Many coaches have ceramic tile flooring . Is there something special I need to do to install this kind of flooring in our 2000 Itaska

the first thing I would do was to check the carrying capacity of your RV.bumpy

Thanks for the response Bumpy, I have calculated the weight of the tile,thinset and groute to be approximately 450 pounds and do not believe this to be a problem as it will spread over the entire length of the coach. Am I wrong? My concern was flex cracking.

I'm probably wrong on this but I always thought coach builders used a "lighter" tile product than what you typically see in retail tile stores. Same with granite counters. Regardless to your question I have heard of tile cracking issues in motor homes. But there are far more that have tile and have no issues at all. I personally wouldn't do it based only on the weight.

33 Ford wrote:Thanks for the response Bumpy, I have calculated the weight of the tile,thinset and groute to be approximately 450 pounds and do not believe this to be a problem as it will spread over the entire length of the coach. Am I wrong? My concern was flex cracking.If your concern is flex cracking, then you do not want to use thin-set. Thinset is a concrete type mix which is great for stick built homes but I would use a flexible acrylic tile adhesive as well as a flexible grout in a coach installation. I have seen tile installed using silicon as the grout which is certainly flexible and available in many colors.

rgatijnet1 wrote:33 Ford wrote:Thanks for the response Bumpy, I have calculated the weight of the tile,thinset and groute to be approximately 450 pounds and do not believe this to be a problem as it will spread over the entire length of the coach. Am I wrong? My concern was flex cracking.If your concern is flex cracking, then you do not want to use thin-set. Thinset is a concrete type mix which is great for stick built homes but I would use a flexible acrylic tile adhesive as well as a flexible grout in a coach installation. I have seen tile installed using silicon as the grout which is certainly flexible and available in many colors.When touring the Winny plant last year, I watched several crews laying tile with thinset. I doubt that the very large tile that is currently popular would do well in a thin layer of adhesive. Modified thinset BTW, is stunningly flexible. I once built a stove mat of 2" tiles over a layer of 1/2 Hardie board. This assembly sat on a berber rug with padding under. The whole assembly was flexible enough that you could feel it give and rebound as you stepped on the edge, much like a stiff rubber mat. In several years of use there were a few cracked grout lines, but the tile held tight.

Installing ceramic tile in a 2000 Itaska horizon

sowego
Explorer
Apr 25, 2014
I believe they use a high quality porceline tile plus a special flexible grout. We all know coaches will bend and twist a bit so cracking of grout &/or tiles is possible. I'd try to find a tile pro to ask that question, maybe even a RV manufacturer.

If it were me, and what we plan to use when we redo our coach...self stick duraceramic type tile. They are very durable, easy to put down and much lighter. The only difference is you'll need to do a good prep...sand out any bumps, fill all holes, remove staples. etc. then seal the floor with primer so the tile will stick well. We put this down in our former house that is now a rental. After several years, that floor still looks like the day we put it down.

Good luck with your project.
PF_PM
Explorer
Apr 25, 2014
Anyone ever try or jnow if its been done.. using a heated underfloor before setting tiles. ?

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Installing ceramic tile in a 2000 Itaska horizon

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