EZ Rider

We bought a 20 yr. old rancher and everthing is still original and shows a lot of wear. I want to start updating/remodeling one room at a time. I would like to lay ceramic tile in the entryway and in the bathrooms. My question is this. My wife has severe arthritis and doesn't get around very well at age 51, so I want to do everything with the thought that she may some day be in a wheel chair. She is pretty heavy and since the combined weight of her and the chair would be concentrated on a very small area (sq. inches) compared to someone walking upright, would I be likely to get cracked tiles or grout cracks after an extended period of time? Let's assume that the joists and subfloor are adequate for normal installation/usage.

Most of our handyman services are outside but we want to start doing a little interior work as well, so I thought where better to practice than in my own house. We've done wall tile before but no floors.

Thanks,

Dave

Bud Cline

If properly installed wheel chairs wouldn't be an issue. The grout joints will cause thumps in some cases. Door widths and thresholds should be a consideration when transitioning from room to room.

Teetorbilt

When selecting tile for an entry don't forget the 'wet' factor. A lot of tile can be slippery when wet. You can apply a non-skid coating but I prefer different tile as liquid spills can present problems throught the home.

Our last home had cheap, slick tile and Ol'#2 bit the dust more than a few times. She was younger and bounced better back then. I wear boat shoes.

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

Bud Cline

Just so's youse guys knows.....

EZR has this same topic running on more than one board.

EZ Rider

Thanks so much for the advice.

TileMan77

You should not have any problems as long as your making sure that when you lay your tile you should make sure 100% of the tile is covered in thinset.. I grid my floors out with chaulk lines, usually in a 2 tile or 3 tile box ie. 2x2 or 3x3, whatever I can reach or if in a smaller area I do the 2 by 2 box then I make all my cuts then lay. Now the issue there is usually when people spread there thinset they don't spread all the way to the line. So what I do is every corner that the tile is going up against the line is scrape the corners of the tile in the thinset before you place it. It insures that the corners are completely covered in thinset. Something small but hey its a good habit. Hope this helps some.. Good luck to you..

jjcards

"Back Buttering" is allways a good way to go to get full coverage.