Citi Hardware

[Lee]

Quote

Actually this was one of my questions when I was interviewing foremen.  They all say they use an angle grinder. 

If possible, I would use a tile cutter like the one pictured below.

Using a grinder to cut tile makes a huge mess plus there are noise considerations.

Perhaps you could borrow one---if you lived close to me, you could borrow mine. Just my opinion.

 

[Lee]

This might have been addressed earlier but I'll throw it out there anyway.

As anyone that has walked through a mall lately, one can't help but notice floor tiles that are broken or taped down to stay in place. Local "masons" prefer to use cement not tile adhesive when installing tiles. IMO cement often fails as it not designed to adhere tiles to a floor. The locals will often claim otherwise.

Whatever adhesive is used to lay tiles is often not spread correctly----the notches on a tile trowel are used to ensure correct coverage.

One way to check this on a just laid tile is to lightly tap the tile in several places with the handle of a wooden hammer. If you hear a hollow, ringing sound then the tile needs to be pulled back up and fixed. If you hear a dull, thud like sound then the tile has been correctly laid. Hope that this helps.

[Gator]

27 minutes ago, Lee said:

If possible, I would use a tile cutter like the one pictured below.

Using a grinder to cut tile makes a huge mess plus there are noise considerations.

Perhaps you could borrow one---if you lived close to me, you could borrow mine. Just my opinion.

 

Scrub into about 8:30 on the vid @OnMyWay posted, watch it for the next minute or so and you’ll understand why a scratch cutter isn’t the best tool for porcelain floor tiles. Yes, angle grinders, wet saws or even small cordless 3 -4” circular saws are not quiet and can be quite messy, but using the right tool for the job ensures the best quality installation. 

[Gator]

4 minutes ago, Lee said:

As anyone that has walked through a mall lately, one can't help but notice floor tiles that are broken or taped down to stay in place. Local "masons" prefer to use cement not tile adhesive when installing tiles. IMO cement often fails as it not designed to adhere tiles to a floor. The locals will often claim otherwise.

Whatever adhesive is used to lay tiles is often not spread correctly----the notches on a tile trowel are used to ensure correct coverage.

Quite true. Another factor is in new construction here they often don’t allow the concrete floor to cure long enough which leads to it cracking and therefore the tiles above it cracking also. Earth quakes and not large enough expansion joints are also a contributing factor. 

Your post also reminded me of when I was watching tile being laid about a year ago here at a shop across from a cafe I frequent. The installer wasn’t using a notched trowel nor was he spreading the cement / adhesive onto floor. Instead he was putting a blob of it onto the back of each tile and pushing it into place. 🤣

[Mike J]

29 minutes ago, Gator said:

Scrub into about 8:30 on the vid @OnMyWay posted, watch it for the next minute or so and you’ll understand why a scratch cutter isn’t the best tool for porcelain floor tiles. Yes, angle grinders, wet saws or even small cordless 3 -4” circular saws are not quiet and can be quite messy, but using the right tool for the job ensures the best quality installation. 

Ceramic tile can be cut using a scratch cutter, angle grinder, or wet saw.  Porcelain tile, in my experience, can/should only be cut using a wet tile saw.  Below is one similar to what I bought and used in my last remodel (10 inch blade).  It was large enough to rip a 24 inch tile.  Tiled 2 CRs, kitchen, mudroom, and 1200 square foot basement.  One CR was porcelain tile, the remaining rooms were ceramic.  I also used it to cut granite for facing a fireplace, door entry, and kitchen counters.  Also as @Leeposted, it is imperative to use the correct adhesive and a notched trowel.  Called tile adhesive here, called thin set mortar in the USA.   Some tile jobs also use a tile "membrane" over the existing floor to prevent future cracking.  It provides an expansion barrier between the floor and the tile.  They built a Gaisano mall here about six years ago.  After about six months they started replacing tile and they have not finished.

[Mike J]

18 hours ago, hk blues said:

I'm really not trying to defeat your point but having excess tiles for future damage from the same batch is kinda pointless as the original tiles will fade anyway so the "new" tile won't match anyway.  

I have never heard or experienced tile fading?  Is that a problem here in the the Philippines, maybe cheap tile? 

from Google

<snip>Water resistance: All types of ceramic tile are moisture-resistant. Stain resistance: Stains aren't a concern for ceramic tile. Fade resistance: Don't worry that your tile will lose its luster, as ceramic tile surfaces won't fade from the sun, indoors or out.<end snip>

[OnMyWay]

2 minutes ago, Lee said:

If possible, I would use a tile cutter like the one pictured below.

Using a grinder to cut tile makes a huge mess plus there are noise considerations.

Perhaps you could borrow one---if you lived close to me, you could borrow mine. Just my opinion.

 

I was thinking about buying one of these.  The only ones I have seen so far are too short for the long cuts.  The major part of our tiling will be 100 mm long, so you would need a very long one for side cuts.  How long is yours?  The largest I have seen is 600 mm.

[Clermont]

We’ve layed tiles in 4 houses since we came over and I’ve been following this thread, I have laid a lot of tiles back home but never run across this method. Find your high spot of the floor, put a string line down to the end of where you want to go, then level the line up, don’t worry about the hollows and rises in your actual floor. Start laying one tile out from the wall at the entrance then when you have reached the end wall shift over and do exactly the same as you’ve laid your first run of tiles. Not all houses have square rooms and trim up the tiles along the walls last, this is why they use an angle grinder to trim tiles.
Now the mixture for the base of laying the tiles is a dry mix spread a few tiles in front of your working area only as wide as the tile, place your tile on the dry mix and make sure everything is level then coat the whole base of the tile with a tile glue. DO NOT WALK on layed tiles for at least 12 hrs,

The reason this method is used, a lot of you have written about cracked tiles. Why they crack is because there is no give in grounding and when the concrete crack’s so do the tiles, with a weak but stable base this allows the base crazy crack under the tiles and not affect the tiles. 
I was skeptic of this method but I’ve seen floors that have been there for a lot of years,it will do me.
 

[longway]

On 2/21/2024 at 5:12 PM, OnMyWay said:

Thanks for this tip.  Seems logical but I might not of thought about it.  When shopping, I noticed that the same tile on two different pallets looked slightly different, and asked the girl about it.  Different batch, she said.  I hope they have the batch numbers on the boxes.

Also, buy more than you think you need. If you run out and have to buy a little more to finish the job the chances of finding that batch are slim. Hopefully you can return any extra bought that you didn't need.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, Lee said:

This might have been addressed earlier but I'll throw it out there anyway.

As anyone that has walked through a mall lately, one can't help but notice floor tiles that are broken or taped down to stay in place. Local "masons" prefer to use cement not tile adhesive when installing tiles. IMO cement often fails as it not designed to adhere tiles to a floor. The locals will often claim otherwise.

Whatever adhesive is used to lay tiles is often not spread correctly----the notches on a tile trowel are used to ensure correct coverage.

One way to check this on a just laid tile is to lightly tap the tile in several places with the handle of a wooden hammer. If you hear a hollow, ringing sound then the tile needs to be pulled back up and fixed. If you hear a dull, thud like sound then the tile has been correctly laid. Hope that this helps.

My foreman mentioned mixing cement with the tile adhesive because it dries faster.  I think it was going to be 20% or something like that.  Should I nix that idea?

I'm planning to buy the adhesive that is made for large format tiles.