Floor tile mortar bed crumbling. Tear up and replace?
 

The bath floor in my 1984 house is crumbling in high traffic areas. .
When I pull up the loose 2" tiles, the mortar bed is in 1" and smaller
chunks. It doesn't help that they laid the tile with the paper
backing still attached, not the best thing for sticking to cement.

I've been doing temporary patch repairs by cleaning off the backs of
the tiles, vacuuming up the dust, and re-laying them in wallboard
compound.

I guess I'm going to have to tear the whole mess out, put down a sheet
underlayment, and set the new tiles in mastic.. The hard part will
be getting the height set so they mate with the wall edge trim and the
toilet flange.

I don't understand what advantage bedding the tiles in mortar is
supposed to have, when the floor underneath is going to flex. I
suppose it might work on a slab, but not on wood.
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Floor tile mortar bed crumbling. Tear up and replace?
 

Tile only works when the floor underneath does not flex.

Floor tile mortar bed crumbling. Tear up and replace?
 

Doug Warner wrote:

I don't understand what advantage bedding the tiles in mortar is
supposed to have, when the floor underneath is going to flex. I
suppose it might work on a slab, but not on wood.

for real. i'd put up with long as I could anyway, at some point, you
might
have replaced all the weak spots, it could stay another 6 years.

im doing a bath right now, and Im putting a flex additive in the mix

I know what you mean about getting the heights the same.

you say mastic, i've never tried this, but I hear that vynal glue is
excellent for tile repair. something like this would help the tiles
stay low.

Floor tile mortar bed crumbling. Tear up and replace?
 

On Sat, 17 Dec 2005 20:41:42 -0500, Doug Warner
wrote:


Sorry you're having problems, but...

I don't understand what advantage bedding the tiles in mortar is
supposed to have, when the floor underneath is going to flex. I
suppose it might work on a slab, but not on wood.

Loads of people have tile floors on other than slabs.

I have two bathrooms with 1" tiles. I don't know what is at the
bottom of the whole thing, but it comes out even with the carpeting on
plywood in the rest of the second floor.

I guess they must have used that stronger board that they push now --
I forget the name -- but I may never know.


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Floor tile mortar bed crumbling. Tear up and replace?
 

If they laid the tile with paper, they probably didn't know how to get
a non-flexing floor to lay it on. If it's just plywood over joists
(16" OC) in a stick frame, the subfloor should be at least 1 1/8" thick
plus a 1/4" layer of cement board (Hardibacker is my favorite). If you
want to use mastic and stick with the small tiles (up to 2") then the
floor movement is of less concern. Also, as far as a new floor lining
up with other things, the doorway is your biggest concern. A big
difference there will have to be transitioned with a threshold. Takes
some skills to cut and fit that. Being level with the flange is not as
important. If you end up a bit high, use double wax rings to ensure a
seal. Around the trim, lay the tile to within 1/8" and fill that gap
with caulk that matches your grout. TEC brand is good for this, get it
at a tile dealer. It's more expensive than the crap box stores sell,
but for the amount you'll use in a bathroom it'll be worth it. Good
luck!

Floor tile mortar bed crumbling. Tear up and replace?
 

"Doug Warner" wrote in message
...

The bath floor in my 1984 house is crumbling in high traffic areas. .
When I pull up the loose 2" tiles, the mortar bed is in 1" and smaller
chunks. It doesn't help that they laid the tile with the paper
backing still attached, not the best thing for sticking to cement.

I've been doing temporary patch repairs by cleaning off the backs of
the tiles, vacuuming up the dust, and re-laying them in wallboard
compound.

I guess I'm going to have to tear the whole mess out, put down a sheet
underlayment, and set the new tiles in mastic.. The hard part will
be getting the height set so they mate with the wall edge trim and the
toilet flange.

I don't understand what advantage bedding the tiles in mortar is
supposed to have, when the floor underneath is going to flex. I
suppose it might work on a slab, but not on wood.
--
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Seems your wasting your time setting tiles in joint compound.

It is not hard to get the new floor to finish out at the existing height.
After rip out just measure the subfloor to the UNDERSIDE of the toilet
flange. Deduct the thickness of the new tile and the thickness of the new
cement board. This will give you the thickness of the plywood underlay you
will need to install. So if you measure 1" your new tile is 1/4" and you use
1/4" durarock you need to install 1/2" plywood underlay.

If your "wall edge trim" is sanitary base you will not be able to save it
and should figure on replacing it also.