Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer. Ian Knifton, Schlüter’s Technical Manager, says that with appropriate tiling protection some acoustic floors will accommodate tiles, but others won’t.
However, one of the latest acoustic flooring products launched onto the market was specially designed to ensure that the tiled surface is highly durable.
Schlüter®-DITRA-SOUND is a bonded impact sound insulation for tile coverings, made of a heavy polyethylene mat, which has an anchoring fleece laminated on both sides to bond with the tile adhesive. Schlüter®-DITRA-SOUND reduces the impact sound of floor constructions (test values according to DIN EN ISO 140-8).
The material absorbs much of the impact sound created by walking, for example, and substantially reduces the “drum-roll effect” of sound being reflected off hard surfaces. This makes it ideally suited both for new build and refurbishment projects.
As well as providing impact sound insulation, Schlüter®-DITRA-SOUND protects the tiled surface by bridging cracks in the substrate which are not expected to widen significantly, ensuring that those cracks are not transferred to the tiles. And because the material is a heavy matting that cannot be compressed, it is suitable for applications of up to 5kN/m2.
When asked to tile onto an acoustic floor other than Schlüter®-DITRA-SOUND, installers should always seek specific advice relating to the individual application, before deciding whether it’s suitable to take tiles or not.
There is now a wide variety of acoustic flooring available, mainly to come into line with Building Regulations for sound and heat insulation -- some of which is suitable to tile onto with the proper materials, but some is totally unsuitable.
“To put a rigid finish, such as tiles, over a surface that is very compressible, is asking for trouble: usually the grout lines would crack first, then the tiles would crack at the joints, and finally debond.
“However, many different types of installation are suitable for tiling onto, with appropriate tiling protection.”
At the request of specifiers, Schlüter has carried out a number of site inspections where some acoustic flooring would take tiles with the correct protection: for instance, a chipboard floor with felt bonded to its underside acting as the acoustic barrier, batons with different types of foam, and others with acoustic matting.
“With all these it would be possible to protect the tiles with a specialist uncoupling membrane, such as Schlüter®-DITRA, which allows any stresses that occur between the acoustic flooring and the tiles to be neutralised evenly.
“But if the flooring is too compressible, the movement under the rigid tiled surface will be too much, even for the uncoupling membrane to absorb,” says Ian Knifton. “That’s why installers should always seek specific advice about each particular application.”
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