Border tiles thicker

[warriorgal]

Hello.

My border tiles are about 8mm thick, and the main tiles I wish to get have bevelled edges making them about 3mm thinner on the edges than the border tiles.
Is there a way I could put thicker adhesive to allow the main tiles to ultimately become level with the border tiles, and then put a thinner skim on the border tiles.
I also may need to put a tile trim above the border tile to cover the top edges.

I would appreciate your advices.

 

[warriorgal]

Just thought I would mention this is for a bathroom half tiled up (the shower area itself will have wall panels) I think I shall forget the tile trim type stuff this will raise the border tiles higher again, and I try alternatively to find a quarter round, or similar type edging to go on the top of the border tiles, as the border tiles themselves only have the front surface glazed. I didn`t realize though how hard it is to find quarter round tiles !

I am thinking of obtaining a notched tiling trowel with pretty deep notches for the main surface area, to build the adhesive a few mill higher, I guess I could match it up even with a spirit level that way, especially when the border tiles are placed. I guess just a few millimetres of adhesive would be ok if I apply it to the back of the border tiles ?

 

[Burnerman]

Its maybe a bit of a bodge but this has worked for me on occasion.....rather than relying on a build up of adhesive (which can be a bit hit and miss) I have stuck squares of card (actually cereal packets) onto the wall with drawing pins - this can help with a short step and of course the thickness is variable.
I've never seen quarter round tiles 8mm thick anywhere - usually its the plastic edging thats used or maybe just grout, depending on the application.
John

 

[warriorgal]

Thankyou for your interesting reply Burnerman, I had to think hard on that one. Its not too small an area though, 8.3 m wide area in total. I have some plasterboard offcuts, and will have a few tiles left over. Maybe I could try an experiment and see if I could try a border and main tile together on an offcut seeing how they work together with the thicknesses,

Maybe a 10 mm notched trowel for the main and, skim the back of the border tile. Next problem on that is to see how the grout lines work between the two tiles

Grouting the top of the border tile actually the best answer, thank you Burnerman.

The walls by the way will be newly skimmed plaster, I have read about using APD primer before applying adhesive and this primer reduces porosity I guess I could use this primer also on all the walls above the tiles which will be painted.

 

[3DGuy]

Thankyou for your interesting reply Burnerman, I had to think hard on that one. Its not too small an area though, 8.3 m wide area in total. I have some plasterboard offcuts, and will have a few tiles left over. Maybe I could try an experiment and see if I could try a border and main tile together on an offcut seeing how they work together with the thicknesses,

Maybe a 10 mm notched trowel for the main and, skim the back of the border tile. Next problem on that is to see how the grout lines work between the two tiles

Grouting the top of the border tile actually the best answer, thank you Burnerman.

The walls by the way will be newly skimmed plaster, I have read about using APD primer before applying adhesive and this primer reduces porosity I guess I could use this primer also on all the walls above the tiles which will be painted.

Careful what tiles you use... If they are heavy new plaster cant support the weight. You are better off with plasterboard. But it depends on what tiles/adhesive you are using also. Cement can react with plaster so you need to prime it. Heavy tiles are best not fixing to plaster.

 

[AdamCH]

If you use a 10mm square notched trowel and back skim the tiles then you'll end up with a 6/7mm bed of adhesive. This would be about standard for large format tiles on walls that aren't dead flat.

If you use a smaller notch for the border - 3mm is about the smallest but 6mm is the most common - you should be able to lay a bed 3mm shallower than the field tiles. You'll need flat walls though to use a 3mm notch.

Not sure the recessed border will look right though.

There are quite a lot of tile trims available - take a look at http://www.floorandwallsolutions.co.uk/ but others if you Google.

 

[warriorgal]

Thank you for all your advises.

The main Tiles below the border are metro style 300 mm x 100 mm, with bevelled edges. The Border tiles are 230 mm x 80 mm. One good fortune I guess is that the border tile surface has an emboss surface.

I have tried placing them down together and used a 2 mm peice of card under the main tile and I am particularly pleased that they look ok, both tiles seem flush on the surface, but maybe the edges still about 1 mm out. I guess maybe if I use 3mm spacing then I can get away with that.

I would say with regards to weight both tiles appear to weigh the same, so I guess not too heavy for adhesive, considering one is a border tile.

Thank you v much for the link to the tile trims AdamCH, I shall have a good look through that site now. With regards to adhesive, im not sure really what is best for bathroom, but looking through the forums I was thinking of a slow drying flexible one, maybe Bal or a Mapei one.

I am hoping with my lessons learned this will help other people understand the complications behind choosing different tile sizes.