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One thing my wife really hates is ceramic tile floors that have this low "boom" resonance when you walk on them. (crawlspace foundation). Anyone with experience "beefing up" a floor to lessen that effect? We've noticed some floors that have very little of that, but we weren't able to get info on what they did.
Is it thicker flooring material? More cross-members under a floor? Or what?
Sounds to me(sorry the pun) like you're referring to the acoustics of the room. Its not the floor itself- its the sound being reflexed off of it. You "hear" it more because there is little or no "soft" materials to absorb the sound. For instance, bathrooms are notorious for the "Echo effect"- tile floors, tubs, shower walls, etc. Put an area rug down, towels on a towelbar, curtains on the window(s) and its gone.
The only time I have encountered a true floor problem was with "true handmade terra cotta" tiles that were convex- leaving a hollow space under the tile- but they tended to make a clicking sound. Not a booming one.
No...it's not an acoustics issue...my wife broke her neck and still has nerve damage, and certain types of shock resonate up her spine and very much bother her neck.
I started looking around other tile-specific sites and forums, and I think I have some answers...one was what was mentioned above (thinset depth), two other issues were having the flooring be 1-1/8" thick (instead of the 3/4" typical thickness) and by making sure joists are no more than 18" apart.
Our joist spacing is 16" OC, so we're good there. And it's not a big deal to go with thicker flooring as it's better in the long run anyhow, and we're doing that all over, not just in tiled areas. We will also be paying much attention to the use of base material and thinset, and have communicated this to our general contractor who does great at listening to our desires.
No...it's not an acoustics issue...my wife broke her neck and still has nerve damage, and certain types of shock resonate up her spine and very much bother her neck.
I started looking around other tile-specific sites and forums, and I think I have some answers...one was what was mentioned above (thinset depth), two other issues were having the flooring be 1-1/8" thick (instead of the 3/4" typical thickness) and by making sure joists are no more than 18" apart.
Our joist spacing is 16" OC, so we're good there. And it's not a big deal to go with thicker flooring as it's better in the long run anyhow, and we're doing that all over, not just in tiled areas. We will also be paying much attention to the use of base material and thinset, and have communicated this to our general contractor who does great at listening to our desires.
the bold aras in your post... The spacings that most joist companys are going to require is 16" o.c. some may go to 12" if the span is large.
One thing my wife really hates is ceramic tile floors that have this low "boom" resonance when you walk on them. (crawlspace foundation). Anyone with experience "beefing up" a floor to lessen that effect? We've noticed some floors that have very little of that, but we weren't able to get info on what they did.
Is it thicker flooring material? More cross-members under a floor? Or what?
What about rigid foam board insulation under floor between joist?
It looks like from talking to two tile guys who are well respected and our contractor's tile guy, the combo of the 1-1/8" plywood, proper backing board or even cork layer, and doing the thinset "right" will be the route we'll want to go. We will have a high R-value insulation under the floor (but not blown in...that's going in the walls)
Thats what I was going to suggest but got here kinda late. I always install two layers of 3/4" subfloor where I know tile will go down. Minimum is 1 1/8". that reduces the floors deflection rate. the wider your floor the greater the deflection. that most definatly will cause some spring in the floor which could give you that hollow sound.
If it were only a few areas making the hollow sound I'd suggest that the tiles weren't completely set in the mud. I almost always back butter my tiles before I lay them on a floor especially larger tiles. Takes a little longer but its well worth it IMO.
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