gluing down tile?

[jbm222]

For those of you who are using permanent tile as a substrate... how did you glue it down, and what is your enclosure made of?

The 'proper' way to install tile on top of most types of wood is to put down a cement or gypsum/fiberglass backer. Then you put thinset mortar on top of the backer to glue down the tile. The back serves to stiffen up the cage and to decouple the tile from the wood which have very different expansion rates due to temp changes. The two issues I have with using this approach on my enclosure are:
1) the increased weight-- approx 10 lbs for the backer, and probably another 3 lb of thinset. Add in the tile and it could be 25+ lbs.
2) I didn't account for that much thickness when put in the pieces for sliding doors. I had planned on just tile which is only about 1/4" thick.

So for alternate approaches here's what I'm thinking:
Has anyone ever applied thinset & tile directly to the floor of your enclosure? Had any issues cracking or lose tiles?

Has anyone ever used an alternate adhesive? I'm thinking about using a construction adhesive since they have decent gap-filling abilities and maintain some flexibility when cured.

 

[MrMatt]

I haven't glued any tile down. It's easier to pick it out while soaking my beardies and washing down the tiles and cleaning the bottom of the tank. It's just a little more sanitary plus the fecal matter and urine won't get trapped between the tiles if they are glued down.

 

[paintballislife]

i am working on a 48 by 18 wooden enclosure using sanded plywood, just did the thinset and put tiles on, while grout tomorrow. will let you know.

 

[paintballislife]

well i have finished for the most part the viv, the tiles are fine, thinset right on the plywood worked fine for me.

 

[heylinda672]

Since I already had new sand down and it was decided to only do 2/3 of the viv in slate, I just cut the tile to size and laid it on the sand. Is this wrong?