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   November 5, 2009

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   scobranchi said:
   

   First, you definitely need to put down some type of underlayment such as durarock under a tile floor. If not, your floor will almost always flex too much eventually cracking the grout and loosening the tiles. The one exception is on a concrete floor since it is already very stiff. It’s not hard to install. Most people recommend laying it 90 degrees to the direction of your subfloor and some will either just screw it down but I feel that you should put a thin layer of thinset down under it binding your durarock and sub-floor and then screw it down. The sub-floor does not have to be perfectly level but you want it to be pretty close to that after you put down the backer board. If you need to level the floor, there are self-leveling compounds that are designed to help with that.

   Installation of the backer board isn’t hard. It’s just alot of work. It usually comes in 3×5′ sheets but is a little heavy. You can score and snap it similar to a sheet or drywall or you can cut it using a saw with a blade designed for cutting cement-type products. Just keep in mind that it makes a big mess if you cut it with a saw and you probably should wear a dust mask. I’ve even made finer cuts using a tile saw. As for screwing it down you’ll need a good drill and you’ll want to use screws designed for backer board. You should see them somewhere near where you find the backer board. Also, you need ALOT of screws. Some products are marked where to put the screws but I think the normal method is every 8″ long the edge and every 10-12 in the interior of each sheet.

   I’ve never tried an under floor heating system but a tile book I had shows how to do it. It basically looked like a rubber matt with embedded heating wires throughout. Looked like you just layed that in a bed of thinset between the backer board and tile. If I remember right it was just one electrical connection and it ran low voltage. I would imagine you would just run it somewhere close to a source, tie the electrical in and then pull the wire to some type of wall mounted controller or thermostat. Also, I would think you would want it on a GFI circuit just to be sure. It didn’t look impossible but was more work and expense than I wanted to get into.

   Lastly, there are a number of good web sites and discussion boards about tile. Here’s a link to one I’ve found very useful.
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   November 9, 2009

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   clyde s said:
   

   Not too far off. The subfloor needs to be clean and reasonably level to put down backer board. Pulling up the vinyl and underlayment is a pretty easy job. The tile and durock in the foyer will require more intensive labor. Tile labor is usually about 4 to 6 dollars a square foot with more being charged for patterns (setting on the diagonal) If you decide to tackle this yourself, follow the manufacturers instructions. We don’t screw down board, we use roofing nails, as it allows the board to perform the way it is designed to do.We do use thinset to level the board and take out any hollow spots. Also Utilacrete is a superior product to Durock aka as Dur-junk. Sun touch makes a nice heating mat that’s easy to install. They sell it at Daltile. You will need an electrician for the hook up. Hope this helps