Hi guys, I have a moderately small 2m x 1m enclosed porch with a concrete base and was wondering what products tiles or laminate are DIY friendly for a neat/tidy finish for a competant DIY'er to have a go at? looked at encaustic tiles but the prep work and sealing and other steps put me off a little... Any ideas?
Did mine last year. Encaustic onto concrete. Just chiselled of any high spots on the concrete and then primed and used powder adhesive, went fine. I have done quite a bit of wall tiling but never floor before. This is a photo before I grouted.
That's great! I dont have any tiling equipment though... Assuming i need a tile cutter really to do the job.... What primer and adhesive did you use? Specific brands for encaustic tiles?
These were the tiles https://www.periodpropertystore.co....cement-encaustic-salisbury-pattern-tile-p3427 These are quite expensive even just for 2 metres but look the business, in my opinion. You really need a wet tile saw to cut these, I just bought the cheapest one on the screwfix site and it worked fine. https://www.screwfix.com/p/mac-allister-mtc500-500w-electric-tile-cutter-220-240v/776fx I used Mapei products for adhesive and grout, powder not premixed. Primed the concrete first and then sealed the tiles after. Was also advised to seal the top of encaustic tiles before grouting to prevent the grout staining them as they are porous, and then sealed again after grout. So you are right it is quite a performance but worth it. I would also recommend using some sort of tile levelling system, I didn't and ended up with a decent job but in hindsight I wish I had. This is definitely more of a project than just chucking down some underlay and a bit of laminate or LVT which would just take an hour or so. For example to do a decent job the skirting really needs removing. The end result is worth it though.
@Muzungu - Some great information there! Thanks for taking the time. I've been looking for a cheap 2nd hand electric tile cutter as it's such a small space... What primer did you use for your concrete, i'm assuming i'll need the same... And when you mention you'd use a tile levelling system are you referring to the slight height variations when you run your hands over the tiles? What system in hindsight do you think you would have used, there's a few out there so i'm intrigued!
Yes, it's the "lipping" I was referring to. I made up a short length of wire with one end at 90 degrees to about a centimetre. I used this to slip between the tile gaps and pull up a tile edge if it was too low, that with a 60 cm level and I got things pretty good. I actually haven't used any of the levelling systems so don't want to recommend, maybe someone else will. It just struck me it would have been a bit easier to get things exact. I just used Mapei plaster primer because I had some to hand, worked for me and because it was such a small area I didn't want to buy something I would never use. Look also at Bal bond SBR. Others with more experience may comment but as I say, that's what worked for me.
If you want to keep it simple and cost effective - both in terms of materials and tools that will need to be purchased, then go with laminate Huge range available both in quality and design and materials If your concerned about damp coming through concrete floor, then lay a DPM This can either be the thick polythene sheet or a liquid paint on type - both effective, easy, cheap Use foil backed underlay for the laminate and gives a little insulation and another layer to ward off any damp Obviously, if your aware of a big damp issue, then this needs addressing before you decide on any flooring type Also vinyl flooring, both sheet and tiles/planks but this needs super flat floor so self leveling compound is the way to go here, over DPM, over the concrete Just some more ideas for you