I want to use ceramic floor tiles on a timber joist floor with chipboard, can i use silicon instead of grout?
Question:i want to put ceramic tiles onto my kitchen floor which is chipboard over timber joists with a breather gap underneath. ive been told you should really but ceramic tiles onto a solid floor to stop damage by movement but i was wondering if i could use white silicon instead of grout in between the tiles to allow for movement but still look like grout.
or does anyone have any recommendations.?
Answers:
No need to use silicon, and not a good idea anyway, :-) Flexible adhesive, and flexible grout should always be used on wooden floors as in your situation. Ideally the chipboard floor you have needs to be moisture resistant too, (usually a light green colour).
You can buy a special flexible grout from good tile shops. Are you worrying about cracking?
My first reaction is that the smell of the silicone curing is going to drive you out of the house.
My second thought is that when the tiles move on the pliable cured silicone, they will crack.
My answer is "No" don't do it.
Hi You need to cover the floor with quarter inch ply (or the metric equivalent) and screw it down securely. You need to do it in rows over the joists so that it won't move or lift. Then lay the tiles using a suitable tile adhesive. Use grout not silicon. Hope this helps.
it's not the grout that cracks or moves it's the adhesive, so use a FLEXIBLE tile adhesive but before laying tiles on chipboard you should give it a coat of diluted PVA 1part pva 2 parts water to seal the chipboard and to help adhesion.
there's no reason why you can't use silicone to grout the tiles afterwards apart from the difficulty in doing it, I'd use a water proof grout.
I wouldn't recommend it, best bet is to use polymer modifyed grout(eg. Mapei ulracolour plus) or an admix with standard grout(eg. BAL GT1). If you are using white I would suggest you use a grout protector afterwards to minimise discolouration.
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