Hey everyone, it’s been a long time.
After having water damage a couple of times over the years, I decided to replace the floor in the hall bathroom and install 12 X 12 ceramic tiles. The floor in the whole house bounces alot so I had some guys sister 2X6s to most of the floor joists under the house for support. I left the plywood subfloor and installed (in this order) thinset, 3/8″ Hardibacker, hardibacker screws, thinset, 3/8″ Hardibacker (overlapped seams), Hardibacker screws, thinset, tiles, grout. I thought suring-up the joists and doubling the underlayment would give me the stability needed for a tile floor. I made sure no screw heads or seams were raised, but now, after @6 months the tiles are cracking, one has come up and I can hear crumbling under some of the other tiles.
My wife wants me to forsake the tiles and use sheet vinyl flooring, but I don’t know how to best apply it. If I glue it to the tiles and they keep moving or if I remove the tiles and try to apply the vinyl to the thinset covered Hardibacker I envision a mess.
Any suggestions?
Thanks, Dave.
Replies
You wasted your time and money with the second layer of hardie. It does not add strength. All you get is a good surface to bond the tiles to, and it adds height.
Doubling the joists did not do much either. You should have either installed taller joists, or a beam at mid-span to reduce the span distance.
The good news is that the tiles will probably be very easy to remove. And maybe even the hardie will come up easily. How thick was the thinset under the hardie? It should have been very thin.
if you want to go back with tile, go in the basement and install a beam. If DW gets her way, remopve all the loose stuff.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
Did the "guys" sister the 2x6 with only nails. Proper way is to sister on the joist using LVL and foam construction adhesive and anchor them to getter using 3/8" lag bolts or carriage bolts....
Mark
I agree with the two guys above, plus use flex bond or equal for your thinset. You have a mess no matter what route you take.
Have a good day.
Cliffy