kitchen dinning tiles large tiles

I am going to tile my kitchen and dinner this weekend. its 25m sq in total and I have 600 x 600 slate floor tiles to go down onto a concrete floor.

I am trying to estimate how much adhesive and grout to buy bearing in mind that I am putting in electric underfloor heating in the form of a wire kit rather than the usual mat with the wires within it.

Can anyone help me estimate how many bags of adehsive i need to get? I know i will need rapid setting flexi adhesive and i have a trade point card for B&Q so will this be the cheapest place to get it?

thanks for your help anyone!

3-4m2 to a 20kg bag
but....

depedant on how level the floor is..

the slate are they calibrated or uncalibrated..

are you going over the ufh with adhesive or a slc..

back butter the tiles also..

dont forget to prime floor..

as for trade point think they only sell buildfix?...
imo use..
mapei
weber
bal
ardex

maybe look into a ptb(pourable thick bed)

dont forget to seal the tiles also

thanks tictac

buildfix is made by mapei though isnt it???

would cleaning the floor and PVA and water mix be ok to prime? I have some primer from the UFH kit which i think is just a bottle of PVA anyway!

I am planning on putting the UFH wire in the adhesive bed, i will also probably chuck a few bags of SLC down this evening as there are a few hollows that need attention before tilling on sat sun. (only on the section of floor that my girlfriend insisted she was going to level!)

ok

the slate are they calibrated or uncalibrated..i.e.differant thickness?

if so, sort them in thickness.. thick ones together,thin ones together etc..

fix thick ones from the middle of the floor/room outward,and the thin ones to the side,up along walls,under units etc..

also they are big tiles check for any bowing in them...(lay a couple next to each other on a flat surface and check them in the middle for bowing)

as for biuldfix i wont use this stuff...again i would advice you to use a ptb from bal etc..

sweep the floor with a wet brush then apply an acrylic primer or sbr follow mfr instructions re:ratio..(this seals any dust on the floor and helps with the adhesion with adhesive)...no pva..ok

mapei primer G
bal apd/primer..etc

when applying adhesive over the ufh be carefull you dont nic the wires or you could break or have cold spots in the ufh..

work cleanly wash as you go,then you will need to seal the tiles a few times before grouting..again follow mfr in..re:sealer you chose..lithofin/hg/fila/universal/aquamix etc..

where did you get the tiles from??..

and no pva ok..

thanks again tic tic

tiles are these http://www.marble-mosaics.com/black-riven-slate-600mm-x-600mm-x-15-mm-342-p.asp

i will try my best. There is a builders merchants down the road doing the addy for £13 a bag plus VAT so may see what theirs is.

I'm not looking forward to this part of the job to be honest. It seems quite daunting compared to the other jobs i have tackled. I have tiled walls and a hearth but never a floor and never with such large tiles.

dont go to a bm for your adhesive,go to a tile retailer mate and get the good stuff!!!

as before i would advice a ptb.

guy84 said:

buildfix is made by mapei though isnt it???

Click to expand...

The B&Q Buildfix Mapei range is not the same as trade Mapei (by their own admission), it appears to be aimed specifically at the DIY market with all the well documented problems that could give you. I would advise you forget your B&Q tradepoint card on this occasion & buy one of the adhesives Tictic recommends from a trade tile outlet or on line; personally I only use BAL.

Don’t use PVA as a primer on any tile base, acrylic/SBR primer only & then only if necessary. I would advise you cover the whole UFH element with SLC, it prevents risk of damage when tiling & will give you a nice flat base which you will need with tiles that size; if you use cement addy directly over the element you will never be able to lift tiles to repair it if required. & don't pick a light coloured grout.

The kitchen floor is now laid and grouted and considering it was my first attempt at this type of work it looks good.

The problem now is the dusty mist / residue that has been left on the tiles by the grout.

I tried to wash off as much as possible while i was going but i just cant get the rest off with a wet sponge anymore.

Can anyone recomend me a product i can use to get this mist off?

I'm think something acid based would work? I used a flexi cement base grout by the way.

I have some tile sealer that i am going to apply once the grout has been removed. Although was thinking the tiles look darker and better slightly damp so is there a product that seals and provides a kind of wet / damp look to the slate?

It’s very important you remove the grout as you go as it can be the devil of a job to shift once it’s gone off. Try using a green plastic kitchen scouring pad, failing that you could try something like this; http://www.tiledoctor.co.uk/Remover.html
But I would be very wary of using an acid based cleaner in general & make sure you test it on a tile first; get it wrong & you could end up permanently marking your tiles.

There are many wet look tile sealers available but how individual products look after application, I have no experience with.

thanks richard C your help is appreciated as always.

Looks like my knees are going to get another punishing this weekend.