Am i doing it right still? As a professional. (Crisis of confidence) - Tile Advice

[jordan1372]

Ok. Basically am i tilng right/prepping correctly?

Full time professional tiler, nearly 15 years doing this now since I've left school. No official qualifications (although that might be another question at a later date), 3rd generation family business, self taught with research.

I'm worried that I'm not as good as i should be....

I mostly do private jobs, small independent builders, what I'd class as non specialist. Porcelain, ceramics, timberfloors, on underfloor heating occasionally. The occasional natural stone floor, but always in homes, not large scale factories etc.

My main substrates are cement floors, new build timber floors, and sometimes anhydryte poured screeds. Walls are 90% plaster covered boarding, and cement boards.

My usual prep is as follows:
Cement floors- if solid, clean, level, stable etc , tiled straight onto with single part flex cement based adhesive with a decent trowel (never dot and dabbed but built up in places). If levelling is required, sealed with neo prene sealer and levelled.

Timber- over ply with marine grade ply 9/12mm, screwed every 150 centres. Usually we use a 2part specialized flexible adhesive that's amazing but expensive (comes with its own liquid), how reliable is flexible cement based adhesive on ply, or is it better going forward to think about cement board with the cement based option?

Anhydryte screeds i think we're good with. Moisture content readings ok for tiling. heating off 48 hours before commencing, 2 coats sealer with bal apd following their instructions. Usually bal single part flex adhesive on anhydryte.

Walls:
Plaster: here's my issue. I'm adament we should be using an adhesion enhancer, bal apd, weber 360 etc, but boss still uses old fashioned pva watered down mix for when using ready mixed adhesive and small format tiles (up to 40cm x 25cm), any bigger than that we use cement based single part flex adhesive . I've read so much about pva (although very watered down) being a big no, but we've never had tiles fail yet. Id like a confirmation on the absolute correct way to prep plaster walls for ready mixed adhesive. Cement board we tile straight onto (if fitted correctly)

How important is buttering backs of tiles? Is there a rough size where buttering should be done? How good/useful are these levelling wedges?
Its alot of text and alot off questions but thank you for reading and maybe replying

 

[Joe8189]

Ok. Basically am i tilng right/prepping correctly?

Full time professional tiler, nearly 15 years doing this now since I've left school. No official qualifications (although that might be another question at a later date), 3rd generation family business, self taught with research.

I'm worried that I'm not as good as i should be....

I mostly do private jobs, small independent builders, what I'd class as non specialist. Porcelain, ceramics, timberfloors, on underfloor heating occasionally. The occasional natural stone floor, but always in homes, not large scale factories etc.

My main substrates are cement floors, new build timber floors, and sometimes anhydryte poured screeds. Walls are 90% plaster covered boarding, and cement boards.

My usual prep is as follows:
Cement floors- if solid, clean, level, stable etc , tiled straight onto with single part flex cement based adhesive with a decent trowel (never dot and dabbed but built up in places). If levelling is required, sealed with neo prene sealer and levelled.

Timber- over ply with marine grade ply 9/12mm, screwed every 150 centres. Usually we use a 2part specialized flexible adhesive that's amazing but expensive (comes with its own liquid), how reliable is flexible cement based adhesive on ply, or is it better going forward to think about cement board with the cement based option?

Anhydryte screeds i think we're good with. Moisture content readings ok for tiling. heating off 48 hours before commencing, 2 coats sealer with bal apd following their instructions. Usually bal single part flex adhesive on anhydryte.

Walls:
Plaster: here's my issue. I'm adament we should be using an adhesion enhancer, bal apd, weber 360 etc, but boss still uses old fashioned pva watered down mix for when using ready mixed adhesive and small format tiles (up to 40cm x 25cm), any bigger than that we use cement based single part flex adhesive . I've read so much about pva (although very watered down) being a big no, but we've never had tiles fail yet. Id like a confirmation on the absolute correct way to prep plaster walls for ready mixed adhesive. Cement board we tile straight onto (if fitted correctly)

How important is buttering backs of tiles? Is there a rough size where buttering should be done? How good/useful are these levelling wedges?
Its alot of text and alot off questions but thank you for reading and maybe replying

Hey Jordan
A lot of questions,🙂
Reading through it sounds like you are still working under the boss..? There are so many variations to what different contractors use and I can see you are having some doubts regarding some of the processes you are using. Your boss sounds like he's old school and still using the old, tried and tested methods 😉 a bit like I was when I came back into it.
You mentioned over plying timber floors with marine ply. I don't think that this is actually allowed anymore under building regs. Cement board or a good uncoupling membrane. They are less likely to cause cracking in the grout as they don't expand and contract like ply. It's what I use.
The biggest message I read into your post was that you might be concerned that the technique and materials you are using are a bit dated.
The biggest thing for me was the choice of different materials and tools that are available. I never use pre mix adhesive or grout.
Regarding back buttering, on the larger tiles and floor tiles I always back butter. It's not too much of an issue with smaller wall tiles.
I also never use PVA. There are a lot of good primers available. One other thing to consider is the weight of the tiles to the substrate you are using. It's always worth taking the time to check before starting.
With regards to leveling wedges again there is a huge choice. I use three types depending on a variety of situations. The large wedges are great for floors and large wall tiles. Re usable screw levelers are also good especially on uneven surfaces. Small wedges are also useful with the smaller tile. They really do give a clean surface with even spacing. Worth the effort.
When using the wedge spacers it is worth checking for directional arrows and dimensions of the tile you are using. Un rectified tiles can have up to 2mm variations on the dimensions.
Tiles are usually installed for many years and if it's planned and done correctly they give years of satisfaction and wear.
I'm sure others will have there opinion on how they do it. The main thing is to read and research different subjects to decide for yourself. A lot comes down to cost at the end of the day, but advising the customer what the difference in quality is, will help to reduce your liability if the customer chooses the cheap option.🙂

 

[James BOYLAN]

Ok. Basically am i tilng right/prepping correctly?

Full time professional tiler, nearly 15 years doing this now since I've left school. No official qualifications (although that might be another question at a later date), 3rd generation family business, self taught with research.

I'm worried that I'm not as good as i should be....

I mostly do private jobs, small independent builders, what I'd class as non specialist. Porcelain, ceramics, timberfloors, on underfloor heating occasionally. The occasional natural stone floor, but always in homes, not large scale factories etc.

My main substrates are cement floors, new build timber floors, and sometimes anhydryte poured screeds. Walls are 90% plaster covered boarding, and cement boards.

My usual prep is as follows:
Cement floors- if solid, clean, level, stable etc , tiled straight onto with single part flex cement based adhesive with a decent trowel (never dot and dabbed but built up in places). If levelling is required, sealed with neo prene sealer and levelled.

Timber- over ply with marine grade ply 9/12mm, screwed every 150 centres. Usually we use a 2part specialized flexible adhesive that's amazing but expensive (comes with its own liquid), how reliable is flexible cement based adhesive on ply, or is it better going forward to think about cement board with the cement based option?

Anhydryte screeds i think we're good with. Moisture content readings ok for tiling. heating off 48 hours before commencing, 2 coats sealer with bal apd following their instructions. Usually bal single part flex adhesive on anhydryte.

Walls:
Plaster: here's my issue. I'm adament we should be using an adhesion enhancer, bal apd, weber 360 etc, but boss still uses old fashioned pva watered down mix for when using ready mixed adhesive and small format tiles (up to 40cm x 25cm), any bigger than that we use cement based single part flex adhesive . I've read so much about pva (although very watered down) being a big no, but we've never had tiles fail yet. Id like a confirmation on the absolute correct way to prep plaster walls for ready mixed adhesive. Cement board we tile straight onto (if fitted correctly)

How important is buttering backs of tiles? Is there a rough size where buttering should be done? How good/useful are these levelling wedges?
Its alot of text and alot off questions but thank you for reading and maybe replying

Hello Jordan, i learned the tiling game in the 90's & i was taught with using a watered down PVA.
For ready mixed wall adhesive 2 coats of a 3 to 1 mix is good. It seems to stick adiquatly & i have never had any tiles at all fall off. PVA is very cheap & sometimes what is recommended by companies is their own products which tend to be expensive giving me another reason to go with PVA. Regarding the levelling clips, i was taught over the years that these put undue stress on the tiles so i do it the way i was taught - with a straight edge. The buttering of large format tiles is very important as because they are so big they tend not to be perfectly flat. They may be high or low in the middle so by buttering, you are taking that variant out. You can see the adhesion difference just by lifting newly laid tiles. If i am laying on new concrete floors or over floor boards i use Shluter Vidra matting. It stops any cracking or pulling apart as the substrate cures as this can take many years. On floor boards the matting can be applied using a 1 or 2 part flexible adhesive or Bal flex fiber plus if the joists in the sub floor is no more than 300 centers & the boards are screwed down. It raises the new floor by only 4mm plus a solid bed plus the tile instead of using 12mm ply & a 10mm solid bed & the thickness of a tile which adds up to quite a step up into the room. I have never had a problem with this manner of fixing.
I think you sound like a very competant tiler to me! It sounds like you have learned your craft from 2005 onward. I think there are just different tile fixers doing different things with different products which all adds up to the same end product.
Keep on fixing & stand your ground!!
If other Fixers can comment on my style i'd welcome it.

 

[Huddersfield Tiling]

Ok. Basically am i tilng right/prepping correctly?

Full time professional tiler, nearly 15 years doing this now since I've left school. No official qualifications (although that might be another question at a later date), 3rd generation family business, self taught with research.

I'm worried that I'm not as good as i should be....

I mostly do private jobs, small independent builders, what I'd class as non specialist. Porcelain, ceramics, timberfloors, on underfloor heating occasionally. The occasional natural stone floor, but always in homes, not large scale factories etc.

My main substrates are cement floors, new build timber floors, and sometimes anhydryte poured screeds. Walls are 90% plaster covered boarding, and cement boards.

My usual prep is as follows:
Cement floors- if solid, clean, level, stable etc , tiled straight onto with single part flex cement based adhesive with a decent trowel (never dot and dabbed but built up in places). If levelling is required, sealed with neo prene sealer and levelled.

Timber- over ply with marine grade ply 9/12mm, screwed every 150 centres. Usually we use a 2part specialized flexible adhesive that's amazing but expensive (comes with its own liquid), how reliable is flexible cement based adhesive on ply, or is it better going forward to think about cement board with the cement based option?

Anhydryte screeds i think we're good with. Moisture content readings ok for tiling. heating off 48 hours before commencing, 2 coats sealer with bal apd following their instructions. Usually bal single part flex adhesive on anhydryte.

Walls:
Plaster: here's my issue. I'm adament we should be using an adhesion enhancer, bal apd, weber 360 etc, but boss still uses old fashioned pva watered down mix for when using ready mixed adhesive and small format tiles (up to 40cm x 25cm), any bigger than that we use cement based single part flex adhesive . I've read so much about pva (although very watered down) being a big no, but we've never had tiles fail yet. Id like a confirmation on the absolute correct way to prep plaster walls for ready mixed adhesive. Cement board we tile straight onto (if fitted correctly)

How important is buttering backs of tiles? Is there a rough size where buttering should be done? How good/useful are these levelling wedges?
Its alot of text and alot off questions but thank you for reading and maybe replying

 

[Huddersfield Tiling]

Hi Jordan,

What I would pick out, without being a dick, is that timber is not considered a suitable substate to tile onto at all any more by modern Building Regulations.
This is due to poor lamination of plywood, and hence bonding stability due to movement and moisture issues.

 

[benchwarmer]

Mate, ask 10 tilers the same question, you'll normally get 10 different answers! 😂 However, I think we all agree that plywood is finished, and pva is a definite no no with cement based adhesives.
If you want an absolute go to solution for timber floors, use hardie backer, there are loads of systems on the market, but none give the weight resistance , deflection performance or the solid feel, under foot of a hardie backer and that is an unquestionable fact. Levelling clips are an absolute necessity when using modern, large format, rectified edge or thin long plank type tiles, which will naturally be bowed but have a bit of "flex". But always have a good bed AND backbutter tiles with levelling clips!
Regarding backbuttering, it's obviously good practice, but I've found a decent train of thought being, anything upto 300 mm tiles =10/12mm Trowel
Upto 450 mm tiles I go to solid bed 12mm
And over 450mm I backbutter aswell.
Obviously the next poster will disagree with me but I think you're on the right track to be at least ditching plywood and pva, 👌