Tiling 30x60cm bathroom tiles

[LankyPaddy]

I shall soon be tiling my new bathroom - 30x60cm tiles onto hardiboard.

Just got a some (alot) of questions:


If I'm not concerned with the curing time (I'm not in a massive rush) do I need BALs "rapidset flexible" over "single part flexible". Should I be concerned about tiles not sticking to the walls for the ~5 hours it takes to go off and does this mean I can only tile 1 row at a time?


I was going for a "thin solid bed" of addy throughout. As the usual DIY outlets don't seem to advertise trowels under this name, should I just go for a 6mm square notched one and make sure I've complete coverage on the wall? Should I put a skim of addy on the back of the tiles as well.

Are 3mm grout spacers suitable?

Thanks

 

[sherlockholmes]

The adhesive doesn't have to dry after each line of tiles, you can put up as many as you can get on there within the workable time of the adhesive mix, they aren't going to fall off if you've bedded them properly. Since I take it you're doing a spot of DIY, you'll most definitely not want the rapidset. I can do beautiful DIY tiling, but it's slower than a fat man running a marathon.

The 6mm trowel has a flat side and a notched side, you spread your thin bed smoothly with the flat side, then notch it. 2 or 3mm spacers are usual for walls, whichever you prefer the look of really.

 

[Richard C]

If I'm not concerned with the curing time (I'm not in a massive rush) do I need BALs "rapidset flexible" over "single part flexible". Should I be concerned about tiles not sticking to the walls for the ~5 hours it takes to go off and does this mean I can only tile 1 row at a time?

I would personally use Rapidset flexy but SPF will give you a longer potlife; Rapidset is not a problem as long as you only mix up in quantities you can use in around 35 minutes or so, giving you enough time to wash off your tools & bucket before you mix the next lot; how many tiles you can lay in that time is largely a question of experience. As stated, you don't have to wait for each row to dry but if youve a border, it's best to leave that to set first before continuing as the weight of the tile above can cause the border tile to move.

I was going for a "thin solid bed" of addy throughout. As the usual DIY outlets don't seem to advertise trowels under this name, should I just go for a 6mm square notched one and make sure I've complete coverage on the wall? Should I put a skim of addy on the back of the tiles as well.

To be safe with tiles that size, I would be using a larger round notch thick adhesive bed trowel, you may get problems with just a 6mm notch; the thicker bed will also allow a greater margin of adjustment to get better lippage.

Are 3mm grout spacers suitable?

3mm is OK but anything larger can look odd on walls IMO

 

[LankyPaddy]

Thanks for your replies.

In terms of tiling speed I think I'll be quite slow. Like SherlockHolmes' fat man, but one with asthma. We're going to have a border around the room so I'll remember to let that all cure before moving higher.

How bigger trowel would you say? Walls and Floors seem to have the best range of trowels (vs Toolstation et al). Obviously with the bigger trowel I'll use more addy, any rule of thumb to follow (I'll be tiling just under 20m2).

I'm happy to go for 2mm grout lines, I just didn't want to go too thin and run into trouble.

 

[Richard C]

For floors & large format wall tiles that size I use the same trowel; 20mm round notches, 10mm deep, at 28mm centres. True you will use more addy but the cost is not significant in the overall scheme of things, it’s better than having really large tiles fall off the wall on you or have problem’s with excessive lippage; large tiles need a really flat tile base & can be difficult if not experienced.