Replies

1. 
   piffin_ | Sep 30, 2001 04:01am | #1

   *
   You need wood that will look good with the tiles you are choosing, be stable, and wear well for floor application. Mahoganny, Oak, and maple would all fit that except that all look quite different and I don't have your taste in tiles.

   You should pre-sand and seal all sides of the wood and the end joints for this kind of application. If you are using a universal adhesive for the floor tiles, it will work with the wood too. You should still plan on using a few screws or nails too because the wood is likely to try to warp or twist out of place.
   Another problem you might have is that wood will expand/contract while the tiles barely do. presealing the wood helps prevent it but not entirely.

1. 
   Rich_ | Sep 30, 2001 04:12am | #2

   *It sounds like you are limited in the amount of change in floor elevation. 1" is a thin build-up for what you have in mind. The key is to have a wood which is very stable. But also important is how to fasten. These are so much more important when you don't have much room. Have you considered an engineered wood? Or you might want to put down a secondary wood with a laminate of your wood of choice on top. Stay away from plywood. What substrate will you be setting the tile on?

1. 
   Ben_Turoff | Sep 30, 2001 05:21am | #3

   *I planned on using oak. The sub floor is poured concrete in one area and tongue and groove 3/4 plywood in the rest. One of the reasons I came up with the interesting pattern with the wood an tile was to try and hide the joint between the 2 sub-floors. I live in Florida and we don't seem to have as big a problem with seasonal shrinkage as northern states do. I thought about using something for the grout that was more of a caulk than a true grout. Is this too dangerous?

1. 
   Ben_Turoff | Sep 30, 2001 05:28am | #4

   *Actually, I don't have any height restrictions where I plan to do this. I planned on using short runs of oak in a herringbone pattern and pre sealing them. What kind of engineered wood are you talking about - a recycled product like Trex? My subfloor is 3/4 tongue and groove plywood over most of the area with a section of poured concrete. My idea for the pattern came from a desire to hide the seam and not get any cracks in a few years.

1. 
   Mongo_ | Sep 30, 2001 07:40am | #5

   *"Engineered wood"A strip flooring that is a ply-type product. The top ply is the purdy wood...oak, maple, cherry, etc...the ply construction makes it a bit more stable than conventional full-thickness wood strip flooring. Less expansion/contraction/warping, etc.Kahrs is one example. It may also be advantageous to you in that it comes prefinished.

2. 
   Rich_ | Sep 30, 2001 08:28am | #6

   *i I thought about using something for the grout that was more of a caulk than a true grout. Is this too dangerous?

3. 
   Rich_ | Sep 30, 2001 08:35am | #7

   *i I thought about using something for the grout that was more of a caulk than a true grout. Is this too dangerous? Dangerous? In what way do you mean? There are epoxy grouts available, but now you're getting abit more exotic for the project.i The sub floor is poured concrete in one area and tongue and groove 3/4 plywood in the restThis sounds like slab on grade adjacent to a raised foundation. Whether it is or not, your first step is to make sure the concrete and the T&G plywood are fairly at the same elevation. Next, you'll want to consider just how you intend to bond the wood & tile to the existing subfloors. I have some ideas but need to know more about the subfloor construction.

4. 
   Ken_fisher | Sep 30, 2001 02:07pm | #8

   *No easy task here!I wouldn't be concened with the expansion of a single 4" wide board in this case though I would leave a 1/16" space against the tile. I'd use an adhesive such as Bostiks Best and a small pin nailer to keep the pattern from shifting once it is laid out or before the adhesive "grabs."This would work if the entire area is plywood. I agree with Rich on the need for more info on the subfloor. Going over two areas such as ply and slab in this scenerio would probably cause problems down the road. Add 1/2" ply to the entire area?

5. 
   Ian.D.Gilham. | Sep 30, 2001 08:15pm | #9

   *Ben,I've done something similar with granite inserts to a parquet floor.I put the timber grid down first (Ken's suggestion of Bostik Best is what I chose too) and used OSB to maintain the spaces for the inserts. When the adhesive to the grid was set, the OSB was removed and the granite laid, again with Bostik.I didn't have as much problem with grout as my granite inserts were in one piece.The timber should be completely pre-finished -- I like the suggestion of an engineered plank.As to the sub-floor, in similar situations I have either incorporated an expansion/movement joint into the pattern over the junction between timber and concrete or completely covered the sub-floor with a ply underlay, fixed and glued.

6. 
   rob.kelly | Oct 02, 2001 03:36am | #10

   *They do wood/tile in the Phillipines. To see how it looks, check out the Filipino restaurants in your area.

2. 
   Ben_Turoff | Oct 02, 2001 03:36am | #11

   *
   I am interested in finishing a floor with 1x4's in a checkerboard pattern with 2' square openings. I would like to fill these openings with 4 12" tiles. I need to know what kind of wood to use, what kind of adhesive and any special precautions to be taken at the seems.