What is included
A scope built around the room.
- 01Porcelain, ceramic and natural stone
- 02Uncoupling and crack isolation membranes
- 03Waterproofing for wet areas
- 04Electric in-floor heating
- 05Large format and pattern layouts
- 06Movement joints and transitions
The floor has to be stiff enough for tile
Tile and grout do not flex. The industry standard for ceramic and porcelain is a subfloor system that deflects no more than the span divided by three hundred and sixty under load, and natural stone requires roughly double that stiffness. In older Toronto homes with long joist spans, notched joists or a single layer of subfloor, that often means adding a layer, sistering joists or adding blocking before any tile goes down. Skipping this is why so many kitchen floors have one cracked grout line running straight across the room.
Uncoupling membranes and crack isolation
A wood subfloor moves seasonally and a concrete slab cracks. An uncoupling membrane sits between the substrate and the tile so that movement below does not transfer into the tile above, and crack isolation does the same job over an existing cracked slab. These membranes also provide a consistent bonding surface and, in the case of most sheet products, a path for vapour to escape. They are a small percentage of the job cost and they are the difference between a floor that lasts and a floor that telegraphs every seasonal movement.
Movement joints are not optional either
The Tile Council of North America has published detail for this for decades: tile installations need soft joints at the perimeter, at changes of plane, over existing control joints and at intervals across large fields, with tighter spacing where a floor is exposed to direct sunlight or heat. Grout is not a movement joint. When a large tiled area is grouted tight to the walls with no perimeter joint, thermal and structural movement has nowhere to go and the tile tents or the grout crushes. We plan the joints as part of the layout.
Waterproofing and in-floor heat
In wet areas, waterproofing is a system, not a product: bonded sheet or liquid membrane, treated corners and changes of plane, and a drain assembly that ties into the membrane properly. Electric in-floor heat goes in as part of the same buildup, with the cable spacing planned around fixtures and the sensor placed where it can be replaced. We test the heating element before, during and after tiling, so if a cable is damaged we know which stage did it rather than opening a finished floor to guess.
Large format tile and layout
Large format tile needs a flatter substrate than small tile, full mortar coverage under the tile, the correct trowel and often a levelling system to control lippage. Stagger patterns above about a third offset can produce visible lippage from tile warp alone, which is why most manufacturers now recommend a maximum offset for long planks. Layout starts by finding the sightlines and the fixed elements, then setting the grid so cuts land where they are least visible, not by starting in a corner and hoping.
Standards and references
Where we cover
Tile across the GTA.
Questions