peanutbelly
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- May 29, 2011
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Hi everyone, first time poster here. I've run into some questions as I'm in the process of collecting bids on installing 16x24 porcelain tile in my 135 square foot kitchen. Here is the background info-
100 year old house. Floor joists under the kitchen are 2x8 and spaced 16" apart except for the one closest to the wall which is more like 20-22".
5 years ago my husband and I tore out the linoleum flooring in the kitchen and replaced it with 12x12 ceramic tile. We did this project ourselves. We screwed 1/4" hardibacker down first and tiled over it. We had tiled a small bathroom before so this wasn't our first experience with tile but certainly our biggest.
Fast forward 2 years and we started getting some cracks and loose tile in the SW part of the kitchen. Our grout was also starting to come loose in several places but I attribute that to some mistakes we made in installing the grout and the fact that we used a grout that didn't allow for any flex whatsoever.
We've embarked on a total kitchen remodel at this point-new cabinets, tile, countertops, drywall, etc. We took the kitchen down to the studs and are in the process of building it back up. Drywall is in, we're down to subfloor (again).
I've explained the issues we previously had with tile to several tile guys who've been out to give us bids. We really like 2 of these guys and the prices are the same but they've given us 2 totally different solutions to the issues we've raised and I honestly don't know what to make of them-
Guy 1- his solution is to screw a 4x4 into the floor joists from below as close to center as we can and add 2 jack up beams to support the 4x4 to minimize movement in the subfloor. The kitchen is above our garage so this would be easy. He states that the issue is most likely attributed to the fact that our joists are 2x8's and not 2x10's or 2x12's used today. He recommends 1/2" hardibacker screwed down as a substrate for the tile rather than the 1/4" we used previously.
Guy 2- his solution is to use 1/2" cement board and he thinks this alone will solve the issue. His installation method is to screw down the corners and use galvanized roofing nails to nail down the rest. He would also use thinset to glue the cement board directly to the subfloor as well as to set the tile.
Both guys will use a white thinset that allows for some flexing and we've already made the decision to grout with Epoxy for other reasons (90% housetrained dog spends the other 10% of his life in my kitchen).
I'm at a loss as to what method is better.... Sorry for the long post, I would just be devastated if we started encountering loose/cracked tile again after all of this....
Any thoughts? We need to make a decision by Tuesday.....
100 year old house. Floor joists under the kitchen are 2x8 and spaced 16" apart except for the one closest to the wall which is more like 20-22".
5 years ago my husband and I tore out the linoleum flooring in the kitchen and replaced it with 12x12 ceramic tile. We did this project ourselves. We screwed 1/4" hardibacker down first and tiled over it. We had tiled a small bathroom before so this wasn't our first experience with tile but certainly our biggest.
Fast forward 2 years and we started getting some cracks and loose tile in the SW part of the kitchen. Our grout was also starting to come loose in several places but I attribute that to some mistakes we made in installing the grout and the fact that we used a grout that didn't allow for any flex whatsoever.
We've embarked on a total kitchen remodel at this point-new cabinets, tile, countertops, drywall, etc. We took the kitchen down to the studs and are in the process of building it back up. Drywall is in, we're down to subfloor (again).
I've explained the issues we previously had with tile to several tile guys who've been out to give us bids. We really like 2 of these guys and the prices are the same but they've given us 2 totally different solutions to the issues we've raised and I honestly don't know what to make of them-
Guy 1- his solution is to screw a 4x4 into the floor joists from below as close to center as we can and add 2 jack up beams to support the 4x4 to minimize movement in the subfloor. The kitchen is above our garage so this would be easy. He states that the issue is most likely attributed to the fact that our joists are 2x8's and not 2x10's or 2x12's used today. He recommends 1/2" hardibacker screwed down as a substrate for the tile rather than the 1/4" we used previously.
Guy 2- his solution is to use 1/2" cement board and he thinks this alone will solve the issue. His installation method is to screw down the corners and use galvanized roofing nails to nail down the rest. He would also use thinset to glue the cement board directly to the subfloor as well as to set the tile.
Both guys will use a white thinset that allows for some flexing and we've already made the decision to grout with Epoxy for other reasons (90% housetrained dog spends the other 10% of his life in my kitchen).
I'm at a loss as to what method is better.... Sorry for the long post, I would just be devastated if we started encountering loose/cracked tile again after all of this....
Any thoughts? We need to make a decision by Tuesday.....