I need a new thin bed solid bed trowel

[acaciaguy]

I'm looking for recommendations for a new TBSB trowel for walls in wet areas etc. Any suggestions very much appreciated

 

[Dumbo]

What's your technique are trowelling the tile with the ribbed edge as well as the wall on large format tiles

 

[acaciaguy]

I use a round notched trowel on to wall and back spread the tile to achive a near 100% coverage. My current trowel met a sad end under bag of adhesive so it needs replacing.

 

[hmtiling]

You want a ragni 4x10mm round notch

 

[acaciaguy]

Brill thank you. Where might I get one? What tile size is it suitable for?

 

[hmtiling]

Brill thank you. Where might I get one? What tile size is it suitable for?

I've heard selco do them or amazon. Every tile size.

 

[acaciaguy]

Thank you. Any reason you know why they aren’t on sale in many tile shops? Only the squared notches. Is the round notch method not necessary?

 

[hmtiling]

Thank you. Any reason you know why they aren’t on sale in many tile shops? Only the squared notches. Is the round notch method not necessary?

It's easier to achieve solid bed with a round notch I find and those trowels on the tile and substrate bed in very easily to achieve excellent coverage. In wet areas and externally solid bed is crucial however you achieve it

 

[Waluigi]

Selco sell the carbon steel version.

Amazon sell the stainless steel version but only the left handed trowel.

 

[acaciaguy]

Thank you guys. Which one do you use waluigi?

 

[Waluigi]

I have both. I bought the left handed trowel by mistake so knocked off the rivets and re-hung the handle for a right hander.

I still use square notched trowels too, depends entirely on the application.

 

[acaciaguy]

Thank you. What thickness of bed does it leave - again they are suitable for all tile sizes?

 

[Flintstone]

I find it leaves a bed depth similar to that of a 10mm square notch, I think I made my own from a genesis trowel as I prefer those handles

 

[Waluigi]

The handle on the steel ragni trowel is horrible, it’s plastic.

 

[Waluigi]

 

[Dumbo]

The handle on the steel ragni trowel is horrible, it’s plastic.

That's a matter of choice . I don't like wood

 

[Waluigi]

Me Neither, I prefer the rubber handles

 

[acaciaguy]

many thanks guys. I will have a hunt around online tomorrow. I still don’t understand why tile shops don’t sell them.

Your help is very much appreciated. Have a great evening all

 

[Dumbo]

many thanks guys. I will have a hunt around online tomorrow. I still don’t understand why tile shops don’t sell them.

Your help is very much appreciated. Have a great evening all

Some builders merchants sell them .

 

[Boggs]

Genesis trowels for me, not had them long but loving the tiger tooth one.

 

[acaciaguy]

Thank you Boggs. Which one and what can it be used for / depth of bed

 

[Fitwidge]

Genesis trowels for me, not had them long but loving the tiger tooth one.

I got the genesis trowel and your recommendation and absolutely love them!

Not used tiger trowel yet though!

 

[acaciaguy]

I have sourced the R319-8 and the R319-10 which are rounded 8 and 10 mm respectively. Would these be comparably to 8 and 10mm square notched but attain near 100% coverage / suitable to wet areas etc. What bed thickness would one expect with a 10mm rounded?

they also do a 4mm u notched for mosaics.

 

[acaciaguy]

Just ordered both 8 and 10. Looking forward to using them

 

[acaciaguy]

The R319-8 U notched arrived today and I'm a bit confused. Ragni say that the 8mm U serrated edges are suitable for thin bed fixing - for larger/heavy ceramics, marble and natural stone wall tiles. They also say that the 1omm square notched is for solid bed fixing upto 300 x 300 tiles and gives a 2-3mm bed with 100% coverage. I always thought that U notched gave 100% and square notched don't? The 4mm U notched trowel they have which i guess is 4 x 10 they say is only suitable for tiles 100 x 100 and mosaics.

 

[Waluigi]

You can achieve a solid bed with most trowels but often you’ll have to back trowel the tile. There’s no set formula to follow. Why not try the 10mm trowel on the wall and back trowel the tile with a 4mm trowel.

.........if using large format tiles that is. Remember you can increase/decrease the bed thickness on either the wall or tile by reducing the trowels angle by anything under 90 degrees.

It’s all trial and error. All walls vary. Get some straight edges on your wall before starting to see where you are. I advise getting a 12mm trowel too. Also the tiger trowel. It’s great for your 600 x 300 tiles.

 

[acaciaguy]

Thank you. I can get a bit obsessed with techniques and getting things right so thank you for your reply. The various trowel notches, types and what manufacturers say can get confusing.

 

[Waluigi]

Just think about a tile, the adhesive notches and how you go about collapsing those notches to achieve a solid bed or as close as is feasible.

If your notches are vertical lines on a wall then you would bed the tile in by moving it left to right. I hope that makes sense. There’s a good YouTube vid showing how this works with a glass tile

 

[acaciaguy]

Hi, yes I have seen it done with perspex, I was always under the impression that U notches collapse better than square. Like you say there is no set formula. As ever many thanks for your input. I have order the 4mm u notched ragni to play with too. I tend to fix a few tiles then pull one off to see the coverage and adjust as needed. I guess each person has their own technique. I'm just a bit anal about doing things right, especially when using a new tool.

 

[acaciaguy]

May I ask what you class as large format tiles in terms of size / weight

 

[Waluigi]

My understanding has been anything above 300mm square. A typical large format these days is 600 x 300

I guess XL Format would be anything above 600 x 1200

Not that it really matters to me. I don’t use anything other than a powdered adhesive no matter what I’m fixing.