Tile Underlayment / Membrane (Sound Deadening / Absorbing)

[69dude]

Hello all!

I would like to be pointed in the direction of where I can find some large rolls of sound deadening/ absorbing tile underlayment/ membrane to place under the tiles that will be going into my condo (currently empty with a bare concrete floor) so that I don't disturb the folks below at all. Also I'd like it to help protect against any slight change in the concrete, cracking etc.

I've spent what seems like the whole of today googling and searching forums but all I've been able to find are vague websites, dead websites, websites in another country (there's lots, just not in Thailand sadly!) or nothing at all. I've also been into Home Works, Home Pro and Boonthavorn and asked them but they said they didn't have any (I had a good look before asking too).The only thing I found that was remotely close to what I'm after was some acoustic underlay wall tiles.

I'm in Pattaya but don't mind driving out an hour or so if there's a place that definitely sells this type of thing, Global House maybe?

Any help is much appreciated.

Steve.

[eyecatcher]

Hi

An unusual request; tiles on a concrete floor is usually good enough......well it is everywhere else!

not as straightforward as you think, yes you are struggling for a product becasue its not required here, either becasue legislation doesnt enforce it or the lack of timber floors.

the one thing tiles need is an absolutely solid base. Concrete is best obviously. Putting a thin foam membrane between negates this plus the fact that neither thetiles will bond to the foam andthe foam to the floor and your tiles will be loose in no time.

you could fix 1"x1" battens to the floor with an acoustic strip between then lay 1" polystyrene between the battens. on top of that a plywood floor to get the solid base again.

expensive, time consuming and of course raises the floor level to an unacceptable level., especially after the building is complete.

Then there is what i call tile backer board, its a solid waterproof board, acoustic and normally what they use to under tiles shower room floors on timber floors. its good stuff, but expensive even when only doing a small bathroom.

i have seen a similar product at global, for wall tiles...to make a wet room, in lieu of plasterboard, maybe 6mm thick. but i doubt it is acoustic.

what i think is a solution, is to use a product similar to "sylcer" it is a reconstitured thin rubber membrane, made from recycled rubber, tyres....inner tube material essentially.

google it. never seen that name here nor have a seen an equivalent in global.....but then again i wasnt looking inparticularly.

its very thin again a few mm and heavy so will not deflect on impact. keep your eyes peeled for a rubber sheet of some nature....even geotextile pond liners are a makeshift option.

[Crossy]

Taking a pragmatic view, unless you are a very noisy person I'm not sure you need it.

The only time I've been disturbed by the condo above (lived in condos in Malaysia, India, Italy and Thailand) has been when they've been moving furniture about (at 3 AM in Bangalore!) and once someone (apparently large) in stilettos clip-clopping across the floor, most of the time you can't tell if anyone is home upstairs or not.

If you make a habit of moving the furniture why not install those felt pads to the bottom of the legs, that should reduce the noise. Don't wear your heels in the house.

[bankruatsteve]

It's not what you put under the tiles, it's what you do on top of them. Filling the rooms with mattresses would be a thought.

[69dude]

Thank you for all of your replies (eyecatcher, very informative thanks!).

I think based on what's been said here and some feedback on another forum (saying the same, that straight onto concrete is ok) I will be tiling straight down onto the concrete.

I have one final (hopefully!) question. The concrete has shallow, smooth grooves across it (image attached), probably only 1-2mm in depth but it is very level - should I self-level it to make it perfectly flat and smooth?

On a previous tiling project I used self-levelling concrete but that floor was very bumpy... Should I use it for such shallow/ smooth grooves or can I just apply adhesive straight onto the concrete as is after priming?

Thanks,

​Steve

Edited April 2, 2014 by 69dude

[sotsira]

Tiles will bond to a rough surface better than a smooth one.

You should also make sure you use the correct tile adhesive cement mix.

[01322521959]

Taking a pragmatic view, unless you are a very noisy person I'm not sure you need it.

The only time I've been disturbed by the condo above (lived in condos in Malaysia, India, Italy and Thailand) has been when they've been moving furniture about (at 3 AM in Bangalore!) and once someone (apparently large) in stilettos clip-clopping across the floor, most of the time you can't tell if anyone is home upstairs or not.

If you make a habit of moving the furniture why not install those felt pads to the bottom of the legs, that should reduce the noise. Don't wear your heels in the house.

You have hit the nail on the head. I have a problem with someone above me moving furniture at all hours. I have gone to the rooms armed with a note in Thai that my girlfriend wrote explaining the problem, but nobody will admit to it. I now have felt pads which I will give them. My next step is to sit on a chair on the above floor and try to isolate the source of the noise. Any other ideas, chaps?