Tiling on a bare screeded floor in a newly built house?

Question

Can the tile adhesive go straight down on the screeded floor ? Or should it still be subfloored with plywood in the same way you would when tiling onto floorboards ?

The reason I ask is that a tiler has said he'll need to subfloor it with ply and I have a feeling he is just trying to get more money out of me.

If the answer to teh questions above are no, you don't need to fit ply first, is there ever any extreme situation where you would want to do that ? Such as the screeded finish not being very smooth.

Thanks.

Answer 1

If it's level, tile right on top. If it's not level, screed it until it is, then tile it. What type of room is it? It may be worth putting an element down before tiling, it will take the chill off.

Answer 2

This will be a choice depending on the room, location of the room (close to outside door), and even the amount of walking use in that room (such as bare feet or slippers). Granite, marble, ceramic tiles, etc.. with a shine will require specialized type of cleaning (granite & marble) to keep it nice. You also would not want it close to an outside door that may have mini rocks/gravel tracking inside to scratch it. All these floorings can be cool to cold to bare feet unless have heated coils under the flooring. Also, you may have to insist that shoes are immediately removed after coming from the outside and get into a never outside slipper and a runner on the walk way. These floors would give an excellent resale value on your home. To avoid scratches and long life, get the large tiles that do not have a high gloss. Hardwood floors with an area rug is great for bedroom, living room, den, dining room, hall, etc.. and utilize some form of tile for kitchen and bath or perhaps dining room. Only you will know what you like, want, desire and the use that floor will have. It is still your decision of what you prefer.

Answer 3

You can tile straight on a newly srceeded floor. Mix a bit of bonding liquid to the tile cement mix, this will ensure the tiles stay down. Make sure you have no air gaps in the tile cement on the floor when laying a tile!

Answer 4

Depends on the tiles I guess. I'd put them straight onto the screed.

Answer 5

I'm doing a remediation on 11,000 sq. ft. of tile at this time, and the only reason is because originally carpet was on the concrete floor, the adhesive residue wasn't scraped up, and the installers used mastic as opposed to "thin set". They also used a 1/8 blade spreader as opposed to a 1/4.

If the floor is cured, certainly the thinset will adhere better to the existing slab than over Ply. If the floor is subject to moisture the Ply certainly won't aleviate that anyway.

Though he sounds a bit like a "Pirate" you might question his rationale. Certainly if the slab has depressions/voids/raised areas, over it, something should be done first to level it, but even that need not be plywood. There are many manufacturers who make subfloor fillers, that equate to mortar type leveling substances.

I'd get more than one installers opinion.

Steven Wolf

Answer 6

You don't need the plywood base. Go on top of what is there. You may want a antifracture membrane under the tile. And yes a heat cable is nice.

Try going here to learn more:
http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=19912&highlight=concrete+floor
http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1

Answer 7

yes you can tile onto screed, you might want to think about underfloor heating first1!!
If its a bathroon/wetroom you might want to think about a tanking membrane.

Answer 8

lay the adesive with a floater and lay the tiles on top thats it