Been working on my lil fixer-upper house in town and am getting to kitchen floor that i want to tile.The room only 10 x 12 , has a oak t&g floor prettystained up.It must of been framed with green lumber because the floor has a belly in it almost 1 1/2″ deep altho it is very solid and doesnt flex a bit. Has a good plaster cieling underneath it i dont want to mess with. Ive scribed long furring 2’bys that span the room and have them all leveled up.I want to put 1/4 durarock over these ( 1/4″ is all the ht. i can spare plus tile thickness) but there needs to be a solid substrate under the durorock spanning the furring strips. Would that level compound(dry mix) be the stuff that i could screed over the strips and give backing to rock?I didnt think anything cementious( mortar or thinset) would work since id being floating from 0″ -1 1/4-1/2″ and back to 0″. Any other ideas or suggestions? Thanks.
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how's about sand?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Hmm sounds too easy but being a another rural rustic improviser i get the drift.Wouldn't it flex?
flex? not if it's captured on all sides...add some portland like a dry pack job.?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
You just think it doesn't flex. Truth is, it has probably already flex to near the maximum and near the point of failure to have that much 'belly' in it.
So now you are talking about adding a lot of weight to it. Is this really an expoeriment to see where is the straw that broke the camels back?
Open it up down to the faming and sister in straight lumber to share the load. Then build over that.
or go ahead and add weright and watch it flex more untill all the tiles are popping off or the plaster cieling below suddenly decides to mess with you...
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I'm very familiar with Self Leveling Compound ("SLC") It is two lies in one. It is neither leveling, nor does it do it by itself.
Seriously, it is OK Stuff. It is really expensive, and you can mix 2 bags in one 5 gal bucket and if you need more get some helpers and extra buckets and drills because you can't have cold joints. It all has to go down at once.
You mix the stuff for only 2 minutes AND NO MORE. It sets up in about 5 minutes, so you have three minutes to shut off the drill and get the buckets on the floor.
Dam everything. This stuff will find a way out if it can. Oh, and use the primer for masonry underneath, or tar paper and diamond lathe for wood subfloor.
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
Self leveling compound is made for just this situation. I've seen it in action and it works quite well.
You have to plug all the openings where it could leak through because it is a liquid and will end up in the basement if you leave any cracks. It can be applied up to, I think, 1½" thick, or thicker with aggregate, and be feathered out to nothing. After it cures, you tile right on it without needing additional cement board.
It's critical that it be mixed exactly according to directions. The water must be measured, it cannot be guessed at by eye. If the water is just a little off either way, it won't work. I think some of the folks who have had trouble with these compounds have not followed directions. There may be some brands that are not so good, too. You also have to provide a perimeter expansion joint with some cheap peel-and-stick weatherstripping. It's all in the data sheet.
The stuff that I've seen work is made by Tec and can be ordered through almost any tile supplier.
http://www.tecspecialty.com/product_detail.asp?prodId=102
http://www.tecspecialty.com/files/pds/PDS_TA-323.pdf