ceramic floor tile

[Halfathumb]

We're considering ceramic floors throughout the house. I'm certain after learning from you tubes and here I'll be able to to it myself, maybe hire an extra set of hands to help. I have experience with laying hardwood and laminate flooring. 
Approximately 1380 SF (including 10% overage). 
#1. What's the best underlayment to use? 
#2. Should I use 12" X 12" tile or something else?
#3. What type of grout?
#4. What type of adhesive and how many gts. per sf?
#5. What to use to cover the nail dimples in the backer boards?
 

Experienced help & suggestions appreciated.

Jim

[joe1086]

Lots of YouTube videos on tile installation including lots of bad ones. Search for Sal Diblasi videos, he does it the right way and has hundreds of how-to videos.

A few more suggestions....

For larger tiles, like a 12x12 and bigger, you need to start with a really flat floor. Flat as in not more than 1/4" out over a 10 foot span. If it's not flat, fix it. For wooden subfloors/joists it's good to know how much they will deflect - and that's based on joist dimensions, spacing and spans. John Bridge has a calculator here you can plug the variables in and check Link (works like the old "Sagulator" calculator).  That same site has a user forum with lots of professionals answering DIY questions....you might want to check it out.

The last tile work I did we used 12 x 12 and 12 x 24 tiles with narrow grout lines. There are leveling "systems" out there now that help keep all the tiles in plane and they did make a difference on the finished product.

For 1400 sf, get some knee pads.

Good luck!

[fixtureman]

And a good tile saw

[brianwelch]

I would start with the tile shop from whom you are purchasing the finished floor. Some depends on the structural integrity of the existing floors and whether they are SOG or wood framed. As mentioned above, flatness and levelness of the floor are both considerations. For crack mitigation, Ditra by Schluter is widely acclaimed and a requirement where we do our commercial renovations.
Good luck, better you than me...

[Halfathumb]

I'm pretty confident that sub floors are in good shape & flat, I had a very good builder in 1998 when the house was built. Since the original construction I've laid laminate flooring and it was level then and I plan to check it room by room after removing the existing flooring. Since posting this I say a you tube where they talked about Schluter Ditra and am leaning that way.

Thanks folks

Jim

[joe1086]

Since posting this I say a you tube where they talked about Schluter Ditra and am leaning that way.

Some of the big box stores sell Ditra but I found our tile store sold it for less. They had huge rolls of it and you could buy any length you wanted. Find a tile store that sells to the trades.

Doing bathrooms too? Might consider DitraHeat in bathrooms that have tub/showers. Adds several hundred $$ more for average sized bath but is nice walking on 100* floors.

[Cooler]

And a good tile saw

I bought a very good (Japanese made) tile cutter.  It is so much faster than the saw that it gets 99% of the cuts.

It is not good for stone or heavily contoured surfaced ceramic, but for almost everything else, very fast and with a good one, very accurate.

This is the one I got--very nice:  https://www.tiletools.com/product/ishii-...4-clinker/

I would also note that porcelain is far more durable than ceramic tile.  For high traffic areas, it would be much preferred.

[adamcherubini]

I think unless you are working from a slab, I think you should reconsider engineered flooring.

Code reqt for wooden floors is L/360. Tiled bathrooms should be half that or L/720 at least. Because bathrooms are rarely bigger than 8 or 10’ the total magnitude of deflection is pretty low compared to a living room that could have 16’ spans at L/360.

DITRA is an uncoupling membrane that stops cracks in underlaying concrete from telegraphing to your tile. It will do nothing to prevent your tile or grout lines from cracking due to deflection.

[Snipe Hunter]

I've done quite a few bathrooms now, two kitchens, several showers, tubs and all the floors. The only time I ever needed a wet-saw was for marble in my kitchen. Lowes has a decent snap cutter for under $100 and all the curved cuts are made with a 4" diamond blade on my angle grinder. Curved cuts are usually hidden anyway. I still use cement backer because I'm comfortable with it and repairs are easier if ever needed. I much prefer the Durock to the Hardie Backer.

[Cooler]

I've done quite a few bathrooms now, two kitchens, several showers, tubs and all the floors. The only time I ever needed a wet-saw was for marble in my kitchen. Lowes has a decent snap cutter for under $100 and all the curved cuts are made with a 4" diamond blade on my angle grinder. Curved cuts are usually hidden anyway. I still use cement backer because I'm comfortable with it and repairs are easier if ever needed. I much prefer the Durock to the Hardie Backer.

I could have gotten by with a cheaper cutter, but I wanted the 24" cutting capacity.  The entire device looked and felt like quality machinery; something the big box store offerings did not seem like.

I agree, I used the saw infrequently.  A right angle grinder with a ceramic disc was very handy.

I did use a marble threshold that I cut on the saw, but Lowes would have cut that to size for me if I asked.