Tiling: ground floor

The underfloor heating system for the ground floor was designed to be as efficient as possible. The water in the pipes was relatively low temperature (only about 35 degrees C) so in order to heat the house, the floor needed to conduct heat very effectively - and the best way to do that was to use tiles throughout. Materials like carpet would be pretty hopeless as it would act as a layer of insulation, effectively preventing the heat from rising up into the room.    

The tiles we'd chosen for the ground floor arrived on several ultra-heavy pallets, so our first job was to get all the boxes safely into the house. Easier said than done - especially when the tile retailers stupidly bind them together stacked vertically on pallets, in a way that makes it impossible to undo the straps without the whole lot springing apart like a jack-in-the-box.

This pallet had the tiles bound upright on all four sides, so we had to use the car to support the bulk of them in order to undo the straps safely.  

We used the study as a storage area for the tiles and by the time we were finished the whole room was full. Amazingly, despite the idiotic way the pallets were loaded, there wasn't one breakage. One tile had been transported (with no packaging) on the pallet under 25 boxes and it wasn't even scratched... it boded well for their strength and durability.

These were relatively inexpensive Chinese tiles and before buying, we'd done a bit of research on the factory where they had been made. Spanish and Italian porcelain costs a fortune and while some Chinese tiles had been poorly-regarded, these particular ones were made using exactly the same equipment as the European brands and had received very good reviews. 

Before any tiling could take place the screed floor needed to be prepared. We'd used a liquid anhydrite screed which can cause big problems for tiles (of course none of the companies selling its benefits mentioned this before we used it...). Firstly, conventional cement-based tile adhesives don't stick to it (!) and secondly a thin flaky layer called 'laitance' forms as it dries and this has to be removed.

A lot of tilers we got quotes from didn't seem to know anything about anhydrite screed - after reading numerous horror stories of tiles in new builds all coming unstuck after a few months, we steered well clear of them. The tiler we eventually chose wasn't much fun to be around (understatement) but he did at least seem to know his stuff.

A close-up of the floor shows the thin, crumbly layer of laitance... 

... which was easily removed with an abrasive block. With 75 square metres of flooring to sand, we needed to hire a special machine to do the job, but the tiler (who had just bought a new floor grinder) offered to do it for us. We originally wanted to do it ourselves, but it was more expensive to just hire the machine for 1 day, than to pay the tiler to do the whole lot.

Our experience with tradesmen (and their awesome powers of destruction) meant we weren't taking any chances with any of the new kitchen cabinets or appliances. The tiler had already managed to scratch up several newly-painted walls upstairs when tiling the bathrooms, so we wrapped everything in a layer of protective cardboard. He didn't seem too happy about it (but he didn't really seem too happy about anything).

With all the rooms cleared, we were finally ready to let the grinding disc loose on the screed.

The laitance layer was removed fairly easily.

The worst thing about it was all the dust.

With the whole of the ground floor off-limits for a week (and to keep away from the grumpy tiler) we all temporarily camped out in bedroom 3. It was a bit of a squeeze, though the site inspector seemed fairly happy with his new 'digs'.

Leg.

Arms.

Once the laitance had been removed, the tiler applied several layers of primer to the floor. This creates a layer of separation between the anhydrite screed and the cement adhesive, so that the glue wouldn't fail. It is also possible to use anhydrite-based tile adhesive but the tiler didn't seem keen on that option as he hadn't used it before. 

Tiling throughout the whole of the ground floor with no breaks or thresholds normally results in having to compromise in at least one area. The idea is to get the tiles lined up as well as you can in the important areas (front door, kitchen, lounge) and see where that leaves you for the rest.

After discussions with the tiler, we decided to centre the tiles in line with the kitchen french doors. Once we were happy with the layout, the tiler marked out where the tile rows would be going using a chalk-line. 

The porcelain tiles were really big and really heavy and the tiler carried them out into the front garden to do most of his cuts. Upstairs in our 'bolt-hole' we could hear him puffing and groaning with the strain of lugging them around. We did offer to help, but he made it clear he preferred to do everything by himself. 

Progress on the kitchen was pretty swift. The shiny, white floor tiles were such a contrast after so many years of dusty, dark concrete.

The tiles immediately made the rooms much brighter. Unexpectedly, at certain times you could see the sky reflected across the floor, so when clouds or birds floated by outside they appeared to glide across the floor.

We went for a 2mm spacing between the tiles. It's possible to get away with less but since the floor would be heated, we thought it prudent to allow some room for expansion. (The heating was turned off before tiling and remained off for several weeks afterwards to allow the adhesive to dry properly).

The tiler had several cutters to shape the tiles but tended to use an angle grinder for doing small cut-outs, like around the larder.

Lounge floor primed, marked and ready for tiles.





Tiled.

The greasy marks are a protective 'transit' wax that was on all the tiles. This needs to be thoroughly washed off before any grout is applied.

The kitchen and lounge tiles joining up and making their way into the hall.

The tiler did well in the hall. Centring the tile layout in the kitchen meant we should have been a little off-centre by the front door, but he managed to eke out a few extra millimetres by slightly manipulating the tile spacing as it progressed through the length of the house. It wasn't noticeable and he wouldn't tell us exactly where he'd managed to recoup so much space "because you're really fussy". Hmm.

We got him to make up a mat-well using stainless steel trim. We will get a door mat cut to size at a later date.     

The tile layout worked extraordinarily well. The only 'compromised' area ended up being the short corridor that leads to the utility room. Ordinarily you wouldn't want such thin tile cuts alongside a wall, but it's not all that noticeable in a passageway and will be largely concealed by the door and skirting boards anyway.

We used any leftovers and off-cuts to tile under the appliances, which will make it so much easier to get access if they ever need to be pulled out. (Another unexpected advantage of the glossy floor tiles, was how easy it makes moving heavy appliances like the washing machine, which can be slid along on a dustsheet with no effort).

Looking back from the kitchen at the hall and utility room. Having no thresholds between the rooms made everything seem so unified.

The stacks of tiles in the study were getting progressively lower. Unfortunately, the tiler had not been particularly careful (understatement) while working in that room and the walls were looking decidedly secondhand.

The freshly-painted walls were all covered with scratches and chips. 

There were gouges in the plaster where tiles had been leant up against the wall. The room was going to need filling and repainting. It certainly validated our decision to wrap everything in the kitchen up in cardboard, but was massively frustrating nevertheless. A heated discussion with the tiler about the damage, did little to help an already-strained relationship... 

As it had been our temporary storeroom (and tiler's punchbag) the study was the last room to be tiled and had to be sanded and primed separately to the rest of the house. We were getting worried that we hadn't ordered enough tiles, but ended up with just one complete tile left over. Phew!

Once the tiling was all completed and the tiles thoroughly cleaned, the next stage was the grouting. The tiles are slightly off-white to match the windows and woodwork, so the tiler suggested we test several shades of white grout to make sure we chose the best match. 

Before grouting...

... After grouting.

The site inspector was happy with the new floors...

... really, really happy.

Any concerns we had about glossy white floors were soon dispelled; they weren't at all slippery and were so easy to keep clean. They show up dirt easily, though that just pinpoints exactly where we need to clean. No matter how much we vacuumed, the carpeted floors in our old house always retained a level of dirt/stains/odour (as carpets do); maintaining the new floor is a doddle by comparison and it always feels fresh and clean.     

Despite his lack of social graces, the tiler certainly did a good job. Although we complimented his work often, these words did little to improve his mood and after a strained 2 weeks, it was a relief to finally close the door and have the house to ourselves again.