CotswoldDoItUpper

Due to the difficulties we’re having getting a decent tiler this side of April next year (yes, seriously!) we’ve decided to lay the rest of the 15sqm large format limestone ourselves. the subfloor is eps with UFH pipes in them. The tiles are 600x900x15mm limestone. I also have ditra matting to be laid under the tiles. I guess my questions are: - what type and how much adhesive? - how much grout (jasmine colour)? - what size trowel? - is ready mixed ok? - lithofin stain stop will be out sealant, do the backs need sealing before laying? - any tips and tricks that would be good before I c0ck it up! thanks for saving me from making some basic errors!

Justly throw another idea out there…. What about using something like ICF and rebar? no idea if it would work, or what an SE would say, but lightweight to carry and you can pump the concrete in? Prob more expensive, but might be less back breaking!!

There are seemingly an endless list of energy suppliers going bust (I think 7 at my last count?!) including some that I know many on here have used. ours has gone under (utility point) and we’ve been ‘switched’ to EDF. What im trying to get my head around is which supplier is a safe and cheep pair of hands to switch to when EDF say I can go? All of the ‘cheep’ suppliers run the risk of going t*ts up again, but I don’t want to be left with significantly higher bills. On the plus side I can probably sell our nearly full tank LPG for more then I bought it for now!

Thanks!

As it says on the tin really. What is the maximum difference in height between two loops of UFH the same zone? We have a couple of steps in the hallway and would like to run it off the same manifold located in the higher area. Ta!

Thanks @nod, helpful advice as always! do you think our tiles can be lifted without damaging the UFH pipes? I need to have an argument with our tiler and want to be well prepared! Will it also damage the dritra matting too?

Great, but both can be used on natural limestone? Thanks!

Can anyone tell me if there is a practical difference between the KF and MN versions of Lithofin Stain Stop? Maybe the god of tiling (and other things) @nod can point me in the right direction?

We got design and supply from https://www.ufhtradedirect.co.uk who seemed reasonable. Think design on its own is £50, but that can be taken off the price if the kit if you order through them.

Your cardiovascular system works harder to pump more blood to extremities when warm so that the process off evaporation from perspiration can take place. the exception is when you’re very cold and continually shivering. This can increase calorific burn by about 200/hr over non-shivering cold temps, but that is strictly not a reflection of an increase of your Basel metabolic rate. have a quick google for refs.

You burn more calories to cool the body then heat it…. Therefore a warmer environment will assist those trying to reduce mass of body fat. #OffToppic #sorry

Looks similar to what’s happened to our inside kitchen limestone….. no one (tile supplier, tiler, adehesive manufacturer, grout manufacturer or sealer manufacturer) really knows why, or they’re not willing to own up to causing an issue.

7 days after removing sealer we have this. Would it make a difference if the tiler had used the wrong version of lithofin stain-stop? For example He might have used KN instead on MN by accident. Would this have made a difference?

Another ‘quote’… thus one seems much better thought about, though roughly the same price inc vat.

That’s a great suggestion thanks! Did you install anything between the pipes abs the underlay to ‘level’ the floor, and if not, can you feel the pipes through it?

@IanR our space heating is 34654 kWh per year and our hot water requirements are 2337 kWh per year. EPC from about 6 months ago when we bought was 19G. I think we will was a bigger cylinder anyway, but this quote was a starting point! I do think it is maybe a bit on the £££ side, but I’ll have to see what other quotes say. @LA3222 given our EPC the Gov website says we should expect £1300/year in RHI payments. 60% reduction in bills I think is a little strong, but I’d be happy with 40%! LPG is v expensive fabric is being improved, we’re adding insulation and foil tape everywhere we can to keep it as efficient whilst allowing a 200+ year old building breathe. It’s a challenge, but we’ll get there! @SimonD ooo good spot thanks! What’s the 60% vat rule? and no, I don’t think they have done their own heat loss calcs. We have an EPC from the purchase and I pointed out where it was incorrect but no more then that. To be fair, the guy came to quote for a different job (bathrooms) and I asked him to quote for an ASHP too seeing as he was here!!

Does this seem reasonable? Never heard of Nibe either, any experience with them?

Any idea what should go between UFH pipes and carpet underlay? surely if you lay routed chipboard there will still have to be a covering so you can’t feel the empty bits where there are no pipes?

- air gap under joists (yes suspended floor) - joist depth 100mm on 400 centres - I wasn’t planning on putting underlay directly onto the eps, Im trying to establish what I should put between them. google images here I come!

Didn’t know such a thing existed! yup will do that. Do the ‘empty’ bits of routed chipboard need filling with anything? Or would you feel the uneven surface of chipboard and pipes through the carpet and underlay? I guess you could always also use pir over joists for better results then the eps? Or are either not strong enough to take the further floor make up?

Evenin’ all! The plan is to fit UFH in 2 downstairs carpeted rooms, the floor will be - 100mm pir (max we can get whilst maintaining 50mm air gap) between joists - 18mm chipboard - 20mm foiled eps with UFH pipes routed in - ??? - underlay (0.7 - 1tog) - carpet (1 - 1.5tog) the question is what (if anything) needs to go in between the eps and the underlay? Thanks!

Thanks @Ferdinand I hadn’t considered recycled, that’s going on the list! @markc this is for bedrooms, hopefully not too heavy traffic, tho I could do with losing a few KGs here and there!!

… carpet underlay?!? There seems to be a huge baffling amount of choice, and other then ‘thicker is better’ I can’t find any difference between the options/brands/types out there. tia!

So the sealant has been removed this am. 2 hours to remove 55sqm. And think there are bits where there is still some left as it feels greasy. Assured that this is the damp. it has made a bit of a difference in some areas, less white, but my baseline tile still looks awful. Now have to wait 5-7 days for the tiles to dry out. Can’t see it making any difference to be honest.

it wasn’t soaking, I assumed the moisture was from the adhesive underneath? did yours look like ours after one coat? fan heater sounds like a good idea - will give it a try, he is back tomorrow to strip them and then in a week to re seal.