Browse Forums Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1 Jul 12, 2016 10:51 pm Sorry in advance for the long story but hopefully you understand our dilemma. We are building a two story 38 sq home with upstairs living, kitchen, living area etc. Because the wife hates carpet and I don't like floating floor board we are going to tile the living areas upstairs / down stairs and looselay vinyl planks the bedrooms. The company we intend to buy the floor tiles from mentioned we need to find out from our builder if the first floor can handle the weight if we screed when we tile. The builder contacted the engineer and in their opinion it wouldn't. So rather than have the floor joists at 450mm the engineer recommended we pay extra to have them at 360mm. That way apparently the floor could handle fibro underlay + tiles. In the meantime the brickies have left a pallet of bricks up on the first floor (Orange tongue floor) and because they were left there for months the weight has weakened the floor in and around that area. So as it turns out the floor joists were installed at 450mm not 360mm which is what we paid extra for but to their credit the SS found the problem and are fixing it. But the first floor is a mess as far as levels go, when it rains we have puddles all over the place highlighting how uneven the floor is. So now we are getting mixed messages from local builders who say just screed the floor don't worry about underlay sheeting and that should work but they question what the engineer has said and disagree that the floor can't handle the weight. So yeah really confused on what we should do here..... Anyone? Re: Would you screed or Underlay? 2Jul 13, 2016 5:14 am Can't comment on the structural aspects but a screed will give a better finish to the floor surface. I find that you can usally feel any unevenness when you walk on a floor even if there is underlay and a thick carpet. I recommend that when doing a PCI you take your shoes off as it makes you much more sensitive to flooring imperfections. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Would you screed or Underlay? 3Jul 13, 2016 7:04 am If you're unconvinced on the engineer's advice, I would ask another engineer, not a builder, or as well as a builder maybe. The old "nahhh she'll be right mate" doesn't cut it unfortunately. I'd be mildly concerned if they are reusing the floor joists that you think might have sagged. Surely if an engineered joist has sagged, then its structural properties have been compromised? Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Would you screed or Underlay? 4Jul 13, 2016 1:01 pm So what are you going to do about the discrepancy between the tiles on a screed to the living areas ( probably 40mm screed and 10mm tiles = 50mm height ) and the looselay vinyl planks ( which are usually just 5-10mm at most off the sheet flooring ) ? And as per 1960'sMH comment above, an engineer is the only one who can certify that the floor can take any extra weight. If you or anyone you know has access to a dumpy level, you could pop around to your site when no-one else is there and take a few spot levels. That is the most accurate way of seeing just how much your floor has sagged in that area ( or others for that matter ). Stewie Before you rip it up, if you can in the grout lines, drill some holes and pour/inject techgrip by sika. I have used it to bond mdf to timber, but in the process it dripped… 1 4299 Hi all, We're curring working on our outdoor and have some questions in relation to screed. I've tried to find information online, without success. Apologies for the… 0 3356 Currently renovating, and our main lounge is 5m x 10m, with a cathedral roof peaking at 6.5m high. Currently have tiles on concrete slab. Room is very hard to heat. I am… 0 4822 |