinset he could grind it down and put some mesh tape on it and some cash back in your pocket to boot. I am assuming this problem is only in a very small area. Like 1 spot. If it is all over the place he should fix it and or pay for someone to lay the tile and guarantee it. If you were going to lay the tile you should still grout.
Carpets Done Wright
08-08-04, 05:08 PM
Sounds to me like the Durock was fastened "dry" to the subfloor. Had they used thinset to set the Durock as specified, the thinset makes up for some pretty big inconsistantcies in the wood subfloor, but not framing blunders, of setting the floor joists!
Was the Durock set into a bed of thinset, or installed dry?
If installed dry, he needs to come back and do it to specifications and quit cutting corners, to make a quick buck!
Was the Durock set into a bed of thinset, or installed dry?
If installed dry, he needs to come back and do it to specifications and quit cutting corners, to make a quick buck!
COBALT
08-09-04, 09:56 AM
Absolutely. Even if it was installed dry but level the amount of freedom the board has to flex and move would crack your grout and loosen your tiles anyway.
If he laid down thinset, but it's still uneven you'll just have to mix up some more thinset and do some floating to get it level. Just because you've used backer board or wonderboard doesn't mean you don't have to pull out your trowels. These backer boards just make up for the old days when you had to lay a mortarbed and screed for tiles. You still have to play with it to get the surface you want. I have the same problem on my bathroom walls. The level wants to "see saw" where the seams of the wonderboard are. I'm going to have to mix some more thinset, and use a straight-edge to float out a flat surface on those walls...
If he laid down thinset, but it's still uneven you'll just have to mix up some more thinset and do some floating to get it level. Just because you've used backer board or wonderboard doesn't mean you don't have to pull out your trowels. These backer boards just make up for the old days when you had to lay a mortarbed and screed for tiles. You still have to play with it to get the surface you want. I have the same problem on my bathroom walls. The level wants to "see saw" where the seams of the wonderboard are. I'm going to have to mix some more thinset, and use a straight-edge to float out a flat surface on those walls...
joneq
08-09-04, 10:25 AM
Is it at all possible that the tiles may not be flat.