Above and beyond using the proper method to get proper coverage for a successful installation, your personal preference will help determine which specific tile trowel you use for different types of installation. A 1/2” square-notched trowel will accomplish the proper coverage in that instance. Gap Size. First, the smallest grout lines, less than 1/8 inch, are ideal for rectified tiles. Before you begin setting tile, decide which tile trowel to use. Visual inspection is simply fully embedding the tile into the bed of thinset mortar, then removing it and looking at both the substrate and the back of the tile to determine whether you have proper coverage. What should be the right size? In supermarkets etc where they use marble etc these would be ground and honed after fixing. Learn the expert’s recipe to mix mortar like a pro]. Be concerned with the amount of coverage for the tile. Tool Guy - Kg. If one of the tiles is fairly flat with minimum warping (cupping), you may meet the proper coverage requirement using a 3/8” square-notched trowel. The square ridges, put down with a square-notched trowel, tend to collapse over on each side when you embed the tile into the bed. I suggest these are fitted in a brick type overlapping pattern to allow for variance so the grout joints can be minimisied. There is more to that requirement such as complete coverage beneath all four corners of the tile, but those are the basics. Proper thinset mortar coverage means a minimum of 85% total coverage beneath a tile for a dry area installation (most floors, fireplace, etc.) Special types, such as slate or quarry tiles, often do not have edges uniform enough to look good with tight spacing. Depending upon the texture and consistency of the tiles I may use 1/8″ spacers on occasion. Cleaning Epoxy Grout on textured porcelain tiles. Larger size variations … The less flat the tile is, the more thinset mortar you need beneath it, which means a larger trowel size. There is more to that requirement such as complete coverage beneath all four corners of the tile, but those are the basics. Current trends are moving towards leaving much smaller grout lines between tiles. Though some manufacturers have their own, non-standard sizes square tiles, the majority of tile manufacturers use the following size grades: 2”, 3”, 4”, 6”, 8”, 12”, 16”, 18” and 24”; and most tiles that are specifically made for flooring are found in the larger sizes, from 6” upwards. YES,CHEAPEST WAY DEFINATELY,IT MUST BE SCREWED AND GLUD AT 300 mm CENTRES ,PRIMED AS PREVIOUSLY STATED,WEDI BOARD IS A BETTER PRODUCT,BUT ITS ALL DOWN TO COST AGAIN, WEDI BOARD IS A BETTER PRODUCT,AVAILABLE IN A RANGE OF THICKNESSES,YOU CAN FIX IT WITH FLOOR ADHESIVE,AND BED IT UP OR DOWN TO THE REQUIRED HEIGHT,MAKING SURE NO VOIDS ARE LEFT BELOW THE BOARD WHEN FIXING IT, RECENTLY TILED AN ONIELS IRISH BAR 300 SQ MTRS ,THE FLOOR HAD TO RAISED BY 12MM TO ACCOMODATE 2 LEVELS FLOORING,WEDI BOARD WAS AN EXCELLENT FAST TRACK PRODUCT IN THIS SITUATION,ITS NOT A CHEAP PRODUCT BUT DOES THE JOB IT IS MADE TO DO,EASY TO CUT AND INSTALL,MAKE SURE ALL JOINTS ARE TAPED,AND LAY IT BRICK BOND FASHION, you can lay the matting yourself its so easy,a good blade in your stanley knife,and a floor layers trowel 1 to 2 mm notch should do fine,you dont have to be too accurate with the cutting around door casings etc, as long as its covered with the matting you should be fine, Which Tiles Are Best? I am using 18 inch square tiles with a 1/16 in grout lines because that is what the wife wanted. Current Tile Trends, Discontinued Tile Finding | List Spare Tiles, How to gain access to private / locked forums, Specialist Tiles -Stone, Porcelain, Glass, Required gap for 600x600 porcelain tiles and other questions, Dodgy laid floor tiles.....dot and dabbed. Hi. Each type of tile may require a differently sized trowel. Check the top tile installation mistakes you are probably making.]. What tile adhesive should I use for large porcelain tiles? I am using a 3/8” U-notched trowel, which has a half-moon shaped notch. Your turn! A U-shaped ridge, on the other hand, spreads OUT when embedding a tile into the bed. The overall finish of your job really does depend on your own personal style. Proper adhesive coverage means a minimum of 85% total coverage beneath a tile for a dry area placement (most floors, fireplace, etc.) U-notched trowels normally only have one number. Hi, I am going to be tiling a floor of around 38 m². This tells you how much thinset the trowel will leave on the substrate when you spread it out. This makes it easier to have the tile drop into the bed with the edge over an open area between the ridges than over the top of a standing ridge. Let me know your tips to choose the right tile trowel size! Is a bigger gap better? Although some people leave the spacers in place, The Tile Association has contrary advice. Your Message was not sent, Please try again. Determining which trowel size is proper for your installation depends on both the tile itself and the substrate. When you calculate the amount of cupping in the tile to determine the properly sized trowel, you still need to visually inspect the coverage to ensure you use the proper size of trowel! Do I need to allow for expansion at wall edge on this 10 year old concrete floor? When you use a square-notched trowel with the same size notch and teeth (i.e. Silly question I know but would having a stronger flex in a a bigger gap be better for the overall stability of an area? The large format 18 inch tiles should have ¼ inch space in between. Basically, there is not a standard trowel size for tile installation, since it depends on the size and type of tile you install. and 95% minimum total coverage in a wet area (showers, bath surrounds, etc.). Cupping of the tile means the amount of variation from the plane. I've cut the tiles to (roughly) follow the unevenness of the stone walls and left a gap for expansion. Checkout our sister-sites Tiling Tools | Tiling Courses | UK Tiling News, Reply to Required gap for 600x600 porcelain tiles and other questions in the UK Tiling Forum | Tile Advice Forum area at TilersForums.com. Front path slab ( possibly has rising damp) - can I tile on it. They suggest you insert the spacers at right angles to the tile, to facilitate removal. It is easier to keep a standing ridge on a wall with smaller square-notched than with a larger U-notched. Over the course of a year, your floorboards will shrink and expand because of fluctuations in temperature and humidity. lol, ditra matting at a good trade price is about £8.50 sq mtr plus vat... glue required to stick it down about 40.00 + plus vat, NOT TOO SURE ABOUT TILING DIRECT TO A VARNISHED BLOCK FLOOR,AS YOUR NOT STICKING TO THE ACTUAL SUBSTRATE,ONLY TO THE VARNISH,I THINK MAYBE SANDING THE FLOOR BACK TO ITS RAW STATE TO GET A BETTER "KEY" IS ADVISABLE HERE, COAT WITH ARDEX P 51 PRIMER, FIX WITH ARDEX 7001 FLOOR ADHESIVE,THAT SHOULD DO THE JOB NO PROBLEM, YOU MUST MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO SECTION OF THE WOODEN FLOOR HAS DE-LAMINATED FROM THE SUBSTRATE. Will thick DPM sheet act as a poor mans decoupling membrane? Attaching brick slips to painted plasterboard and other questions. Rectified tiles are perfectly uniform, with precisely defined edges, requiring the least amount of grout. There is more space between the half-moon ridges with a U-notched than there is with a square-notched. This is both the width and depth of the teeth. 20 years ago, 8×8 floor tiles and 4×4 wall tiles were in fashion and the more common sizes, but now, the more common and fashionable sizes include 12×12, 18×18, 12×24, and even larger for floor tiles, and 8×10 and larger for wall tiles. Pushing the tile down into the bed of square ridges causes the ridges to fold over from the top of the ridge, then spread out. These shifts often lead to gaps appearing in your wood floor.[v161475_b01]. These strips can be finished to look like the floor or painted to stand out. May 19, 2019 at 9:43 pm. That’s a pretty narrow grout joint. The difference in trowel notch shapes determines how easily the tile becomes fully embedded in the bed of thinset. Tile spacers allow you to achieve a consistent pattern when fixing wall/floor tiles and help to ensure that all tiles are laid equidistant from each other (providing a symmetrical finish - as you or your customer would expect) in order for the grout to then be applied. As a general rule, floor tiles should have grout lines of 1/8 inch or larger, depending on the type and size of tile; most floor tiles are 8 inches by 8 inches, but larger versions are available. 1) The tile supplier said that the tiles look best 'without any joint' (I assume he means butting tiles together completely) as they just form a single expanse of marble look floor. This is sometimes difficult with vertical installations. Normally the lugs will create grout lines that are 1/32 to 1/16 of an inch. a 1/2” x 1/2”), the bed of thinset will be half of that measurement, or 1/4”, beneath a flat tile over a flat substrate. Tile trowels come in many shapes and sizes, generally starting out from a 3/16″ v-notch up to the 1/2″ square notch.Finding the right trowel for the job is quite simple when you know that, generally speaking, the trowel size should match up to the tile size – the smaller the tile, the smaller the trowel; the larger the tile, the larger the trowel. Measure the amount of space between the faces of the tile on the opposite corner then divide that number in half. The size and spacing of the trowel teeth are the basis to measure tile trowel size. Thanks in advance Jim. Read on for the need-to-know basics. Tile longer than 15” tends to have slight variations to it that cause complications for successful installation in a brick joint pattern. Mosaic porcelain tiles that measure one by one inch in size are often best for shower floors. For example; you have two different 24” x 24” tiles for two different floors. [RELATED: Are you mixing mortar the right way? Those are common questions you must ask yourself before starting your installation project. Rubi manufactures tile trowels in two basic types, the square-notched and the U-notched. Apply more to make a layer of adhesive roughly 1/2-inch thick. It may not display this or other websites correctly. I am not sure what size of gap would look/work best. Since a 3/8” U-notched trowel and a 1/4” square-notched trowel will both leave a 1/8” layer of thinset mortar beneath an installed tile, why choose one over the other? As the tiles increase in size a larger gap becomes acceptable. So a 3/8” U-notched trowel leaves a 1/8” bed of thinset beneath the installed tile. This tile was pushed down only about halfway into the bed of thinset. For example, if you take two 12-inch tiles and compare them side to side and there is a variation of 1/16 inch in the two tiles, you are recommended to use at least a 3/16-inch grout joint to hide the inconsistency. The type of tile determines the tile trowel size. First you must know how much thinset mortar you want beneath the tile in the finished installation. For example; you have two different 24” x 24” tiles for two different floors. Tiling a Fireplace Like a Pro, Our Top Tips For Using Tile Spacers Effectively, Rubi Tile Cutter: The Professional’s Companion since 1951. The standards for the manufacture of tile allow for variation from tile to tile. There should no longer be any trowel lines and you will see complete coverage of thinset on both the back of the tile and the substrate. If your new vinyl tile floor has an unsightly gap like this one, you can fix it for less than $10. Can floor tile be removed and reused? Tip: Leave ⅝ inch to ¾ inch of space centered underneath the door for the bottom of the transition strip. Notice the 1/2” square notched bed on the left side has the most coverage with the 3/8” square notch in a close second. But with bathroom tile installations, every detail is key.. A little extra thinset beneath a tile is completely acceptable, not enough thinset beneath the tile is not acceptable. When you spread thinset with a U-notched trowel, it will leave half-round ridges on the substrate. While the standard details this exactly, it is not uncommon for some manufacturers to ship tile with about 3/32" difference between the largest and smallest tiles in a box. The u-notch in the center has even coverage, but you need a much larger notch to get the same amount of coverage. I am covering my 10 year old basement floor (grey painted) with vinyl click tiles. Although they are the same dimension, each tile may require a different trowel size. How to Fill in Gaps in Wooden Floors. Is there a norm for wall and floor spacer size? When we purchased our ceramic tiles the supplier told us we could easily get a 3mm gap with these, the tiler has laid a 5mm gap and it looks huge going up the walls (floor to ceiling)!! The simplest way to link floor tile and hardwood of different heights is with a transition strip. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Selecting the right width for grout lines on your tile project may seem unimportant compared to picking tile sizes, patterns and materials. Floor or wall tiles are typically installed with gaps between the tiles because the average tile may look quite similar to the next tile, but they are often not uniform in shape and size, and would not fit properly if installed without any gaps. For small format tiles that do not have lugs I will usually use 1/16″ spacers. If, however, the other tile has quite a bit of cupping you may need to use a larger 1/2” square-notched tile trowel to get proper coverage. Bathroom Floor: 5sq/m meters of 12mm porcelain tile, tile size 200x200mm; Bathroom wall (also used as shower backing) 20sq/m of 8.5mm 250x400mm. 1 to 2 mm is brave with these size tiles. Would 1/16 between the tub and tile be too small for the silicone? You must add this amount to the minimum thinset amount you want beneath the tile in order to get proper coverage! You can also expect to find a couple of shades of gray, brown, and tan (or almond). He said that if a gap was required then it should be 3mm absolute maximum ideally 1-2mm. For tiles with lugs on only two sides of each tile you must make sure they are all stacked in the same direction, that the lugs are not butted against each other. They are cream coloured and the grout is grey. That’s just a fancy way of saying how ‘out of flat’ your tile is. For … Most wood look floor tile requires a 1/8 or 3/16” grout joint. Should I use a U-notched or a squared-notched trowel? 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