Is dot and dab so bad?

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I need to wall tile my kitchen with 250 x 330 tiles.

One short and one long wall is a solid 9" brick external wall.

Since dot and dab leaves a small air gap, would this not be preferable in this case to slightly improve the insulation aspect?

I will use the normal metod on the internal walls.

Tony
 
err - no. plus its harder.

if you want tiles on the floor, dot and dab.
 
I have dot and dab my kitchen external wall but from floor to ceiling as I was updating and renewing my kitchen units, my theory is the plasterboards is a warmer material, however at the time I was doing this I was looking at this http://www.warmtiles.co.uk/cms.php?id_cms=9 worth a read but don't know much about it.

Heatflex can also be used on walls and ceilings, prior to painting, to help reduce energy losses.
The perfect solution if you don't have the height for installing insulation boards, also Heatflex can be used in conjunction with Tile backer boards for even greater thermal efficiency.


I suppose you could use the tile backer boards as well with screws/plugs method which would be a lot thinner than dot and dab
 
I do want tiles on the floor later but its a dead solid quarry tiles,

Surely dot and dab on the floor is a recipe for breaking/cracking floor tiles?

Whats the problem with dot and dab on walls?

Tony
 
well it will take you longer and not save you anything.
The adhesives work on a suction effect created by the notched trowels to stop slipping. Most adhesives specifiy at least 90% coverage to do the job.
The real question is why would you?
 
I dot'n'dabbed my kitchen wall about 5 years ago. They were only 100x100mm square tiles though so was an adequate method for a tiling noob.

I've since tiled quite a lot of walls, and spreading adhesive is the better way obviously, sometimes more awkward i've found, depending on the quality of adhesive.
NEVER dot'n'dab floors though. someone did my floor, dot'n'dab styley and you can feel the hollow when you walk on them, and much more prone to breaking should a certain amount weight/pressure be applied to a tile where it doesn't contact with adhesive underneath.
 
:oops: I thought you meant dot and dab as in plasterboards then the wall tiles!

I have known over the years that dot and dab method on tiles should be avoided, the floor tiles will be weaker therefore could crack under pressure and the reason for wall tiles is a good question but I have seen them fallen off the walls, if you drill the tile, more likely to crack including screws tightening. Another problem I can see is the grout will be weaken as it's not bedding onto the adhesive on the walls
 
TPT i think the o.p is referring to dot and dabbing the wall then tiling, not dot and dabbing the tiles, i could be wrong though :lol:
 
I was not thinking that far ahead and was only asking about the principle!

I do have to say that I see a lot of removed tiles which have been fixed that way on walls!

Tony
 
Cheap and quick, Tony - and a blessing if you need to get the tiles off :P
Comb adhesive onto the walls (comb lines horizontal), a little on the back of the tile and you'll be able to tie the Queen Mary to them.
John :)
 
I fully appreciate the correct way to do tiling.

However, in this instance with cold outside walls, I am still very inclined to dot and dab them because of the reduced thermal heat loss.

Is there any thin insulating medium which can be fitted and tiled over?

Something like the green stuff under laminate floors in a solid aerated material ???

Perhaps I need to design and sell something for this application?
 
Personally I would have thought that heat saving wouldn't be measurable, but then, what do I know!
Maybe a thermal backing board on first would be the way to go.
John :)
 
Do uopi know of any thin thermal backing board perhaps 10-15 mm ?

Tony
 
I agree with burnerman, i can't see that you'll ever notice any significant difference in heat saving.
 
I have to say that I would expect a significant increase in the surface temp of the tiles with a 2 mm air gap behind.

OK, not as high as a 10-20 mm gap as in double glazing but significant nevertheless.

That could be useful in reducing condensation on the tile surface.

Regardless, does anyone know of any insulating material 10-15 mm which can be used behind tiles and directly fixed to the wall?

Tony
 

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