Laying tiles - wooden joists

[Snyggingen]

Hello,

I've found myself in a tricky situation. I was just going to remove a couple of wardrobes from a hallway and put up some Elfa shelves. It turned out that there was no flooring under the wardrobes, and suddenly my partner and I (naively) decided to lay tiles in the entire hallway... moreover, floor heating (electric) would be nice. Neither of us has been near a similar project before, but we would love to learn. Can we dare to take this on?

The house is built on a timber frame, and there are chipboard sheets as the subfloor. Have I understood correctly that I start by laying down floor gypsum, then "roll out" the floor heating, which is then covered in self-leveling compound?

Thanks in advance! We won't manage this without you.

 

[Jonatan79]

You can install underfloor heating and self-leveling compound directly on floorboards. What is the size of the hallway and can you see the spacing of the floor joists?

 

[Snyggingen]

You can lay underfloor heating and self-leveling compound directly on chipboard. What is the size of the hallway, and can you see the spacing of the floor joists?

Thanks for the response! Ok, so you first lay out the underfloor heating and then apply the self-leveling compound? And then you lay tiles on the compound?

Good question, do I need to remove the chipboard for that? The hallway is about 7m², plus three steps.

 

[Jonatan79]

First primer on the chipboards, then underfloor heating and lastly leveling compound. Check that the floor is level before you start, so the result of the leveling compound will be better.

Maybe you see the floor joists where the closet was?

 

[Snyggingen]

First primer on the chipboard, then underfloor heating, and finally leveling compound. Check that the floor is level before you start so the result of the leveling compound is better.

Maybe you can see the floor joists where the closet was?

Thanks again! Ok, that sounds pretty straightforward anyway! Unfortunately, no, there are chipboards there too, so no joists are visible 😬

 

[Jonatan79]

If you rock/jump gently on the floor, it shouldn't flex much, test it.

 

[Snyggingen]

If you swing/jump gently on the floor, it shouldn't flex much, test

I don't think it flexes at all! Feels very stable ☺️

 

[Snyggingen]

Posting some pictures of the current situation. We're considering actually using the leveling compound as flooring instead of installing tiles.

Two considerations:
1. Is there a way to plaster the stairs so they also have the "leveling compound" color/feel?

2. How should I think about the underfloor heating? Does the wall need to be opened for the control, or can it be avoided? Can I install the underfloor heating before calling the electrician for connection?

 

[Jonatan79]

Self-leveling compound is not made for surface layers, it will crumble and wear down quickly. It may be possible to install tiles on the stairs as well, screw down gypsum board before if so. Check how the electrician wants the installation, if he even approves of you laying out the cable yourself.

 

[Rickard.lj]

There should be raw primer on the floorboards, then lay reinforcement and have the electrician stripe them, then apply 10mm of smoothing compound over the cable for good heat distribution. It's rare for electricians to let a private person lay the cable themselves unless you know what you're doing. Then the cable must be measured before and after.

 

[Snyggingen]

Thanks for the input! Then we'll probably end up laying tiles but skipping the underfloor heating 👍

Surely the simplest thing to do is to lay floor gypsum on the chipboard and the stairs, and then tiles on top of that?

 

[Jonatan79]

You don't need floor gypsum if the substrate is stable, but I would have laid it in the stairs.

 

[Snyggingen]

Hello again, Phuu now I have laid floor gypsum in the entire hallway + almost the entire staircase. In hindsight, I wish I had opted for self-leveling compound in the entire hallway instead. Oh well..

The stair step (which should be level with the laundry room) I self-leveled. This didn't turn out completely even, and there are a couple of dips. Can it be corrected afterwards without self-leveling?

 

[BirgitS]

This didn't turn out completely even, and there are a couple of dips. Is it possible to correct afterwards without using self-leveling compound?

With hand filler.

 

[Snyggingen]

I used Casco husfix rapid to glue the floor gypsum. I was somewhat "trigger happy" when mixing with the whisk, so it splashed onto the facade, foundation wall, and driveway (paving stones)…
Damn, it sticks! Is there a good product to dissolve this with, or what is the best way to remove it?