Manufacturers and contractors are welcome to contribute to the Expert Advice section. Schlüter-Systems have prepared a series of advisory technical articles relating to the ongoing problems associated with movement in floor tile installations. Contract Flooring Magazine leads the way for publishing such expert advice online for reference by the flooring, building and construction industry.
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Read our definitive series on movement joints and why they are needed. We also cover the technical aspects regarding their installation.
Schlüter®–Systems 'Ian Knifton' expert in this field, have contributed a Movement Joint Series of technical articles. A valuable trade resource.
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Schluter-Systems Ltd. is frequently asked if tiles can be successfully installed onto acoustic floors.
Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer. Ian Knifton, Schluter's Technical Manager, says that with appropriate tiling protection some acoustic floors will accommodate tiles, but others won't.
Q, I've been asked by a customer to tile onto an acoustic floor. How can I decide whether it's suitable to take tiles or not?
A, Installers should always seek specific advice relating to the individual application.
There is now a wide variety of acoustic flooring available, some of which is suitable to tile onto with the proper materials, but some is totally unsuitable, especially where there is rigidity and stability.
To put a rigid finish, such as tiles, over a surface that is very compressible, is asking for trouble: the grout lines would crack first, then the tiles would crack at the joints, and finally debond.
Q, What sort of installations would be suitable for tiling onto, with appropriate tiling protection?
A, At the request of installers, Schluter has carried out a number of site inspections where some acoustic flooring would take tiles with the correct protection: for instance, a chipboard floor with felt bonded to its underside acting as the acoustic barrier, batons with different types of foam, and others with acoustic matting.
Q, How can the tiles be protected in these cases?
A, With all these it would be possible to protect the tiles with a specialist uncoupling membrane, such as Schluter-DITRA, which allows any stresses that occur between the acoustic flooring and the tiles to be neutralized evenly.
Q, How is it installed?
A, In a nutshell, after ensuring that the substrate is even and load-bearing, the bonding adhesive is applied with a 3mm x 3mm or 4mm x 4mm notched trowel. While the type of bonding adhesive depends on the type of substrate, for most substrates a dry-set tile adhesive is suitable.
The fleece on the underside of the membrane needs to be solidly embedded into the adhesive so that its entire surface is bonded.
Work the membrane into the adhesive, in just one direction, using a float or screed trowel. The tiles can be laid on top immediately afterwards, by anchoring the adhesive into the square cavities.
The fleece is adhered to the substrate with standard adhesive. And the adhesive used to bond the tiles actually anchors into the dovetailed configuration, mechanically locking the tiles onto the top.
Any stresses that then occur between the substrate ands the tiles are evenly distributed in all directions, protecting the tiles from damage.
However, if the flooring is too compressible, the movement under the rigid tiled surface will be too much even for the uncoupling membrane to absorb.
That's why installers should always seek specific advice about each particular application.
For more information contact:
Stewart Bint
T: 01530 813396
F: 01530 813376
