Clean Up Advise Please

[Martyn Wilks]

First post so be gentle, I am currently tiling my garage floor with Dotti 30 x 30cm porcelain tiles in a matt grey colour.

I have laid 6mm Jakoboard using Ultra proflex SP+ES Standard Set Flexible Adhesive and am laying the Dotti tiles using the same adhesive, the adhesive is put down on the Jakoboard using a 8mm comb and the tiles are back buttered with the same trowel and laid at 90° to the floor comb using a slight twist to ensure as good a coverage as possible.

I have two problems:
1. When ever I lay a tile I get too much adhesive oozing from what will become the grout gap (5mm) - how do I overcome this as it takes longer to clean up all the adhesive than it does to lay the tile, whilst keeping to 100% coverage.

2. The tiles seem to have a slight adhesive haze to them once I have cleaned them over and over again with a damp sponge which doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

I have made a sort of back buttering buddy that certainly helps in buttering the backs of the tiles but still I get too much adhesive oozing.

When I grout I shall be using a washboy.

 

[WetSaw]

Butt the tile up then slide away.
Fila Deterdek will remove the haze.

 

[Flintstone]

If your sliding them about too much that will push adhesive through the joints. Nice loose mix and a back butter and you only need a few mm wiggle

 

[Martyn Wilks]

Thanks guys, I don't think I'm sliding them around too much I think I put too much adhesive down next to the previously laid tile(s) and I just can't seem to stop myself from doing it.

I saw a short video on youtube where a guy used a flat blade type tool to wipe away excess adhesive from the floor before he laid the tile, but then there wouldn't enough adhesive on the tile perimeter.

I end up removing the excess with a tile spacer before I clean up the tile and apply a clean spacer.

I only put adhesive down for one tile at a time when doing a floor, takes for ever but I feel more comfortable doing it that way - at least it gives plenty of drying time before I need to grout

Thanks for the heads up on the cleaner, ordering a litre for next day delivery.

 

[Tile Shop]

I saw a short video on youtube where a guy used a flat blade type tool to wipe away excess adhesive from the floor before he laid the tile, but then there wouldn't enough adhesive on the tile perimeter.

There would as when the ribs collapse it would fill out to the tile edge. The amount of adhesive he is scraping away is minimal and if anything, he is just as much pushing some adhesive away from the fixed tile, kinda like a snow plough (if its the same video i'm thinking of.... Sal Di Blasi laying on the orange ditra by any chance? 😉) but it does help alot with adhesive squidge (technical term).

 

[Martyn Wilks]

That's the video, i'm mixing another 5kg of adhesive when I finish work tonight so I think I will give it a go.

 

[LM]

You’re doing a few things wrong here. Firstly for a 300x300 tile a 12mm notch max to the floor with a flat back skin to the tile on a flat floor is more than enough. Secondly if you choose to do it all your notch directions should be in the same direction not 90degrees to each other.

 

[WetSaw]

I should say other cleaners are available..

@Lithofin BOB 😉

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Are you going to drive a vehicle onto your garage floor after you’ve tiled it on top of the Jackoboard?

 

[Martyn Wilks]

Yes i will be rolling my car onto the tiles eventually, its only a MX5 which weighs just over 1000kg, so maximum loading is no more than 25oKg max per tile assuming that the contact patch patch is on one tile. Jakoboard is 6mm thick and sounds pretty solid when I tapped it.

On the subject of laying the tiles with the notch directions the same, why would this be better than at 90°, my feeling on doing them at 90° was there could be a possibility that each comb could lay on top of each other whereas at 90° there is no chance. Plus when I've removed a tile to check on coverage its always been as near as damn it to 100%.

I think I also saw a video of maybe Sal laying them at 90° as well.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

They recommend a minimum of 10mm for floors , and rolling movement would be my concern!

 

[Martyn Wilks]

I just used 6mm as a slight nod to insulation, I insulated the ceiling, and built stud walls with 50mm insulation on the three walls and installed a 18mm thick 77mm slat insulated roller door.

The spec for the boards quotes 30T/m² so hopefully it should withstand the weight of the car, if it does collapse where the car rests then I will replace those areas with solid aluminium pads bolted to the floor.